River #7-Oil-84x48

I see it's been seven weeks since my last blog post. Sheesh! This gives me a huge feeling of... gratitude. I have been so busy with painting and drawing portraits, getting out to paint autumn landscapes, traveling for sittings and deliveries, helping Kim (now and then) set up new shows and events at the gallery, being a husband and a dad, and even playing in a rock band one night a week, that there just hasn't been much time to send email newsletters and write blogs. And you know what? That's OK. We're feeling so blessed that we're fully engaged and hanging in there!

I listen to books when I paint, and right now it's Steven Rattner's "Overhaul', about the early Obama administration's auto bailout. Being from Detroit, this strikes home. Actually I happen to be painting former GM Chairman Ed Whitacre's portrait as I listen (not a coincidence- it's fun to have what you're listening to relate to what your working on). But the point is that the book takes us back three years and reminds me that most of us have been through some really tough times. And they may not be over for a while. Heck, every time things seem to be looking up something knocks us back down. Many are still suffering.

But... hopefully things are getting better, and will continue to improve. In a macro sense there's not much we can do about that. We just each do the best we can every day. I have a sense that we will emerge stronger, and maybe even better, from the challenges we've faced. Maybe that's crazy talk.

I will blog and send newsletters now and then. But I'd rather be making art than talking about it, and I'm grateful for the opportunity.