Maritime Heritage Park - Whatcom Creek

Today I painted. I was tired and irritable and found myself getting bugged by things my friends were saying. Oh oh. Time to think of some way to give myself a break. It isn't happening tomorrow but the weekend looks good. Lots of free time which is just what I need.

My mood got lighter as I worked on the same painting I posted a week ago on Blip. I'm not posting it today because it moved back a bit and became a teenager again. I think my less than stellar mood took over and I found it hard to listen to advice and to know what I wanted to do next. It got worse and then somewhat better again. Got to do some more painting to bring it back. It will be better than before (I hope) but isn't quite yet.

It's funny about paintings. Some just march along from beginning to end, smiling all the way. Some jump into looking good but they aren't finished. They need more paint or don't quite look ready to call done. The artist begins to paint more and the painting gets obstreperous and becomes a teenager. All the painter can do is keep at it, making sure that they take the hints and cues the painting is giving trying to give them. Often the result is a better painting that pleases both itself and the artist. Sometimes it is an overworked piece. I'm hoping today's painting is in the former category.

On the way home from painting I took a short detour to Maritime Heritage Park in Bellingham. I needed some alone time before heading home. And the day was fine and sunny so Whatcom Creek beckoned. I walked along the boardwalk, crossed at the road and walked back the other side of the creek. It is an odd place, beautiful but also home to some of the folks who have no indoor home. I saw several of those, one I was quite sure was about to take some kind of drug but put away his plastic bag when he saw me coming. On the second bridge there were some fishermen who pointed out to me the salmon in the creek below. Then I walked on up to the falls and took a bunch of photos into the late afternoon sun. I chose this one for my blip.

After my walk I drove home where Helena was in the process of cooking a yummy dinner of Trader Joe's non-meat Italian sausages in spaghetti sauce, veggies and salad. Dinner was delicious. Now I'm taking a short blip break before our evening together.