Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man

October 30, 2010

Photos by Grier Horner/All Rights Reserved

My friend Julie, in an email this week, said:

"I think these last days of fall are glorious, this last burst of gold from the maligned golden Norway maples , the explosion of color, the last hurrah before death.

Well not to be morbid, but I think it is good to have a last hurrah."

And the burst of gold, the last hurrah, has been truly glorious this year, as if making up for the muted colors we've had in the Berkshires from late September up until a week or so ago.

I took the shot at the top from inside the house as the dropping sun illuminated the trees across the street. A minute or two later the sun was no longer on them.

This is the same maple, shot from underneath, in full sun earlier in the week.

This is the birch tree on the side of the house. Its remaining leaves will be on the grass any day now.

And this is a morning shot looking out the French doors that you see on the left of our house in the photo below.

You can see that the sliding glass door leading to the deck on the right is slightly open. That gives our 18-year-old cat Evalen access to the outside. That's two posts in a row where her name - perhaps misspelled - has appeared. I hope it doesn't go to her pretty little head.

The white canopy in "the pit" is just outside my studio. I paint under the canopy in the summer. I gessoed a panel out there the other day and I think that's probably the last time I'll be able to paint there this year.

In case you needed a reminder, the leaves are going, going, and in some places, as you can see here, gone. I took this from the car on Route 7 in South Williamstown on Thursday. I love the bursts of gold in the woods and in the rearview mirror.

October 28, 2010

Photos and Paintings by Grier Horner/All Rights Reserved

I'm working on two paintings simultaneously, the one on the right and the one in the center. The one on the left looks like it's trying to get a glimpse of what I'm doing.

The woman in the center is Linda Baker-Cimini holding our cat Evalen. I like the idea of going from one to the other. With Linda I've been using oil and oil pastel. With the dying leaves and flowers I've been using dying leaves and flowers from old bouquets and Babbie's garden. This would be Number 3 in the Killing Fields series. Below is a detail of the flower painting.

And this is Number 2 in the Killing Fields collection.

And since I was down in the chaos of my studio, I thought I'd show you one example of how my work is encroaching on my painting space. These stacked paintings are just to the right of the photo at the top of this post.

I was painting outdoors all summer under a canopy behind the studio. But it's been too cold for that lately. The paint wasn't drying. And it was too much like painting in an unheated garret.

The response to my October 26 post, Anatomy of an Art Scam, has been overwhelming. In two days it drew over 735 visits and more than 48,000 hits.

Among the 40 people who commented on email and facebook, two other Berkshire County painters said Gilly, the heroine or villain of my piece, had recently tried the same scam on them, unsuccessfully.

A number of writers told me Gilly's flawed English should have issued a red alert right away. But I had deducted that Gilly had grown up in South Africa speaking Afrikaans, which would account for the language gaps, or so I told myself.  Besides I was flattered and wanted the $2,800.

October 26, 2010

ANATOMY OF AN ART SCAM

The Three Graces, Detail

It began September 23 with this email from Gilly Thobela:

Hi

Hope this message finds you well. I saw these creatives works on your web site and i will like you to
get back with more details if they are still available for purchase.

Three Graces and Hangman ( Number Four ).

I will appreciate an urgent reply.

Best Regards,
Gilly.

In the avalanche of email I get, I overlooked Gilly's communication until September 25, when I sent this reply.

Hi Gilly, Just opened your email. Both the Three Graces and Hangman ( Number Four ) are available.

Let me send you some more photos of them tomorrow.

I will also send more details.

Where are you located. Would love to have you see them if you are anywhere near Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

I'll get back to you tomorrow.

Grier

The Three Graces, Grier Horner, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 60"x 40"

Hangman (Number 4), Grier Horner, 2010, acrylic on panel, 4'x2'

The next day, September 26, Gilly replied:

Hi Grier ,

Thanks so much for your response to my query about those creative works. I will look forward to more details of the two pieces. I will also like to know what inspire you to make the pieces.

Best Regards,
Gilly.

I emailed Gilly the same day

Hi Gilly, Here is a photo of The Three Graces. I've also included close ups which I hope will give you a better idea of the surface and how I painted this piece.

I started it last year after I did a painting of the English flag. That was a painting inspired by a painter who I heard give a talk on feeling free to make mistakes and make a mess as a painter. To approach a painting freely and without preconception.
The result was the painting below, which started as intersecting vertical and horizontal lines and ended up as a Union Jack.

