After being too shocked and news-addicted to paint yesterday on such a humiliating day for our country, I pulled out my watercolors today to soothe myself. Did one of a neighbor’s chili peppers. It bombed. Did another one of my orchid. Disaster. So, as it often happens, I tried one more quickie of the amaryllis bulb starting to sprout in my ceramic pitcher; the bulb was a lovely gift from a kind neighbor. Liked it; a very simple painting but this new growth is a comfort as 2021 begins. Too bad the new year’s promises changed dramatically to showcase shameful behavior by politicians. And lies and shocking violence. I got the hell out of my house today to watch plovers zipping around the water’s edge at Crab Cove with a dear friend (it helped). And we saw long-legged stilts. And diving terns. And dozens of other shorebirds. I’m really too speechless to say much today. But I do desperately want to hope that the truth will win out someday. It always does — always. Sometimes it takes too long. But it always bubbles up to the surface. I am a big believer in telling the truth, however uncomfortable or painful. It’s an absolute necessity regardless of how overwhelmingly noisy the lies are. We will survive this stinky swamp. I believe in us.

7.5″ x 7.5″ watercolor, pen, acrylic ink on paper = $75