A recent article in Psychology Today addressed so-called weak social ties and their surprising importance to our emotional and physical health. Turns out that chatting with the mailman, being recognized in a favorite store, or even laughing with a stranger in line can improve your well-being. And, of course, you can be the one who […]
Dorothy Parker and her sharp wit are well known, but here’s a quote I hadn’t heard before. “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” This explains one of the main reasons for my travels. I have an unquenchable urge to see and experience new things, whether tapas and flamenco in […]
Travel always inspires me to paint, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity. The combination of new experiences and unusual sights (and, ultimately, the urge to be home) usually sends me into my studio. I get all pumped up, with hundreds of reference photos for inspiration. We just returned from a trip to Belgium and […]
It’s been a challenging year and my energy for painting was in short supply, so I was thrilled when the urge hit me, strongly, this month. Here’s how it goes. First I sort through my photos thinking about what to paint. Next I have a phase where I try a few thumbnail sketches to test […]
A recent article in the New York Times explained how parts of Andalusia, in southern Spain, are using techniques from the Middle Ages to combat climate change. Known as acequias, the clever systems were designed by the Moors, who ruled southern Spain during a golden age of knowledge, culture, science and architecture. Their acequia irrigation […]
A friend’s email signature contained this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, which I loved: “Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.” Good advice, and there are certainly things I’ve watched others do that made me vow to never do the same; I call them negative role models. […]
Many people think of relaxation as involving lots of catch-up sleep on the weekend. Others relax by sitting in front of the tv, or playing games on their computers or phones. A recent article in Psychology Today sheds light on what really works. The research cited said what really helps people recover from work (or […]
According to John Steinbeck, quoted in the Economist, “Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.” Steinbeck was talking about writing, while the Economist article discussed the concept in relation to technological advances building on each other. I believe it applies equally […]
For people who know Chicago, the Marina Towers condo on the river is instantly recognizable and popularly known as Corncob Towers, for its shape. For those who don’t, a photo or, in this case, a painting, could be confusing. Let me digress a bit and provide some background. While attending graduate school in Indiana, I […]
We are in an unusually politicized period of history where news is almost always bad and elected officials often sow divisiveness rather than solve problems. A recent editorial in the New York Times suggests that art can relieve some of this stress, offering beauty even in an ugly world. Thanks to my cousin Jonathan I […]
