Written on March 17, 2020

With my annual spring road trip season hanging in the balance as we all hold our breaths, I’m reflecting back on my tour of Southern California last May. Throughout the trip I was met with less than stellar weather. At first it was frustrating, but later it was liberating as I realized the opportunity that was presented. Even the smallest break in a darkened sky can illuminate the earth and her waters in an unspeakably sublime display of contrasts. A full sun blue-bird day for all the splendor and clarity they offer can never reach these notes. These are the deep notes, reserved for more uncertain times. They resound with humid tension in the air. They urge us to take shelter. I chose to paint this day although it was a struggle against instincts. My van was dry and warm. The edge of this cliff in a brewing storm was not. At each passing drizzle I braced for the deluge and scramble to the van that would follow. But the deluge never came. The forecast called for a hard rain this day, and indeed it fell all over the region, but here in the midst of it, at least on this day, I stood on the edge and sang along, finding beauty in this ominous song. There is always beauty. I pray we’d all find it in our own way as we face the current forecast ahead of us.