Whew, it’s been a busy week for me! For that reason, my four things post has been bumped to Friday, but I didn’t want to miss it entirely. So, this week – books in my beach bag, freediving, words about mastery, and working ahead.
If you missed my announcement yesterday about the upcoming fall creative lifestyle retreat in Tuscany, you can find the details HERE.
what I’m reading
I haven’t had a ton of time for reading since I’ve had a heavy workload this week, but I have a huge bag of books I’m taking to the beach and plan to spend some time sitting on the porch reading. I’ll certainly give you a report. Here is a peek in my bag…
what I’m watching
I watched this documentary a while ago, but I decided to share it this week because I haven’t been watching a lot of interesting TV this week. Mostly, I’ve let Jeff pick something he’s interested in while I work on things, only giving the show a fraction of my attention. This documentary came to mind, though, and I thought it would be a good one to feature.
I had The Deepest Breath on Netflix on my watchlist for a while and decided to watch it one night on a whim when Jeff was at a meeting. I wasn’t expecting much from it, but I became engrossed. First of all, it’s beautiful to watch. The cinematography is incredible and the storytelling is top-notch. Second, the subject is fascinating. I knew very generally about freediving, but I had no idea about the competitions, world record quests, and that there is an entire community built around this dangerous sport. Just putting on a snorkel mask and swimming along a Caribbean reef in my 20s pushed my fears of the ocean and drowning to the limits.
Professional freedivers, though, seem to be on a personal quest and their answers lie in the blackness of the ocean depths or in challenging swims through natural underwater obstacles. I struggle with the draw to a sport that is so deadly, but that is part of what made this documentary interesting. I think the viewer is meant to struggle with questions about freediving and other extreme pursuits. Is it admirable for someone to willingly and knowingly push themselves to the point of needing CPR or is it foolish? Are those who support them in the pursuit encouragers or enablers? Well, if you watch it, you can decide…
what I’m loving
“Mastery is the best goal because the rich can’t buy it, the impatient can’t rush it, the privileged can’t inherit it, and nobody can steal it.
You can only earn it through hard work.
Mastery is the ultimate status.”
– Derek Sivers, How to Live
what I’m working on
We’ve done some yard work, which I shared earlier this week HERE, but I’ve mostly been getting blog posts written, videos filmed and edited, and paintings completed before our spring break trip. While sometimes I just take the time off entirely, last year I worked ahead and was able to keep things running for less than an hour each day. I decided to take that same approach this year, so you’ll still see blog posts as usual. And, of course, I’ll share the annual shell collection competition.
This was the last pet portrait I was able to get done. It was my first Dobermann and I loved finding all the colors in that short black fur. I will be painting at the beach, but I’ll focus on painting the landscape while it’s in front of me! I’ll get back to my commission queue when I get home.
Next Four Things will be Four Things IOP Edition…
Wow! Can just say I am totally blown away by your pet portraits. This Doberman is my favorite so far. My brother and sister-in-law lost their beloved Doberman a year ago and I know he would love to have a portrait commissioned.
This painting of the Doberman is really well done. I love the way you have used the brown and rust tones as shadows on the black background, making his muscles and the shape of him stand out, and you have captured his eyes so well. He’s a beauty and so is your painting of him. I just want to reach out and pet him.
I found I was holding my breath and then gasping during the trailer of the freediving documentary…I think I’ll have to pass on the film, although I am intrigued by what would motivate people to try to burst their lungs. Looking forward to your annual competition of shell collecting. You and I have the same taste (right word?) in shell collecting. I chose more types but like the fossils and worn ones more than the pristine.
I have painted one index card divider so far but hope to get back to it today. Also have not forgotten about more photos for the Artist Reference site.
Have a wonderful time with family at the beach! Can’t wait to watch the shell competition between you and your dear mom. Always such fun! Who knows, maybe this will be your year!
I highly recommend any thing Mary Oliver has written. I have most of her books of poetry. You will love her! Stunning doberman portrait.
Love the work of Childe Hassam! If you haven’t yet read it, you may want to find a copy (preferably one of the beautifully-bound boxed editions) of “An Island Garden” by Celia Thaxter, with illustrations by Hassam. It’s a favorite.
Is that a Blue Gradient wheel??? Where do you get those? Also, where did you get the tall skinny bookshelves? I absolutely love the quote about mastery!
It is a cyanometer I made that is used to record and measure the color of the sky. Isn’t it beautiful?
Thank you for recommending The Deepest Breath. We watched it last night and it was amazing!
Oh man, isn’t it great? I am trying to get Jeff to watch it with me because it’s so interesting and well made.
Look up Tammy Trent’s (Christian speaker) story. Her husband died while freediving on 9/11 and she was stuck in a freign country without anyone being able to fly to her. It’s such a tragedy, not sure I can watch that documentary.