Michael

Tree Teaching

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Exercise: take a white piece of paper, cut a window into it, pin this to a tree; paint the tree bark visible through the window. Carlos Villa introduced me to this learning tool.

This is especially good to do with watercolors. As you observe and then attempt to replicate the colors of the bark (oh, just simple gray) you’ll keep finding more and more embedded color. The process is almost hallucinogenic. Each time you think you’ve found the match you see another color in the window.

To a casual observer, tree bark is gray or brown or maybe a reddish color. To someone who has tried to paint it the bark is many colors.

Portland Backwards Summer

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Typically people of Portland don’t count on sunny days until the fourth of July. Before then clouds and rain are normal. May will usually have a hot spell with temperatures in the 90s. But from Memorial Day through the fourth overcast skies and days with rain just make for a joke about knowing if it’s time for the Rose Festival.

This year is backwards. It feels comfortable. But hey it’s July! Wheres the sun and heat?

(preparing to eat those words in August.)