Under the Tree

Some of the sweetest memories I have of childhood are being outside. Everyday. Especially at school, there sat a large oak tree in the grass area of the black top track. That tree's shade always marked A "finished" time around. The P.E. teacher stood there to give you your star sticker as you passed ("but keep going") I remember attaining 19 star stickers. When the running was over I could stop in that tree's shade and feel the cold ground beneath it. That sweet rest made the hard work worth it. Today marks the day of the beginning of a run,not necessarily with a finish line, or sweating, or going anywhere. Since I've married (just over 2 months) painting has come scarcely. Now that we're a bit more settled here the bug has returned. The ideas for paintings are born from inspiration, interiors, and old rustic imagery. There's never a time I see an old sign on a wall downtown, or pass a flea market full of rustic items and I don't think, "yes! I like it." So here's to the start of many more paintings for 2011.