Frack

Frack

Oil on canvas, 12x12

Donation to the Port Jervis-Deerpark Humane Society

On Saturday, I traveled to my old hometown to paint during the Deerpark Family Festival. It was really fun, and it was for a good cause.

I made two paintings that I really like, and donated them to the Port Jervis/Deerpark Humane Society. I bought a painting I loved that had been in the All-Animal show in Port Jervis (the show had been moved to the site of the festival). I saw old neighbors and friends, got a glimpse of the house where we used to live, and honestly, had a little breather.

I was feeling enough pressure about my new job, though, that I drove back here Saturday evening instead of staying and painting Sunday morning with my friends in the plein-air group of the Wallkill River School.

I did a little work on the job on Sunday, but mostly, I got things around the house settled a little more than they were, and that settled me, too. When my immediate environment is messy, it makes noise in my head. When my schedule is unclear, it's rocks in my path. Tasks left undone pull at me, over and over, taking energy and spirit from me.

Also, I started a new painting on Sunday, a new cowscape, that has me so excited, I can hardly wait to work on it again. So my challenge for myself is to organize my days, yes, even this early in the project, so that I can paint every day.

If you're near Orange County, N.Y., on Sunday, visit the Humane Society's booth in the Fall Foliage Festival in Downtown Port Jervis. They said they'd have my paintings there, and said they might be saeling or auctioning them.