I was planning on writing a Four Things post when I was at the beach but then, well, I was at the beach and decided against it!  But, I have some good things to share today.  Having a short memory in order to do scary things, the best thing on television, the bit of mystery involved in great works, and catching up…

what I’m reading

I read several books at the beach, but most of them were to study art or to do research for the current book I’m writing, so I was mostly hunting and pecking, reading pages here and there and taking notes.  On the ride home, though, we listened to the audio book His Majesty’s Airship by SC Gwynne.  While I love novels, I find it hard to beat historical non-fiction and biographies.  In many cases, true life is more interesting, textured, and inspiring than fiction.  I also love learning, so I get to enjoy a story from history while also learning about an era, people, and subjects I don’t know very much about.

Jeff has read several books by SC Gwynne and suggested this one to me.  He told me it was about the Hindenburg, but it’s actually about a lesser-known rigid British airship named R101.  The story of the Hindenburg and other airships are covered in this book, but the heart of the story is about the designing, building, and demise of R101.  This story is another historical example of humans doubling down on proven bad ideas and arrogance overriding common sense.  While the story is ultimately a tragedy, there are admirable qualities highlighted throughout the book like innovation and bravery.

There is one paragrah towards the beginning of the book where Gwynne points out that those involved in the early decades of flight needed to have a short memory.  The quest for humans to go airborne was littered with horrific crashes, death, and failure. The stakes were high.  But, we would never fly if those in the pursuit only looked at the crashes.  In order to fly, they showed incredible bravely, hopefulness, and grit to take to the skies again.

what I’m watching

I really don’t want to watch TV when I’m at the beach.  I much prefer sitting out on the porch looking at the ocean, reading a book, or playing games with extended family while we’re together.  But, at night before I went to sleep, I watched some old seasons of Landscape Artist of the Year once again.  It’s one of my favorite shows and it always makes me want to paint.  If you haven’t seen it, yet, it’s one of the best things on TV.

what I’m loving

“I wish I had a routine for writing.  I get up in the morning and I go out to my studio and I write.  And then I tear it up!  That’s the routine, really.  Then, occasionally, something sticks.  And then I follow that.  The only image I can think of is a man walking around with an iron rod in his hand during a lightning storm.”

These words were said by Arthur Miller, writer of Death of a Salesman and The Crucible.

There are a couple of things I really love about that quote.  First of all, he showed up every day even if the routine was writing simply to rip it up and throw it in the bin.  He believed that the creative practice would pay off and, in the end, it did.  Second, I love knowing that the writer behind great literary works felt that the successes were somewhat of an accident.  He was doing what he needed to do, showing up, holding the iron rod in the air, but he had to wait for the lightning and there was never a guarantee when or if it would strike and connect with that rod.  There is a bit of mystery to how great works are created and even why they end up being considered great works, but the key is to show up and make something.

what I’m working on

Right now, it’s all about catching up.  Catching up with my accountant on tax stuff.  Catching up on my stack of commissioned paintings.  Catching up on the dried remnants of annual plants I should’ve pulled from the garden beds in the early winter.  Catching up on opening mail.  Catching up on communication with clients.  Catching up on the #indexcardartproject.  Even though I brought my index cards to the beach I didn’t paint any of them.  I did completely six 8 x 10 paintings, though, so that was a win!

So, this week is about catching up and next week is about getting back into all of my routines.  Walking, writing, painting, reading, etc…