Hot again. Cool off with green.

I haven’t slept in my bed for weeks.

Instead, my garden has become my night sanctuary. A wooden chaise is my bed and I use my old backpacking sleeping bag for warmth. I’m comforted by the residual smell of late night campfires and miles of walking through the Sierras for weeks at a time.

I close my eyes to the sound of crickets, peek at the full moon and wake to birds seeking the morning cool of branches and leaves. Green.

It’s hot again and the temperature is hitting the 3 digits. No wonder why I’ve been searching for green at home and in the studio. The cool of blue mixed with the warmth of yellow yield a mellowing of the wave energy.

And you?

I watch you wander through the park and stop to stare at the redwoods and pines that line the road. You gaze on green. As I write, you just pulled off the side of the road, got out of the car and held your phone up to a tree! Snap.

What is going on?

Green is calming. We tend our plants and place them strategically in our homes. Green is also the heart chakra and connects the lower body to the upper body. We breathe green. In. Out. Respirar.

I’m not alone in my reach for Green.

People are enjoying my latest deep dive of small green paintings; precursors to a large painting in waiting. It’s the due diligence before I commit to scaling up in materials and mindset. Will I keep going with the green? These two paintings are the same palette but a totally different feel.

Am I desiring a sense of order and everything in it’s place; or a need to break from our fire, pandemic and heat confinement and take off the face mask.