Artwerks by Donna » nature

SAD

Donna — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 01:23:13 +0000

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There is no question. With or without an official medical diagnosis, it’s certain that I am afflicted with SAD (seasonal affective disorder). It happens every year. I like winter to an extent, but after a couple of months of it, I’ve had enough…3 months and I’m bordering on severe depression and utter insanity.

Beginning in November, I start feeling unusually lazy and unmotivated. I can’t get going in the mornings and I plop down on the sofa like a slug at the end of a workday and gaze blankly at the TV as though in a coma. I don’t want to go anywhere, don’t want to do anything, don’t want to see anyone. If life did not necessitate full-time employment, I would happily drift into a full-fledged state of winter hibernation until this dreary season was passed.

Here in the south, we are not even graced with any of the normal perks of winter, such as pretty snow. Frozen precipitation here is more often just sloppy sleet and freezing rain, which too often results in DAYS (sometimes WEEKS) without power (aka Internet and TV…EGADS!). Even in those rare events when we actual DO see white stuff, we’re expected to risk life and limb to show up on the job regardless, so we don’t get to ENJOY it while it’s here…which is rarely more than 1 day at best.

Painting, drawing, even writing…creative inspiration and endeavors…it’s the ONE thing, the ONLY thing, I want to do during this miserably depressing season. I would be delighted to hold up in a cave and just paint the winter away, if not for the unreasonable demands of responsible living and friends who just do not understand the typical inclinations of a hermit afflicted with SAD.

I had important things to do today. I SHOULD have ridden at least one horse while the weather is not miserably cold. Instead, I fed them and considered my responsibilities met in full. I should have taken my dogs to the vet for their allergy shots. I overslept instead. I should have gone to pick up a print job that’s going to cost me God knows what. Instead, I started a painting. I’m not finished with it yet. I’m never really finished with anything, which is one reason I love digital media…it’s always available to revisit and improve upon, or even completely rework. If only LIFE were so easy to revist and improve upon…even rework entirely…

Tree Stand in Color

Donna — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:01:48 +0000

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One year, the grandkids and I took a drive to the mountains to celebrate Kendall’s birthday. After an adventure at Chimney Rock state park, we drove toward Asheville, then hit the Blue Ridge Parkway for the drive home. It was the first time I had driven on mountain roads and I had not yet learned the usefulness of 2nd gear in my new compact car, so we had to stop several times after some steep declines to let my brakes cool off. This gorgeous stand of trees was located at a picnic area on the side of the road.

I suppose the composition of this shot is nothing spectacular, but nature’s blazing array of color certain was. Not much I could really add to that.

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Yellow Butterfly

Donna — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:29:36 +0000

I took this shot late one summer season when I had discovered I could get pretty good macro shots with my old Sony Cybershot DSC-F717. There was a fluttering of winged visitors at my paltry stand of sunflowers that I had grown from seeds Wilma had given me. I took loads of shots…the butterflies were far more interested in the flowers than with me, which worked in my favor. What DIDN’T work in my favor was a tendency that still haunts my shooting expeditions to this day. I see something that excites me, and in my excitement to get the shot, I forget all the technical details of getting a good shot, like exposures, shooting modes, focus, etc., not to mention an unsteady shooting hand. I did manage to get a few good shots that day though, in spite of myself…this was one.

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Green Beetle

Donna — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:28:52 +0000

There was very little to be done to this photo, other than some of the most common minor adjustments. This beetle pulled off this breathtaking image all by himself, and honestly, this photo does not do his beauty justice. I had planted some fragrant lilies around the base of one of our pecan trees in the backyard and had headed out to get some shots of the blooms after another of those summer rains. I found this little fellow enjoying my new fragrant blooms too, and thought his deep, iridescent emerald coloring would make great contrast on the white bloom. The beetle was between 1-1.5″ long and was as striking as any glittering jewel I’ve ever seen in a jewelry store.

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Strip Tease

Donna — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:31:54 +0000

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This image is one of my favorites…not only the image, but also the story behind it. When I first set up my bird feeders, I found myself constantly battling marauding squirrels determined to steal my expensive bird feed. So I bought a baffle…which worked pretty well I thought, until I spotted a particularly determined squirrel who looked unnervingly as though he might figure out how to baffle the baffle. Just to be on the safe side, I thought I would incorporate a backup system…I sprayed the pole with PAM cooking spray. The ensuing show was HILARIOUS. I must confess, I’ve rarely seen the determination displayed by those darn squirrels…if they had no natural predators, they could rule the world with that kind of tenacity. This crazy varmint would get halfway up the pole and then sliiiiiiide slowly back toward the ground with this “baffled” expression on his face (no pun intended). I got a shot of this fellow on one of his trips back down the pole.

Why the title ‘Strip Tease?’ You know, strippers, poles? Not that I would know anything about that sort of thing…

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