Trapped in Evanston

Today was one of those days when I could have left well enough alone and been no better or worse off than where I left off. It's Passover, again. We get the bookends of the holiday off and I was only too happy to have another day off of work. I used the rainy morning to change my wardrobe over from fall/winter to spring/summer. It was a monumental task since this provided a good opportunity to do some spring cleaning and to clear out apparel for Goodwill. "I'll paint later," I kept telling myself, as I tore through yet another drawer.

Later came and went. I willed myself to put on some going-out clothes - yet another monumental task on a day off with no one around - and ventured out to Georgetown Market for some vitamins and then to Marsh for a few last minute groceries. "I'll paint later," I told myself again.

With the closet completely changed over, the car loaded with bags of unwanted clothing, "later" became now. I looked at the canvas and could not make sense of it. That ridiculous tree was levitating and I could find no way to ground it. And how could just one tree represent such an important part of the story? Evanston is where Chipper learned to heel and to walk on a leash - the Evanston cops made sure of that. It's where she first delighted in heavy snowfalls. It's where I left the car parked almost every weekend and walked, frequently with the beast, or rode my bike everywhere. One tree could not capture such a wonderful, formative time in our lives.

And then the rain stopped and the sun came out. Nowhere in the forecast for the next 5 days was there even a mention of a ray of sunshine. I quickly changed into running gear and headed out for a short run. I wasn't at my best, but the sun felt good and I had a chance to look at trees as I ran my 4-mile route. They are just sort of stuck there, as it turns out, usually with a bed of mulch and some errant greenery around them. I can do that.

I showered and found my way back to the canvas. The circle of mulch I painted grounds the tree. Later I intend to add some greenery and perhaps a tulip...my favorite flower and perhaps the best harbinger of spring. Maybe it will be red - the painting could use a bright color.

Evanston is known for being the home of Northwestern University, magnificent Arts-and-Crafts and turn-of-the-century homes, blue laws forbidding the sale of alcohol, a population that is a mixed bag of ethnic groups, intellects and artists, hippies and yuppies. It's also known for it's walkability and adorable storefronts. I did some homework online - Google images - and by rifling through a book about Grandma Moses that I purchased when Zeke and I were in Vermont last summer and visited her museum.

I put this all together and tried it out by sketching a row of storefronts in my sketchbook. After tweaking it a bit, I cautiously approached the canvas with very fluid paints to just map in colors and shapes. And that's where I left it. I am tired and the thought of even squeezing paint onto my palette exhausts me. I hope to get one, maybe two, more painting sessions in during the course of the week before Zeke comes home from his mountain adventure.