Rain today

We've certainly been spoiled for the past few weeks. Seems as though each and every day was more beautiful than the next-perfect to work outside.

Today, the skies have that wet, grey look-it feels cold outside even though the temperature is pretty mild. I will not be painting the porch.

Being raised by someone obsessed with time (and her Timex), I am somewhat sensitive to the characteristics of light during the day. To me, morning light carries the promise of all things-I truly believe that anything can happen in the morning. I always have a great degree of excited anticipation to see what the day holds in store-how could it be anything but positive, given the absolute beauty of the morning?

By the afternoon, I'm somewhat less elated. Things become a bit less promising and deadlines and reality loom closer. The quality of the light seems more diffuse, more uncertain somehow. I grow more tentative and uncertain with it. The afternoon has always been my least favorite part of the day. When I was younger, I used to think that the perfect day would be to sleep through the afternoon, waking a half hour before sunset. Ideal. Vampiric. Antisocial. That's me.

At the end of the day, I once again find the light beautiful. It carries less promise than the morning (just because the day is ending). Also because I'm tired by this time. But nonetheless, it is breath-taking. Recently, Cara and I were on top of a tall building and watched a beautiful sunset that was accompanied by thousands of birds traveling in groups. Each group formed a dark mass, like bees in a cartoon. The birds just seemed to swirl around, creating huge dark circles and arcs in the sky, all in contrast to the blue/orange/yellow/red of the sunset. Wow.

But rainy days always meant that telling time by the light was an impossibility-10 am looks just like 4 pm. My energy level on those grey days was freed from the clock. That is, until I fell over from sheer exhaustion...I kind of think of myself like a dog when I'm in my studio-as a dog eats until it no longer can, I tend to do the same with working on art. Sitting down is something I'm not very good at. I seem to cover miles in my studio-the wear marks in the paint offer evidence on this. Whenever I've had a part time job, it's been a real pain to stay still and seated. Coupled with the fact that I was working on something that I considered pointless never helped much either. Sisyphus in a Barcolounger....

Carpe Diem.