i wrote sunday update.had to think for a minute which day of the week it is. when you're in this hospital its like youre in a some weird time warp. if youve ever sat vigil like this, you know what i'm talking about.
Looks like about at least another week of being here waiting for the graft to "take" . the nurses say its still sliding around so he has to be almost completely immobilized so jamie wont slow the healing process. he wants to get up out of the bed every time he wakes up.
i'm dreaming of painting and have been studying things to compare values and the way light is hitting hospital paraphenalia as if i'm going to paint it. like doing the mental work of a painting without having the actual paint to push around (the enjoyable part of the process) its a way to do mental painting excercises for when i do re-start painting again. like a prisoner of war might do pushups in his cell to stay strong, in anticipation of his escape.
was looking yesterday how a wall in the nurses station had a very subtle and almost indetectable pink cast to it (even way up high near the ceiling) because of some red boxes holding surgical gloves. it was VERY subtle but there.
nature is the same way. there's a certain harmony becuase everything is bouncing light into (and onto) every thing else.
i saw an ad for a movie the other day and it was obvious they had photoshopped this great sky onto a landscape. they did it for impact but the light in the sky wasnt being reflected on anything on the landscape. the landscape was from a blueish sky and the sky was red and orange. it looked weird! maybe nobody else picked up on the disconnect.
an apple sitting on a blue sheet of paper and against a white wall will look completely different than an apple sitting on an orange sheet of paper against a green wall. if you cut a photo up and switched it to the other photo it would not look harmonious. you might not even be able to put your finger on it, but you'd know they didnt fit.
anyway..... i dont like to sketch much so i've been doing painting mental excercises to pass the time. wow.... blogging passes it too.
thanks again to everyone who's shown their support to my family with the emails,blog comments and phone calls. got one such email from a blogwatcher sending prayers from france. how cool is that.
knowing there's a real world spinning outside chapel hill nc is comforting and i will paint it with newfound appreciation when i do start setting up the old homemade paint setup again.
4 comments:
Mike, glad the news is looking good. What a great tip you've offered, too, about doing the mental reps when that's all that is available to do. That same technique is applicable to a zillion things, from sports training to, well, painting!
As an aside, I wanted to let you know I just viewed your Seascape painting DVD. Man, you are a busy guy when you're in painting mode...roll of towels under one arm, a towel in your hand, a brush in one hand and a knife in the other. I'm betting your next time in front of the easel, you be daggone near invisible you'll be moving so fast.
Loved the DVD-what great info on how you construct a piece, as well as on tones, values, and use of colors.
Keep on keeping on.
Steve
steve
thanks man and glad you dig the dvd. had a ball making it... and yes all the hands have one or two things in them. wish i had a hand or two more!
painting is just as mental as it is physical so if you can "think out" the painting you dont even need real paint. you say is this value lighter/darker than that one. is that color more or less saturated from that one. etc etc. you do this anyway when youre painting so why not when youre bored out of your mind and/or dont have paints
thanks for stopping by.
Mike, every snippet of good news is another reason to sigh a deep breath. It's probably better that Jamie is trying to get up and move around- that his spirit and will is wanting it is a better sign than if he had no desire at all..
I've done the hospital vigil several times. There's an expression here on St. Croix that says " who knows it, feels it ".
Nuff said. I truly understand how these days can suck the life force out of the caretaker almost more than the patient.
Your true artist self is unstoppable, it seems. Painting mentally to keep the image portion of your brain active and engaged is a very wise thing to do.
I hope your wife has some of her own methods to keep her comforted.
This must be terribly difficult for her to watch.
Connecting with email and blogs is a good way to sustain your strength and it's portable too.
Remember to eat healthy and rest.
Thinking of you.
Bonnie
bonnie-
great thought! he does have the will to get up and get on! that is way better than the alternative. they gave him something to calm him last night that seemed to work. he's not as agitated and struggling to get up and do harm.
it is very rough for his mom. she copes by focusing every fiber of her being on him. i help her by being strong and taking care of all the logistical things for him and her. but i stay sane by painting in my mind. i'm trying to observe light and its magical properties as if i can see invisible things my wife, the nurses etc cant see. its training inside. almost as if staring for hours at a still life you were about to paint. but if youre like me once that canvas hits the easel and brush is in hand i'm so eager to paint that i dont want to study the setup. we want to delve right into the tactile part as soon as possible and stop looking.
i'm now convinced that looking twice as long as we usually do BEFORE painting would make us twice as good, twice as fast.
thanks for being there for us
i love that st croix saying " who knows it, feels it"!
so true.
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