Not Color, But Measures
In the 1950s, Mark Rothko painted with striking color. Eye catching, heart throbbing, delicious colors. Then in the 1960s, his paintings shifted toward grays, blacks, whites, and earth tones. I have been told, and you may have heard, that the shift from bright colors to somber tones came from a descent into depression and eventual […]
A Visit to the Rothko Chapel
Over the years, I’ve seen a number of Mark Rothko paintings. I’ve visited them in museums in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. And as I tried to stand quietly before the paintings, I have often become conscious of the artificial environment—a Rothko hanging next to a Pollock like a guest at a cocktail party—and I […]
Noticing the Small Things
I noticed a grasshopper on my paint rag this morning. He posed for a photo. All too often, I have missed moments like this one. Too caught up in matters that seem more important. And as if to send this message home, a butterfly, draped in the garb of her final breath, whispered for […]
A Conversation with Colleen Quen
Colleen Quen held her first art exhibit “In the Spirit of Fashion” at the China Brotsky Art Gallery in the Thoreau Center for Sustainability. Her watercolors express an infectious, child like enthusiasm for form and color. The work says what many artists easily forget: art is fun. Madame Quen had lived in an intense production […]
Intimate Impressionism at the Legion of Honor
During a long lunch break, I drove from my office in the Presidio to the Legion of Honor in order to see the Initimate Impressionism exhibit. It was one of those magical afternoons in San Francisco. The weather was beautiful and not a shred of fog was in sight. The rugged California coast line looked […]
Jody Mattison
I’m not generally drawn to realistic painting because if I wanted to look at realistic art, I would look at a photograph. But Jody Mattison’s work at the Epperson Gallery caught me off gaurd. I’m not sure why I’m taken with her paintings, perhaps because the people she paints are ordinary people. They look like people […]
Universal Muffin Batter
Wouldn’t it be great to have one recipe for making muffins with almost any fruit? It would be awesome. I created this universal muffin batter recipe with that thought in mind. It works well with most fruit, particularly frozen berries like blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries. It also works with sliced apples and pears. It does […]
A Little Everyday
I have written about four hundred poems in just one year. And I’ve drawn over five hundred sketches. How did I do it? One day at a time. One stroke at a time. One word at a time. I made a simple goal for myself: write one poem a day. And by setting that simple […]
Soup for Breakfast
Head full of snot. Achy, achy. If a cold bowl of cereal just won’t cut it, try soup for breakfast. Whenever I get a cold, I like to make a version of pozole for breakfast. The warm chicken broth soothes my sore throat and relieves pressure on my sinuses. Traditionally, pozole is served with roasted […]
Why Do We Go Trick or Treating?
My son Elijah asked me a brilliant question this morning. Why do we go trick or treating? Leading up to Halloween he asked several other questions. I’ve distilled my answers for you, so that you can reflect on how you may want to answer your child’s curious questions. Why do we go trick or treating? Halloween is […]