Cleopatra’s Complicated Flotilla
2019 Acrylic on paper, 9 x 12 in.
So it’s complicated, Life. These days. Hard. So let’s not talk about that, for just a moment.
Instead, here’s a favorite painting that’s not hard. Two winters ago I was trying out some new brushes on some cheap watercolor paper, and the results amused me. Things just kept happening and in the end I was quite fond of it, so much so that it actually hangs in my studio. Partly to remind me of things I can do when I’m stuck, and partly just because it makes me feel good, which is always handy when you’re working on stuff.
In these cursed days of dread and sorrow let’s remember that the rich and powerful Cleopatra had her hard times, too, rather famously. As has Egypt, though it still endures, after a fashion. And, of course, the Nile is the very definition of endurance, Aswan Dam notwithstanding. The long view is very helpful these days, I find. It may not tell you better times are ahead, but at least it reminds you that bad times have always been part of the deal.
