Last April, post-pandemic, I joined an online art class, drawing with pencil and ink. Six weeks later, I enrolled in drawing one morning a week, and watercolor the next. Most students are either professional artists, or started in 2020 at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, so I am truly a novice in this group, and in general.

But I thrive on a challenge, and have nurtured my beginners’ mind. It’s more difficult to be an advanced beginner or an intermediate, so this may simply be laziness on my part! How can I do anything wrong? Well? I’m not that relaxed about it a year later!

The videos of classes are deleted so quickly after being posted, that certain procrastinators never quite watch the full replay, but this evening I managed some relevant parts. Shadows and reflections are so challenging. I am only now learning to see them, and still with difficulty figuring out from whence the light is falling.

Apropos of something entirely different, one of our sons just adopted a dog this past Saturday. This fell on the seventh anniversary of another shelter adoption by another son, which I will write about tomorrow. It ended tragically, and my heart still aches. Our son is trying to decide on a name for the newly adopted dog, and suggested Oslo or Berlin. “Oslo or Berlin? Have you seen Money Heist?” It was one of our favorite Netflix series. “Berlin” was one the best actors in my view. As was Nairobi. I was also a fan of Denver…but that was the name of the dog adopted seven years ago. We may know what the chosen name is tomorrow:-)

Above I have posted a photo of my attempt at learning from the great painter, Edward Hopper. His painting is of a farm in South Truro, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, when The Cape was farm country. Happily a barn painting. I love barns, and I ❤️Vermont, but I am happy to try to paint a barn on The Cape. No lighthouses, please! They are so trite. The stuff calendars are made of.

Circe