watercolor, Riverside Park, Beloit, painted 2008
It has been an interesting week, full of ups and downs. The weather has been inspiring, cool and right, the air scented with lilac and lily of the valley. One night we used some free tickets I won by participating in our local Big Read event, a concert at UW Whitewater by a Chicago group called Sones de Mexico. We had no idea what to expect, but were delighted by the combination of Mexican folk music, pop, and even classical music interpreted with a Latin flavor. I also enjoyed a group excursion of our local art league to Chicago to the Art Institute to see the current Matisse exhibit. We soaked up the art, strolled in Millenium Park, and caught some excellent Italian food at Paisanos on Madison street.
But it wasn't all good. The saddest part of the week was when I learned that the woman who led our local Tuesday painting group for many years, who was talented, kind and generous, lost her life to lung cancer. Marilyn Keating was a woman who had shared her talents and upbeat personality with our entire community. She and two other friends started a communal studio where they taught classes, and offered workshops by many other fine artists as well. Our group will miss her tremendously. I was also disappointed to learn that I was not selected to submit a plan for a local women's history mural, a project in which I was very interested. I am consoling myself by remembering that the project would have consumed much of the upcoming summer, and now I will have time for other pursuits - like a life painting class I signed up to do in Madison, and a watercolor/collage class up in Door County in June.
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