03.18.08 Today, the idea seems more about concept. I was casting about the studio looking for ideas when I lighted on the coppery ends of some 20 gauge shotgun shells. By themselves relatively boring but with the addition of a toy mammoth , it all changed. Suddenly, here was a creature moving through a strangely dark and ominous forest………

03.19.08  Well, it has now been three weeks with this years version of the flu. Malaise, weakness and a cough. But it is all slowly dissipating. I am grateful though. I still have been able to drag my carcass to the easel to do the the daily study. I think I have missed a day or two but I am planning to double up to catch up. I am beginning to find that finding something to paint is becoming part of the challenge. You begin thinking a bit more creatively of ways to combine objects. Recently, I am looking for objects with widely divergent properties to place together.