That’s how long it will take the Voyager Spacecraft now heading out of our solar system to reach the next star. I have been watching the astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson’s wonderful videos about space and time and was amazed by this fact. Did it make me feel that our typical three score and ten (or 20+) years here on this planet are insignificant? Yes. But contemplating these thoughts recently while on holiday, I concluded that since I cannot do anything to hurry up the space probe, nor can I significantly expand my lifetime, then I will just do more of what I enjoy.  Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama (in their Book of Joy) confirm that brooding about what we cannot change is pointless, so my plan right then was to paint more!,.

I began with a watercolor inspired by my vacation walks on Maui. Starting at the top, I brushed in watery cerulean blue and raw sienna for the sky, bringing it down into the area where the West Maui Mountains would appear. Then using slightly thicker watercolor (a mix of blues, siennas, and sepia), I painted the background ridge, leaving a few white areas for the palm trees.. While the grey mountain was still wet I dropped in blues and perylene green for the distant foliage. The ocean was completed with a streak of cobalt turquoise. I used the thickest paint for the near foliage and figures.

Resolved:  paint more and worry less.

KC

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