the sun is back

I am sitting here at my desktop looking out the window seeing something delightful we have not had around here lately, sunshine is once again casting shadows on the wet tall overgrown green grass out in the field across the street.  
It is a wonderful uplifting feeling to see that simple dark light pattern once again after so long an absence. I am feeling so light and my energy came flying back after a lot of dark days and gloomy feelings.
After my trip to the bay for two weeks where we were run out by a power failure due to heavy rains and winds from hurricane Irene, another storm named Lee swept over the Washington DC metro area moving much slower. Lee's remnants moving in from south west combined with other low pressure systems meeting it from due west to make this a soggy week to remember. It isn't over yet but the rains from Lee are about to give way to more seasonal weather!

In the meantime my sketches have been harder to find subjects for around the house. Low light and not much access to the outdoors makes it a real challenge each day to choose a subject. I settled into a couple days of sketches of our plastic/rubber clogs that sit on the porch floor waiting to carry us out into the soggy yard. Keith has a first pair that were dark green and I had two sets of bright red over the last 12 years. They don't wear out but because they are joined in a joint down the middle, they split in time right up the center of the top of the shoe. I tried to repair the first set with duct tape which held for about a week but as soon as I went to dig in them the seam ripped the tape like a pair of scissors. I tried glue and that broke, then glue and tape... and in the end we ordered a new pair and disposed of the first set. The second set broke then the green ones also broke all in the same way. Then Keith found they don't make these type anymore in Germany so he found a newer version by Birkenstock also from Germany and they came in real orange with a steel toe! Clearly a work shoe for European gardeners and folks who have to be in wet floor situations. I drew them both and managed to get the green shoes repaired with monster brand glue but we don't do any heavy digging in the repaired shoes. They work well for a quick trip to the compost pile or a run to recycle a bag of plastic and glass containers out back. They make a pretty good subject to draw and paint due to the colors and that challenging shape.

I have always admired the wooden clogs Paul Gauguin carved and painted back in the 1800's I have admired his many times in the National Gallery of Art's cases. see Gauguin clog image on the NGA's website here >> http://www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/timage_f?object=112663&image=10723&c=

Now I am going out to enjoy a walk in the sunshine of late afternoon!