Things that Go Bump in the Night

"Le Mauvais Pas"
Woodblock Print
Felix Vallotton, 2893

Halloween is just around the corner, and everywhere I look there are pumpkins, skeletons, ghosts and other indicia of the holiday. I started a bit of research about Halloween for this post, but quickly despaired, because of the vast number of theories about the real origins of Halloween. 

Many of the theories are conflicting. Let's just say that it's a centuries old tradition, which some say dates from the Celts over 2000 years ago. The Celts believed that on the night before November 1 (the start of their new year), the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. 

"Black Cat"
Watercolor
(c) Beverly Brown

Most would agree that the holiday we know today has roots that are both pagan and sacred.   Halloween falls on the night before All Saint's Day--a day recognized by the Roman Catholic Church in 609 A.D. to honor those who have died and gone to heaven. According to

Driveritis

"Sloop Chapel"
12 x 8, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2017

Are you familiar with the ailment "driver-itis"? It's a very common affliction among plein air painters. It is characterized by an incessant driving around, looking for the perfect spot to paint. If you have a severe case of driver-itis, you might drive for hours, constantly thinking the the "right" spot is just around the corner. In the end, you don't get any painting done, and you spend the whole day in your car.

You may think this is funny, but it's true! I recently traveled to the North Carolina mountains to participate in a Paint Out to benefit The Crossnore School & Children's Home. Unlike some of the painters, I do not have a home in the mountains, and I am not very familiar with

Necessity is the Mother....

My Setup in the Luxembourg Gardens

We all know the saying that "Necessity is the mother of invention." I have always loved this saying. It's a testament to human imagination and to the things we can concoct when there's a pressing need. Do you remember Apollo 13? After the spaceship was crippled by an explosion, the NASA crew and astronauts figured out how to use a mish-mash of random  materials to hook up a carbon dioxide removal system. Amazing!

I would not dare compare my efforts to those of the astronauts. But I recently did some improvising of my own, which allowed me to paint on a trip to Paris. I had promised my husband that this trip would be VACATION--no painting! But after ten days of withdrawal