The Albany Bulb, a thumb of land poking out into SF bay behind Golden Gate Fields race track, is a wonder of funky, fabulous art. I’d never been there so was excited to join the urban sketch group yesterday, though it was quite chilly and drizzly (the weather eventually improved). Dogs joyfully run everywhere, there’s a small beach, and chunks of discarded concrete are piled up, where artists have applied paint (my favorite cement block was painted with the words, “Call Your Mother”). It was just great fun to explore all the varied art installations tucked around the walking paths. I stopped at a grove of trees where old pots and pans were strung between tree limbs, creating kitchen wind chimes. One pan had fallen onto the ground, which I chose to paint using monochromatic media. Painting this scene, stopping occasionally to say hello to a roaming, happy dog, was such a welcome change of scenery from the sad nursing facility where my brother is in hospice care. Art as therapy — it’s an enormous help, yet at the same time I am glad for many sweet moments these days as I hang out with my brother. In a few months he’ll be free of brain cancer, Parkinson’s, and a rocky marriage. I’m glad for that, though I can’t begin to imagine life on this earth without him.
7″ x 10″ ink, artgraf water-soluble graphite on paper
