Reflections on 2019

from February

 Posting on this blog had become a routine last year, but faded away soon after my bilateral knee replacement on May 1.... no, actually it dwindled before when my challenge of a year of a watercolor painting everyday pretty much fizzled in January and and did stop in February.  Soon after my surgery my dear husband, Van. had a couple of major medical issues happen, one after the other. We've both made numerous trips to Seattle, Anchorage, and Juneau clinics and hospitals...I can count ten between the two of us, most of which we went together.

New knees, May 1

from Van's hospital room at Virginia Mason Hospital in September

 My long anticipated art show at the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council Gallery in Juneau happened in July.  That entailed lots of framing, taking all my paintings to Juneau in my car  on the ferry, hanging it for the opening on July 4, and staying in Juneau for a week to get the ferry home. then another trip on the ferry to take it down at the end of the month.  Then the ferry workers went on strike while I was there and I had to fly home and go back to Juneau one more time and get my car and bring it home after the strike was settled.  I was thankful to have friends Aimee and Artemis and Van's help. With  all the hassle I was happy to have my paintings seen, sold a few, and left some in the gallery there.  And I enjoyed seeing many of my Juneau friends and meeting new patrons.

I managed to get outside with friends and do a few watercolors.  these are three that are presentable.

down at the beach

at the dock pond

up on the Salmon River

Earlier in the year, I had booked a 3 week tour of China for November with a friend  that I almost cancelled several times, but Van insisted that I go as he was recovering.  So I went, and it was an amazing trip.  Much of the trip was in cities which were huge.   I loved the time cruising on the Yangtze River for 5 days, but most of all Guillin and the Li River.
Here are a few little paintings that I did.

Channel marker on the Yangtzi River, China

Yangtzi river near Three River Dam, China

I painted this and   5 others in the evening after the cruise on the Li River, and sent as post cards and gifted

This one was on Nidiggen paper in my handmade travel journal

Now we have been home since the end of November and are hoping that there will be no doctor appointments for some time.

I finally have no excuse for not getting back to work in the studio, but I've finding all kind of excuses not to.  If there was a prize for procrastination, I'd be a winner. My trips downstairs to the studio are mostly followed by sorting through stuff, looking at old paintings, then piddling with my stuff some more.  Joining two session of life drawing has got me at least drawing, and just writing and posting here is giving me a feeling that  maybe I'm breaking through the inertia that had set in.  New Years usually gets me motivated and hope springs eternal.