That jarred my interest in flags. I liked the Greek flag, which forms the background in The Three Graces.
So I had one element of a painting, but wanted to put something in the foreground. Since it was Greek it made me think of ancient Greek sculpture and I used the internet to find the one I ended up using. The idea of the boots was to give the painting a 21st century twist. I think they were an outgrowth of my Runway paintings the year before. You can look at those on my website, perhaps you have already.

I hope to do more paintings like The Three Graces.

I would like $2,000 for this painting.

I will send you the information about the Hangman painting in a separate letter.

Yours, Grier

There are places in the painting where I intentionally let the red China marker I used to make the drawing on the canvas show remain, as do a few of the black pencil lines I used to form a grid.

The Three Graces, Details

  That afternoon I followed up with a second email.

Hi Gilly, Here are the photos of Hangman (Number 4). The one on top is lighted the way I like it. The one below I feel is over lighted. I've included a number of detail shots to give you an idea of the painting's surface. It is acrylic on a panel. I did a group of the Hangman paintings earlier this year, thinking I would like to do a number of variations on the same basic idea. At first I thought of the black figure in the painting as a cross with one arm partially cut off. Then I started thinking of it instead as a gallows.

I use glossy acrylics - both artist's acrylics and acrylic house paint. I got the idea from the way Jackson Pollack used house paints in his drip paintings.

I am asking $800 for this painting.

I would be happy to answer any remaining questions. Grier

Details from Hangman (Number 4)

The next day, September 27, Gilly replied.

Hi Grier ,

Good to hear back from you. Yes,i will like to proceed with the purchase of both works. I think they are lovely works and i hope to give them good home.

I am presently away in London for my twin sister's wedding even though it comes at a time when i was preparing for a big move and also expecting a baby but it means so much to her. I should be back in few days.

Meanwhile,i will like you to forward your mailing address and phone number so i can inform my husband still shutling between our home in New Jersey and Jo'burg, SA on where to forward the payment . He has just been transfer to head the IT section of their head Office in Jo'burg.

I can also forward your contact info to the local cartage company that will be moving all our house decors so they can get in touch with you to arrange shipping details. They can arrange FedEx pick up of the artworks from your studio.

I will look forward to hearing from you so i can know how best to proceed. Cheers.

Best Regards,
Gilly.

I was almost giddy. I sold three paintings this year, but they were small and to a friend so the price was low. Now I'd be getting $2,800. And I liked this spunky woman who amid all the chaos in her life was game to go to London for her twin's wedding. I emailed her the next day, September 27, and said:

Hi Gilly, I'm so happy that you like them and will give them a good home. They are two of my favorites.

My address and phone:

Grier Horner
84 East Acres Road
Pittsfield, MA 01201

413 442-1879

How long will you be back in New Jersey before you move to South Africa? If you had the time, I would enjoy talking with you on the phone. Meanwhile, I hope you're having a great time at your sister's wedding.

With the promotion and the move it sounds like a very exciting time in your lives.

Yours, Grier

P.S. How did you find my website?

Then 10 days went by without hearing from her. I figured she had changed her mind, but still held out hope. Then on October 8 Gilly emailed.

Hi ,

Hope this message finds you well. I am very sorry that i have been unable to get in touch with you for few days now. I was hospitalised in London immediately after my twin sister's wedding. I almost had miscarriage but thank God, i am now feeling better and can't wait to have my baby and settle down.

I am not sure if my husband has been able to forward the payment to your address. I will check with him and get back to you later today or tomorrow morning. Anyway, i have forwarded your contact info to the Moving agency that will be handling the shipment of all our house decors. They promise to get in touch with you today. Try and arrange the shipping details with them. I will also like an update from you as soon as you hear from the movers.

I will look forward to hearing from you soon as you receive this email so i can be sure we are on the same page. Thanks for your patient.

Best Regards,
Gilly.

My heart went out to her and I replied to her email as soon as I saw it.

Hi Gilly, I'm sorry about your close call with the baby. One of my sons and his wife are expecting twins and because they are in their 40s they've been on pins and needles, but things are going well.

I will put hanging wires on both paintings today and will see what the movers want me to do about packing and shipping.

I feel like I'm getting to know you through the emails and I think you are going to like these paintings very much.

I will write again after hearing from the movers.

My best, Grier

I wrote her again October 9.

Hi, I didn't hear from the trucker but expect I will on Monday. Grier

Tuesday October 12 I heard from the trucker.

