SLEEPLESS IN FOSTERVILLE

          It's that kind of night; the kind of night that sleep is as illusive as a virgin in a shiek's harem.  And it was dark outside; darker than a murderer's soul, as I cautiously made my way from the house to the studio with a steaming hot mug of goldenrod tea in my hand and fumbled with the lock - talk about easy prey for a black bear on a black night.  It's quiet here on Golden Unicorn Farm, quieter than a corpse in a mausoleum; I not only can hear my heart beat; I can hear my eyes blink.
          While I was lying in bed listening to Sarah snoring louder than a military marching band on parade, my mind drifted aimlessly searching for the world of dreams; night time enchantments whirling through my head like the visions inside a broken kalaidoscope - none of the pieces matching - no harmony for this tired old man.  Thoughts were riccocheting off the walls of my mind as rapidly as the ball in a raquet ball game that never ends - just goes on and on - so to break the spell, I left the warm comfort of the bed.
          Sitting here in my art studio, wondering what to write about that won't put any of my readers to sleep, I'm pondering my immediate situation and some of the choices I've made in my life, which have brought me down the road to Fosterville, NB of all places.  As I look at the paintings hanging in my studio, some of them depict a different time in my life.  For instance, one of the paintings on the wall just to the right and above me is a watercolor I painted of my sailboat Dreamer II that I lived aboard for 25-30 years - a reality for me and a dream many men wish for.  Dreamer is peacefully anchored in Desolation Sound and as I recall, it was one of the rare times in my life when I was at peace with myself.  Beside Dreamer II is a pen and ink watercolour sketch of Dove III at Cape Lisburne, Alaska, another sailboat I lived on for 7 and 1/2 months while two friends and I sailed through the Northwest Passage in a single season - although not so peaceful - it proved to be a voyage of a lifetime.  I loved the sea and living on a sailboat - not so much because it was a romantic fantasy but because it allowed me to have freedom - not marching to the same beat, which so many others follow - not really a rebel, more like a society castaway.  On the other side of Dreamer is a small portrait, a pen and ink sketch coloured with pencil crayons, which depicts an actress lover I had for a short time - now there was a dreamer - she was amazing in so many ways!  (I guess living on a sailboat does have some romance after all.)  Just to the left of me is another piece, which is a combined effort of me and my daughter Brandi when she was just a little girl,  She is a lot like me; kind of a chip off the old block so to speak.  The piece is a painted portrait of her (by me) worked in with a colourful collage of her artwork and a very short essay.  The words she wrote are as follows:
          "I go to school on Mon. and Tus. and Wed. and Thur. and Fri.  But sometime I talk too much and I get sent out in the hall and about 5 minits later and the teacher will come and try to talk some sense into me.  And sometime I lison to her sometime I do not!  The End"

My Daughter Brandi When She was Just a Little Girl

(If anyone reading this blog is interested in having a portrait painted of one of their children with their artwork, please contact me via email for a price.  Also, check out my E-Gallery by clicking on the link near the top of the Blog.  The portrait makes a great keepsake and one they will cherish forever!

          The last painting hanging on the wall is of a mermaid, which is a characterization of my wife Sarah as a big bare-bosom mermaid toying with the captain of a ship on her leash - will she lead him to safety or fling him into the rocks of despair - time will only tell.
          It's beginning to get light out; I can see the dark silouette of the ridge against the grey cloudy sky and since my eyelids are becoming rather heavy; the bed is calling my name, I'm off to catch a few zzzzzzzz's.