You never know what you’ll discover roaming around the funny, funky corners of Alameda Point, home of a former navy base. On a bike ride, I spotted these fascinating, rough-barked trees that were so rich with texture and shadow and twisty-turny shapes. Painting and drawing these wonderful trees with their beautiful bark patterns comforted me today as I am trying to take in the info that we live in a country where we really like shooting each other. Gack. Too horrific to contemplate. Makes me remember standing in line to board a BART train years ago, while a couple of young Australian backpackers/travelers stood behind me, marveling at what they’d experienced as they traveled the U.S. They were agog at how we Americans love our guns, having just visited a shooting range. Sure made me stop and think about how visitors view our culture. As kids we used to shoot cans off tree limbs out in the country and I really enjoyed it. But, seriously? What is happening here?

9″ x 12″ watercolor, pen, pencil, acrylic ink on paper = $140