Hi,

I have received communication from Mrs.Gilly Thobela that we should work with you to ship some artworks with her other house decors to her new house in Johannesburg, SA when you two are through with the transaction,as she advise.


I will like you to get back with the kind and nature of the things she want to ship.I will like to have your studio address ,so i can make arrangement with any nearby Agent that will be coming for the pick up once you and Mrs.Thobela are through with the transactions. Thanks.

I will appreciate your earlier reply .


Regards,
David Marley.

COMPASS WORLDWIDE LOGISTICS LTD
B12, THE BUSINESS CENTRE
CARDIFF HOUSE
CARDIFF ROAD
VALE OF GLAMORGAN
CF93 2AW
T: 0870 863 9866
F: 0870 863 9867
E: compasslogistics@yahoo.com

Babbie, my wife, said  this letter seemed unprofessional with its broken English and "Hi" greeting. But I looked up the firm, Compass Worldwide Logistics Ltd, and it has a website. The company is located in Ireland. I told Babbie I thought the guy was probably from South Africa or someplace else and that his command of English wasn't great.

Any concerns we had ended when Gilly emailed the next day.

Hi ,

Hope this message finds you well. Thanks so much for your concern and patient regarding the transaction. It has been a very difficult time with alot of things on the plate.

Anyway , i will like to inform you that the payment was sent to you by my husband yesterady via Royalmail and he was advise that you will receive it before the week runs out, so try and be on the look out for it.

Meanwhile,i will like you to have our both addresses ,you can add it in your mailing list. I will like to hear about your future works and art shows. Our address in the states is...

743 Passaic Ave
Clifton, NJ 07012

While our new address in SA is....

12 Dennis Street
Nelson Mandela SQUARE,
Joannesburg,
4005 JB,South Africa.

Try and acknowledge this email so i can be sure we are on the same page. Cheers.

Best Regards,
Gilly.

I responded:

Hi Gilly, Thanks for your note. I know you have a lot on your plate.

I wrote the mover (carter) and gave him the size of the paintings.

I will keep an eye out for the check. I take it that it is coming from Joannesburg. It is very exciting to have two of my paintings going to South Africa. Another buyer, who also bought two, hopes to move permanently to Ireland, where she is now working.

Have to rush now.

My address is 84 East Acres Road, Pittsfield, MA 01201

I'm glad we will stay in touch. I will include you in any mailings about shows, etc. I have a bust of Sol LeWitt that I think is going to be shown this winter at MASS MoCA, the big contemporary art museum not far from our home. A three story section of that museum is dedicated to his work.

Yours, Grier

Sol LeWitt by Grier Horner, 2010

That evening I thought of the manners my mother tried to instill and sent this note:

I think I forgot to thank you for sending the payment, Grier

October 14 she replied .

Don't mention. Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks.

Gilly.

October 16 she made this inquiry:

Any news of the payment ? Try and get back as soon as possible. Thanks.

Gilly

I replied.

It hasn't arrived yet. But it may be in the mail we get about 4 this afternoon. I'll let you know either way.

Grier

A little after 3 p.m. I walked down to the mailbox. The envelope was there.

I was elated. That is until I opened it.

As you can see, it was for $5,500. The sale was for $2,800. I finally saw the light. As soon as I contacted her, I knew she would say her husband had made a mistake and ask me to deposit the check and simply send her the $2,700 overpayment. And she would be counting on me sending it before her phony check cleared.

My spirits sagged. Really sagged. Hey, Gilly, I liked you. You were bold and adventurous - and had good taste in art. I was happy that my paintings were going to South Africa. Now I find out its all a scam.

I also went to the internet and found that the pregnant-in-London-for-twin's-wedding pitch was one you had used on other artists. And you, or someone you copied, sent a lot of these emails out under other names.

I emailed Gilly:

Gilly, I've received the check. It is made out for an incorrect amount. Grier

Gilly got back to me the same day, October 16, and even though I hadn't said whether the check was for too little or too much, she knew the check was an overpayment.

Hi Grier ,

Good to hear you have received payment for the paintings. Thanks for your update. I am very excited and can't wait to have them on my wall. I hope to give them a very good home and enjoy the pieces for years.

Regarding the payment, Jeff Overpay you because he didn't have full details of the transaction since i was sick when he sent it.

