Now that the light at the end of the tunnel may not be a train, it’s nice to look back and see some of the ways I’ve tried to adapt to the COVID-era lifestyle.
One way of dealing with it, of course, would be having all this time to get more writing done. I have three plays I’ve been trying to edit,and truthfully, I really haven’t done that much. I did do some writing during the Nakai Theatre 24 Hour Playwriting Challenge in November. I did a bit more to put together two residency applications. However, I didn’t get either of those and haven’t spent more than n hour or two above that.
I have always been one of those people who said that, if I had more time, my house would be cleaner. I have discovered that having more time doesn’t help. It’s awful to be retired and still in need of a housekeeper…
Strangely, I could have spent far more time playing music. However, this has been something of the same as house cleaning. For some reason, it’s rather hard to get up the ambition to go downstairs and play as often as I would wish.
So, how have I filled my time? Sadly, I have really spent far too much time sitting in front of the television (or as my father referred to it, the one-eyed monster that sits in your living room and sucks your brain out.) If you need proof, taking a tape measure to my waist would work.
I have still stuck to my Painting of the Day schedule, or at least, as much as possible. I have done 327 of them to this point, and if I do stick with it until March 20th, there will only be 12 days that I’ve missed in the first year. I have enjoyed the hour or so a day that I put towards each, and am willing to admit that I have improved.
I will admit, however, that my painting recently has often involved doing “a painting for a painting’s sake.” I think that, after I hit the one year point, I may back off a bit and work on more selective pieces, and larger pieces. Storing 5×7 paintings, I will also admit, is a lot easier that 11×14 ones. Presently, I have been looking forward a few painting trips this summer and need to pin some of those down soon.
March 21 will mark the first year since I started the painting a day, and it does offer a point to consider. By then, I will be past the 7-14 days after my second vaccine shot to build full immunity and our lives here won’t be as restricted as they were. I am really looking forward to that. On March 15th, I am hoping to go to the bar and actually have a beer, flaunting the most risky situation for catching COVID. To prove my true bravery, I’m going to book a tooth cleaning for about the same time.
So, I’ll end this with a few paintings, and I’ll let you know how that beer tasted in a few weeks.
Doug Rutherford 