Chosen!

I have just been notified that this painting, entitled "Almost Home" has been selected as the 2010
Poster and Finisher's Print for the Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run in Silverton, CO.
Artists were invited to submit original artwork or photos depicting portions of this footrace through the  San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado.  The event is dear to our hearts, and always the focus of our
endurance training.  This particular scene shows a runner just over the last 13,000 foot pass, and about to head down beyond that first rock outcropping.  All the major hurdles are over, and it is only about seven miles from this point to the finish. Unless you are fighting time cut-offs, it's a good chance you will finish the run if you get to this point.  This is also one of those points in the Runner's Manual where the course description warns that a "fall here could be fatal".  Just out of sight, where I would have been standing to take the photo reference. is a steep, grassy slope with loose rock, and the trail, as you see, is narrow.  The grassy slope ends with 1,000 foot cliffs after about a hundred feet, so if a runner were to stumble here, it could be deadly.
There are more than a few dangerous spots on the course, but any reasonable person will be cautious, and we have, thus far, had no deaths due to falls.  One runner WAS struck by lightening last year, and that is probably the greatest danger up high.
Anyway, I'm tickled to be this year's poster artist.  This image will be used in all publicity for the event. A print of this image, with name, and finish time , will be awarded to each finisher of the run.

Now, if I can only get one of those finisher prints!!!!

Indecision!

Above is a little 4x6 study I did today entitled "Spring Chickens" - about an hour total. It was all I
could manage today.
 I seem to be drifting in a sea of indecision lately.  There are things I really want to
paint, but I'm not good enough at them yet to do anything serious, and I am tired to death of doing so-so, ho-hum, yawn, average works.   Sometimes I want to scream "no more lousy art!"  (hey, would that work?)

I think we probably must go through these kind of experiences. Maybe it is a bit like pruning our apple tree-
too many branches going too many different directions  dilute the resources of the tree - better to cut it back and direct the growth in one direction.  I know all this in my head, but it is frustrating to feel like I'm stuck
spinning my wheels and going nowhere fast.   There are commitments and opportunities looming, but what I really want to do is just shut the door to it all and get by myself and paint.  Some of those things I HAVE to do, and some I SHOULD do (there's that whole making money thing), so I can't ignore them even though I'd like to.
Right now, I think it'd be great if I could disappear for about 2 years, and come back, hopefully a better artist.
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