SECRET KOI, RAINDANCING

RAINDANCE oil on canvas 36 x 48" sold

Have been doing my own private rain dancing lately. Meteorological fact: California is in a severe drought. Every bit of humidity fills me with hope that drops will form and come to earth. Maybe that's why I have begun this new series, Rain on Water. It feels like wishful thinking, an expression of hope. With the dearth of drops, what is a painter of rain to do? Call in reinforcements... Take one cloudy, dark day. Recruit a kind friend with a talent for photography and a good camera. Toss in a squirt bottle, a bucket, and a watering can. Add one beautiful Reflecting pool in Balboa Park (one of San Diego's jewels.) Proceed to spray, drip, squirt, dribble, flick, sprinkle, and broadcast water drops onto the surface of said pool, snapping photos madly. Process photos, cropping, zooming, focussing, and tweaking, until images emerge that grab the imagination. But here's the really magical part of this invocation: the most miraculous little surprises emerged when out of those big, encompassing images, I zoomed in on details. This circle of little koi, dancing up to the surface of that ripple, was a revelation. I had not seen them at all, either at the time, or in the bigger image. Life and hope are everywhere. Keep your eyes open, and Think Rain...