Adagio

The papers that form the mostly-obscured foundation of this painting reflect many sources of solace in my life, as well as creative influences on my work in general. There’s Mary Oliver on trees, some Arvo Part and other vintage sheet music, an old LOOK magazine ode to the Northwest, pages from my growing collection of vintage Japanese books, and bits of my own attempts at Sumi-e painting. I particularly love this bit from Thoreau’s Solitude: “There can be no very black melancholy to him who lives in the midst of nature and has his senses still.” In this case, I was in the midst of Moran State Park on Orcas Island at a misty Mountain Lake, senses awake, drinking in the stillness, feeling grateful for calling the Pacific Northwest my home.