When it rains, it POURS

Every once and a while, nature reminds us to be humble. After months of little or no rain, a thunderstorm hit Joshua Tree upside the head. Last Tuesday, at around 3 pm or so, rain began to fall in our neighborhood. I was so excited, I ran outside and ran around the house several times, just to feel the drops hit my skin. I couldn't contain my excitement. The rain began to come down harder. Thunder and lightening. Terrified dog. Hail. Louder thunder and lightening. More rain. Hail. The backyard begins to look like a small creek. Then a river. Wind picks up. Now, my elation is turning into something else. The road in front of the house also looks like a river. More rain. Thunder is now loud enough that I jump each time. A loud >CRACK< and a bright, white light. (We think this may have been lightening hitting the house.) More rain. More hail.

Finally, after about an hour, the rain did stop. We were lucky. No water or mud came into our house or garage. No one was hurt. We ended up without internet for a few days, but for the most part, we were unscathed. Others were not so lucky. One man was killed after his car became stuck in the mud and a wall of water came down and rolled his car over several times. Many of our neighbors have mud in their garages and one house had a car buried in mud up past the hubcaps. Our road is washed out in several places. I have never seen anything like it. Ever.

I am a little tired of shoveling dirt and mud. We had to repair part of our driveway and remove mud from the sidewalk around our house. I am also trying to locate a sprinkler head that was beneath one of our trees. I still haven't found it. Trails that were once familiar paths where we walk Pono are now remodeled by the water and nearly unrecognizable. A reminder of the power of water.

Work in the studio has been interrupted somewhat by the storm frenzy and by husband coming home after being away. Nevertheless, I am gearing up for the Hwy 62 Art Tours October 25th & 26th and November 1st and 2nd. I have framed half a dozen small jackrabbit drawings and I am getting things wired for hanging, photographed and hung on the wall!!! Very exciting! If you haven't been to the desert for the Art Tours yet, I highly recommend it. You have a chance to see the studios of many area artists during the best time of the year (weather- wise). I will try to put in a word with the BIG GUY for no big thunderstorms during this event. ;) For more information about the Art Tours, click here.

I'm going to try to have some of these drawings available for sale online soon. I'll keep you updated!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!!

Jackrabbit Dreaming

I had a dream last night that I was caring for a baby jackrabbit. That baby was about as cute as anything you can imagine, but BOY was it wiggly. It was hopping all over the place. In my dream, I had to take it somewhere (the vet or something like that ?) and I had a really hard time catching it. It fit in the palm of my hand. (Sweetest thing!) I woke up from this dream with a warm, snugly feeling. So fun! No one really knows where dreams come from, even if they say they know. I suspect that this dream came from a person I follow on Instagram (bunnymama) who has two pet rabbits. The only photos she posts are over-the-top cute photos of her rabbits. I am sure my obsession with jackrabbits probably came into play, as well. There is also this blog post about a woman who fostered a baby jackrabbit for ten days. I found it about 2 years ago when someone asked if I had any photos of a baby jackrabbit. (Highly recommend you click that link.)

You see, when you paint as many jackrabbits as I have painted, they start to inhabit a large portion of your brain. People tell you stories about jackrabbits. For example: A local woman at my last open studio told me that when her children were young, they had raised a jackrabbit. The part of her story that stuck in my head was that the vet (or someone of certain authority) had told them to be cautious when picking the jackrabbit up, because their hind legs are so strong they can damage themselves. Well, one of her kids picked up the jackrabbit and its hind leg caught a giant ear and tore it. The jackrabbit had a torn ear, just like the one I have painted a number of times. I wonder, did my torn ear jackrabbit tear its own ear? We are left only to wonder about these things when we see a wild animal with an injury like that.

"Torn Ear Jack." Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 inches. (sold) ©2012 Karine Swenson

In other news, I have returned to the studio FINALLY after some health setbacks and other things. Photos of new work are forthcoming. Here's one, just to wet your whistle.

"Leading Article." (desert tortoise.) Collage, acrylic and oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches. ©Karine Swenson

Have you had any great dreams lately?

p.s. If you are on Instagram, you can follow me @karineswenson. I've been posting new paintings there first!

Hot day help

We can learn a lot by observing nature. Today's lesson is about how to survive in the desert on sweltering summer days.
1. Find a shady spot near water.

2. Drink a lot of that water.

3. Dig down to the cooler earth and stretch out.

4. Get as low as possible and try not to move.

5. And no matter what, don't let the heat turn you into an a**.

Happy August, my lovelies, from the jackrabbits, the cottontails, a roadrunner and myself!

Breakfast

Jackrabbits will eat anything, now that August has arrived. 

Overrun

My brain is clearly overrun with jackrabbits at the moment.  Here's another from my art journal.  Sitting Jack is acrylic, gesso and charcoal on paper, 12 x 9 inches.  He looks rather suspicious, doesn't he?  Did he just eat one of my plants? 

They are forecasting rain for tomorrow.   I don't want to get my hopes up, but I would LOVE seeing rain!  Tomorrow, my students are coming for a class on watercolor.  I am considering the possibility of adding one more class in the fall.  One thing about teaching other people to draw, it makes me draw more.  (I feel like I need to practice what I preach - "draw every day!")

Happy Monday, my darling readers.  I'm crazy about you, you know.