Kiwis

11/11: Kiwis, oil on linen panel, 3x5 in.

I've been working "softer" the last couple of nights, almost layering like pastels or chalk (there should be less chalkiness after some varnish). And I worked a little slower here, ending up painting much longer than I meant to. Not sure if this muted coloring is really my thing but it's different, and I think these kiwis aren't too bad. Tender, sort of....

* * *

Yesterday being Veterans Day, let me say we shouldn't forget that we as artists (or musicians, novelists, etc.) couldn't practice our art without the people who voluntarily fight for us. We generally have the privilege of working in peace and safety, unlike those Dark Age English monks hunched day and night over their tiny illuminations, always with the fear of seeing Viking maurauders come one day from across the sea. Except one day in 2001 we saw how easily we could be attacked by a tiny band of modern-day pirates (or pilots), who did it not for plunder but for the joy of causing so many deaths. Whatever one's view of war, it is a fact that we now have to defend against a "culture" that seeks to destroy culture itself and take all civilization back to the Dark Ages, but Dark Ages without even a glimmer of individual expression.

I've grown to support the Iraq war more, recently, despite thinking it was badly planned, despite the tons of negative news coverage (which is aggressive and biased), and being sickened by the rising death toll. We're all sick of it, but let us keep open our eyes and ears to the good news that quietly makes its way back to us - it's not shown nearly enough. I never feel more hopeful about our world than when I see American soldiers being greeted with smiles, wherever they happen to be.