Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Weepers

Weepers 8" x 10" watercolor on paper
Weepers howl and sway
No leaves anymore - no leaves
Upturned soil, hard rains

19 comments:

  1. Very nice and loose rendering of the old trees - and I like the haiku, too :)

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  2. Nice watercolor Dan, I don't understand Haikus… but the words are touching.

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    1. You sound like my wife! Poetry - shmoetry! Glad you like the watercolor, and pleased you found the words to be touching. Thank you Captain for your visits - I truly appreciate you following my blog.

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  3. Love the variation in values you achieved. It really makes this painting. What are creepers?

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    1. Thank you - I really think values are one of the most important tools in a painting, and I try to avoid the watercolorist's trap of only light or middle tones. Glad I was able to do so on this one. Creepers? Jeepers! (See next answer.) :)

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  4. Obviously I did mean WEEPERS! the fingers don't always follow the brain's instructions....

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    1. Well (sigh) - and for the why of this haiku, see the response to Linda's comment below - you can take it literally or further. Literal - a weeper would be someone who cries, wouldn't it? I think going that far - trees that cry - can provide a few interesting interpretations of the haiku, aging, loss, without going further. And I like that there can be many meanings here. But the main meaning I had in mind..In doing some looking in the dictionary, an archaic meaning of the word would be people hired to cry at funerals, and burials. Now the meaning gets even deeper and darker, doesn't it? Thanks for asking! This is literally from a photo of trees I took that abut a graveyard.

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  5. It looks simple at first then you notice the way you used the colour to create depth and shape, great painting!

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    1. Thanks, Cathy, I truly appreciate your watercoloring skill and am glad you like the technique. You are right, though - this was not the most difficult painting. It took maybe an hour and a half to paint.

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  6. I really like your lights and darks. Excellent rendering!

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    1. Thank you, Pamo! Values - that is where it's at!

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  7. Your old and gnarled tree trunks, rendered all too well, do speak volumes about sadness, loss and life gone by. The poetry also suggests things are not well with you. I'm sorry Dan, but aren't you comforted by this wonderful skill you have to express your feelings and connect with the rest of us who can empathize with you? Over all life's travails, Our abilities make us the healthiest, happiest people around . I've always cherished that part of my art. This painting is a keeper along with the poem.

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    1. I've replied to you below (pushed the wrong button, so no indent..)

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  8. You are a great interpreter of art and poetry, and are right that it is an expressionist work entirely about all of those things. But thankfully your conclusion about me is incorrect. Though things could be better at this juncture, I admit, these works were not about me. The painting and haiku were both done on the day after I attended the viewing for a friend's brother. He was only 25 and had been murdered, yes murdered, the week before. Shocking and horrible, he was apparently a good kid - I didn't know him, I only knew his sister, from work - but he had just graduated with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Healthy, promising, capable - he was the victim of the neighborhood he lived in.

    It was apparently, according to police, a random act perhaps connected to two other murders on the same day, perhaps connected to a staged auto crash. He was shot by a flurry of bullets from multiple guns through the windshield of his mother's truck.

    It affected me to be there surrounded by shocked family and friends. There were no tears left at the hour I went (after work), only a kind of dazed disbelief. I spent a short time with his mother during the gathering. She was a good woman, loving, strong, holding on to her faith. I tried to explain that I could relate in some way, since my wife and I had lost a child, but I could never relate, really to such a traumatic loss. I really can't imagine. And in this discussion it turns out that this was the third child of eight (yes, eight), she had lost. Thankfully she has a large supportive family, but losing three children! And one through murder!

    I couldn't help but think of my own son, nearly this boy's age who by virtue of his race and neighborhood never faced this risk. They live on the other side of the highway That was his unavoidable misstep, living in what appears to be an invisible war zone (to the rest of us). And I also thought about all of the bloodshed and apparent disregard for human life both in this event and in what I am hearing in the news these days from the other side of the world - ISIS, etc.

    So that is the reason for the dark post. I am sorry, this blog has historically been a cheery place. But the art is a reflection of what I experience, directly and indirectly, and often of what I am feeling. It seems to be that way more and more for me. I read an artist the other day, who talked about how his art is an escape for him. It is for me too. And as you say - yes, I am comforted by this skill - and yes, I am pleased to connect with you and this wonderful supportive community of artists. He also said art should be cheerful - there is enough darkness in the world already. Perhaps. But I am not made that way - my art reflects, it seems. Thank you, Linda, for the insightful comment.

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    1. Shocking death too close to home. Art that only expresses the light side of life is insignificant--mere Decoration. I am best at the easel when my subject is close to my heart.

      On a lighter note: your accident is terrific.

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  9. This is stunning Dan! Love the feeling of it, the light and the depth within it. Totally reminds me of the old stories and tales I heard when I was a child, the forests that hold many wonders and mystical creatures, all from trolls to fairies. Although I love it, it also has a haunted feel to it (its the tree hugger and hiker in me that comes out), walking through an area that opens your eyes and senses to new and different parts of the forests.
    Parts where nature is preparing for a new change (the change that takes years and years and probably longer than our own life time but never less changes). Changes for old growth to get swallowed by moss and time giving away for new growth.

    Its a beautiful painting, great colours!

    Hope your summer has so far been full of outings and sightings of new inspirations for paintings to come. Hope all is well with your son too, I guess he'll be starting back to school again soon. I know my daughter cant wait for it and hopefully soon she can go back (we're getting very close to her move to the new home).

    Keep painting Dan, love seeing your work!

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  10. The article is very interesting to read , and is also beneficial to add to our knowledge .

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