Therefore,i will like you to get the ball rolling, I will like you to go ahead and cash the payment , you can then remove the asking price for Three Graces and Hangman ( Number Four ) and forward the difference back to him.

Meanwhile , i was able to get in touch with the movers today and i was informed they are presently on shipping tour and will like to come for the pick up as soon as possible. Try and make shipping arrangement with them and keep me posted with updates. Thanks.

Best Regards,
Gilly.

Gilly, whose English had gotten worse in that last note, emailed again the next day.

Did you get my email yesterday ? Try and get back asap. Thanks.

Gilly.

I didn't respond.

If you are interested in seeing more examples of this cash-back scam, go to http://artmarketingsecrets.com/2010/01/international-art-scammers-want-you.html. There I found about 20 instances from February through May where Linda Coey and then Tracy Coey had used the same twin-in-London scam. Gilly is carrying the banner these days, apparently. Probably they are all the same person.

Gilly's name comes up specifically on another site: http://re-title.typepad.com.

Out of curiosity I took Gilly's check to my bank, Greylock Federal Credit Union, and it was identified as a fake through an employee who was interested in the case.

So look out for Gilly or whoever is pregnant and attending her twin's wedding in London. I should have seen through her scheme faster. But at least I didn't send her the money. Who knows how many have?

Today I'm sending Gilly an email, suggesting she read this post. I bet she'd get a kick out of it.

This is her reply:

Got your email. It didn't comes out well..........You should have ask me before writing about it on your blog. I could have give you something more..........

GT.

October 20, 2010

Photo by Eric Bonman , originally published in Vogue

This isn't Pat Steir being splashed by a waterfall. This is Pat Steir painting one. She drips paint, throws paint and you can see why she's become a fixture on the contemporary art scene.

Won't you join me for a flight over to Paris to see her current show at the Galerie Jaeger Bucher. The

Concord's still winging over the Atlantic, isn't it? No? You'll cover my fare, won't you?

I love her stuff but I've never seen the real McCoy.

We'll see the one above. We'll see the two below, which are shown in the gallery in this shot from it's website. We'll eat at some great restaurants and stay at a nice hotel. Maybe we'll visit Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemmingway.

This one was at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati this summer. She painted right on the walls of a large gallery.

We won't see the artist herself unless we're exceptionally lucky.

I feel an affinity to Steir, who was born in Newark in 1940, because I have do drip paintings as well. And while I didn't recognize it at the time, her work was probably an influence on my Jeanne d'Arc series from 2008. Here's one:

On the gallery's website she says she wants the viewer "to be truly inside of the painting and not simply to look at it...That's why my pictures are so big...you could build a house out of them.

In a 2003 interview in Bomb, she said:

"I think Beauty evokes a desire to hold on to the moment. When you realize you cannot stop a moment, you understand that it will pass, and that you also will pass. You will die. That’s why people cry at weddings more than at funerals."

And before we go, here's another Steir, dark and sinister and 96 inches square. And Babbie says I paint too big.

Listen, while we're in Paris why don't we drop into the first show at the new Gagosian Gallery. Cy Twombly, another of my favorite artists, is on deck. He's even older than I am. Here's one of the exhibit's paintings, all 217 inches of it.

October 18, 2010

Photos by Grier Horner/All Rights Reserved

This post brings together some of my favorite things - the sky, the lake, the granddaughter.

Sunshafts arrowed through the clouds at the southern end of Pontoosuc Lake yesterday afternoon.

The foliage this year is subdued. It instills a sense of melancholy instead of glory.

As I was walking along the lake, the sky darkened dramatically. The sun had been playing hide and seek all afternoon. Behind the clouds it ignited dramatic plays of light and dark.

By the time I reached the south end of the lake, the dark cloud had slid to the east and the sky turned blue again. 

October 17 is famous in our family for one thing. It is Riley's birthday. She is now 11.

October 16, 2010

Full Moon  by Grier Horner, 2010

We wrapped this painting, Full Moon, and two others in several layers of bubble wrap yesterday afternoon. Then my son Eric and I built a box out of 1/2 inch Foamcore and I drove it down to FedEx to ship to Mississippi.

Eric with the box we made to ship the paintings.

There they will be included in a show being organized by my friend Jerry O'Connell who has boosted my work since seeing my Scarlet Letter exhibit at the Lenox Library several years ago.

They were sent to Linda Burke in Picayune, Mississippi - remember how we loved to spell that state at top speed when we were kids?

Marion Cotillard by Grier Horner 2008

The others in the box are this painting I did of Marion Cotillard, the French actress, and the one below, called Celtic Cross. The photo in it is one I took of Linda Baker-Cimini when I did a lot of paintings of her.

Celtic Cross by Grier Horner

October 14, 2010

Dirt Road Dogs by Tom Chambers

I drove Sol LeWitt to Brooklyn Wednesday (see my October 12 post). I deposited him in the office of Cabinet magazine. I had to hunt to find it. I finally parked several blocks away and carried Sol over. Then I had to hunt to find my car.

I tried to retrace my steps. But failed. So I walked for blocks, making turns, looking for landmarks. Taking a different directions. I could not find it.

Starting over from Cabinet I charted a new course. Things began looking familiar. There was the old tandem bike hanging over a storefront. There was the scaffolding company. And then there was my car.

What a relief that was. I hate being lost.

So why's this photomontage, the wild and wonderful Dirt Road Dogs by Tom Chambers, heading this column. Let me give you another of his photos and then I'll tell you.

Prom Gown 3 by Tom Chambers

From places on Interstate 287 in New York you can see miles-long stretches of the New York skyline. The view is close up and spectacular.

I unholstered my trusty Coolpix to fire through the Prius' window, depressed the on button - and nothing happened. I tried several times. Nothing. Then it came back to me. I had pulled the battery out the night before to charge it. And I hadn't put it back in the camera.

Damn it. And then I damned the forgotten battery when I was driving home in the evening and the sky was magnificent. But I have nothing to show for it. So as a peace offering I'm showing you these haunting works of Chambers'.

Winged Migrationi by Tom Chambers

Tom Chambers works in photomontage, the process of combining pictures to create a new image. He utilizes Photo Shop software to do it.

He ends up with some pretty dreamy, imaginative, sometimes scary stuff. They have a painterly quality. And they are arresting.

If you want to see more of his work click here.

Marwari Stallion 1 by Tom Chambers

October 12, 2010

Photos by Grier Horner/All Rights Reserved

Sol LeWitt is finished, tucked into a black and orange box, and ready to be driven to Brooklyn. He'll be part of a display this winter at MASS MoCA or at the offices of Cabinet magazine in Brooklyn.

When I told my granddaughter Riley on Friday that I thought it would look more like the artist if he had a pair of horn-rimmed glasses - the cheap kind for reading.

"I know where we can get them," Riley said. So we headed off to TJ Maxx. She showed me where they were and we picked out a pair.

During his lifetime - he died at 79 in 2007 - LeWitt was known for exchanging work with other artists, amateur and professional.

"For LeWitt, the act of exchange seemed to be not only a personal gesture, but also an integral part of his conceptual practice," according to the call for submissions to An Exchange with Sol LeWitt.

"In addition to encouraging the circulation of artworks through a gift economy that challenged the art world's dominant economic model, LeWitt's exchanges with strangers have the same qualities of generosity, and risk, that characterized his work in general."

The idea of the event is to symbolically continue the exchange of work and ideas with the artist.

In my October 6 post I showed photos of my piece to illustrate how the self-hardening clay had cracked as it dried. Since then I have patched cracks in a few places in hopes of saving large sections of Sol from falling off.

I finished painting the sculpture's base black and orange yesterday. I left some of the armature wires exposed. I had accidentally broken off a section of his left ear, making Sol look like he'd been in a fight with Mike Tyson. So I glued the chunk of ear back on.

Now it's ready to drive to Brooklyn. I hope it survives the ride.

October 10, 2010

Photos by Grier Horner/All Rights Reserved

I went on an outdoor-art tour in downtown Pittsfield yesterday. There were 12 or 15 of us lead by Craig Langlois, a Berkshire Museum staffer and sculptor.

What follows is some of what we saw on - and off - the tour.

The mirrored house above is June Ahrens Our Shrinking World, in the gardens in front of the Berkshire Museum. Dazzling in its beauty and simplicity, this was my favorite piece.

Here's Craig who brought the works, and the ideas behind them, to life. He is using his hands as he talks about Lydia Musco's       A Story of Solitude near St. Joseph's church.

Above Craig walks about this undulating steel piece in Park Square. It is Untitled (wave forms) by Bernard Klevickas. If I understood him correctly, Craig said that waves pass through solid objects, although incredibly slowly, and this work was inspired by that fact. (A fact that I have probably converted through misunderstanding to fiction.)

Below a girl on the tour loosened her grip on her stuffed pet as she contemplated the piece. Craig said he would love to see it in a much larger scale so kids could play on it.

This is a piece I don't like. But I liked it better when the girl pointed out that it looks like the letter C. By Mike Hansel it is titled Inflatable Solid.

A pumpkin grins out over Park Square from the building housing Haddad's rugs.

After snapping this shot yesterday, I thought that if I had heavy financial backing I would propose a sculpture to Artscape that would consist of this brilliant red and chrome tractor with a single blue SUV on top. At Park Square it would be site appropriate.

Up North Street is this mysterious lady with raven hair and a black gown, a work of public art in its own right.

So was St. Joseph's Church, brilliant in the golden October light.

I was struck by this scene at the corner of North and Maplewood. A well dressed older woman with a green walker and the man with his electric powered chair were refusing to be benched by age or fate.

This pagoda-like piece is at the same intersection. It was done by - oh boy, I just realized I can't remember who did this double chair designed for prim courting. Below is an inscription on the sculpture.

The large blue ceramic head above is in the window of the Ferrin Gallery. And the colorful mural below is at the Boys and Girls Club on Melville Street. It was designed by William Blake of Great Barrington and painted by Blake and others.

In my eyes this young woman's hair was another thing of beauty on a lovely Pittsfield afternoon.

October 8, 2010

What I'm showing you here are photos I took from one of my favorite videos as it was playing on the computer screen. Called High-Flying-Fashion it's a behind-the-scenes look at a New York Times Magazine fashion shoot in Paris in 2007.

The video ran on the Times' website  and if you hit this link you can watch the real thing. Made by Ari Marcopoulos it is colorful and high spirited.

P.S. The kid tried the jump again and made it.

October 6, 2010

Photographs by Grier Horner/All Rights Reserved

Sol LeWitt has cracked. He's the first full head I've made of self-hardening clay. Apparently the problem with this kind of clay is it can crack as it dries, especially if the outside cures faster than the inside. Which I think was the case here because I hadn't left ventilation to the hollow interior.

At first this was a cause for concern because it was made to go into a show and the deadline to get it to Brooklyn is October 16.

This crack is so deep that you can see some of the wire mesh that covers the aluminum wire forming the armature.

Originally my plan was to paint the head white and then paint intersecting lines on it connecting one feature to another. For instance there would be one from the corner of the eye to the earlobe, another from the earlobe to the corner of the mouth, one from the mouth to the temple, etc.

The idea was that this would illustrate what was going on in his head when he conceived the following wall painting at MASS MoCA. This is a detail of the work that covers one long wall.

But that would create a conflict between the straight lines and the jagged cracked lines.

I asked two men in the art world if they knew the best way to fix the cracks. Both said they considered the cracks a happy accident and would leave them.

So I'm going to leave it unpainted and let the cracks show.

Now I just hope Sol doesn't collapse. Or that people don't interpret the work as a comment on LeWitt's mental state.

October 4, 2010

Photos by Grier Horner/All Rights Reserved

Long shadows were cast by the late afternoon sun as it shown through the tall pines along the channel at Pontoosuc Lake Saturday.

Not far away the deepening of the yellow on this sign along North Street, which runs along the lake, seemed to signal the change of season.

There was a deeper blue to the water and these leaves have already changed color, although many trees are still green. These are Williams College boats. I've had a racing dingy like these upside down in the backyard low these many years.

On fall days like this the light is different. It has a clarity, a hint of amber, of gold.

I was sorry to see that this birch which has stood as a barren landmark along the channel for years had succumbed to the wind.

At my age, 75, when the seasons change, you can't help wondering how many summers are left, how many autumns. Being in the end game isn't something I dwell on. It isn't frightening. But it's there.

October 2, 2010

Photos by Grier Horner/All Rights Reserved

Night watch. That's the headline that came to me as I was plugging these photos into this page. Late night is when I write this thing every other day. So it seemed appropriate to shot these photos in the house last night.

This is our hibiscus, a plant we bought in North Adams a long time ago. I would guess 45 years ago. It's still blossoming.

Here's the light on the front porch.

A photo of Linda Baker-Cimini is in this painting I did recently.

My mother loved amethyst. Which is why she bought this lamp that is perched on the desk by the stairs.

Awaiting my attention are the dishes from supper.

We had baked salmon slathered with mustard before it was buried under mashed potatoes and baked in the oven. That, dear reader, was good.