I enjoy trout. They are never disappointing company. They like the things I like–clear mountain streams, swift moving water, wildness.    Harry Middleton

A bewitching evening of pumpkin carving!

I have been living and breathing van Gogh all summer long and I still enjoy painting his work.

You hike a path of yellow petals. What you see is a palette of gold, yellow and red hues.  What you hear is the “quakees” in symphony with the spruce and pine forest and what you smell is the medley.  It is Oz.  It is Aspen, CO in September.  It is the one year anniversary of my blog (I thank my readers) and my birthday (I set new goals).  My blessings to all.

Though the land crab is mostly terrestrial,  they do rely on the ocean for part of their early life cycle. Spawning occurs from June–November or when the spring rains begin. Once the eggs are fertilized, the crabs migrate to the coast, sometimes up to 3 miles, to deposit their eggs in the ocean. Migrating crabs must avoid natural predators and automobiles as they cross roadways. If you live in a coastal community, you cannot miss them. They are one of the funkier sightings when you live by the beach.

During a full moon, these large burrowing crabs return to the ocean to deposit their eggs. The egg-bearing females migrate to the water’s edge and release over 250,000 eggs. A full moon is tomorrow so we have seen them diligently making their crawl over the past week.

One of the most famous stories in American history involves the trading of beads. Legend has it that Peter Minuit and the Dutch settlers purchased Manhattan in 1625 for $24 in beads.  Although, they now say our history books have it wrong and the Dutch bought Manhattan in 1636 for “trade goods” worth (at the time) about 24 gold dollars.  

However, a true bead story involves the first war the English fought against the Native Americans.  It was the Pequot War of 1637.  What did they fight over? A bead.

Our bead story is far less glamorous.  It involves a jewelry making class– another item on my Summer Bucket List.  After a 2.5 hour instruction, we walked away with our beaded necklaces and the ability “to crimp”.

(The Starry Night, June 1889 by Vincent van Gogh) Painted by DS

Van Gogh painted The Starry Night near the mental asylum of Saint-Remy, 13 months before his death.  His mental instability is legend; he attempted to take  Paul Gaugin’s life; he cut off part of his ear lobe and he later committed himself to an asylum.  The painting vibrates with rockets of burning yellow while the stars gyrate like cartwheels.  Some pundits believe the eleven stars are religiously symbolic.  In Genesis 37:9 the following statement is made:

“And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.”

The hills and small village sit below the vibrant crescent moon. The sense of movement, whirling, and continuous is enhanced and exaggerated by Van Gogh’s large, swiped brush strokes and use of color. Before he painted The Starry Night, he wrote prophetically to his brother Theo:

The moon is still shining, and the sun and the evening star, which is a good thing – and they also speak of the love of God, and make one think of the words: “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

Vincent van Gogh (March 30, 1853 – July 29, 1890) is considered one of the greatest Dutch painters but he had little success during his lifetime. He sold only one painting.  Van Gogh never enjoyed the monetary success of his counterpart Rembrandt.  Van Gogh produced all of his work (some 900 paintings and 1100 drawings) during a 10 year period before he succumbed to mental illness and committed suicide.  

This summer I painted 10 of his works which has been an interesting study of color, subjects and art.  It has been an attempt to understand the psyche, life and friendships of a man whose life ended way too soon.  Van Gogh died at the age of 37 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Most of what is understood about his thoughts, beliefs and life is documented in letters to his younger brother Theo who also helped him out monetarily through the years so he could paint.

When he moved to Paris in 1886,  van Gogh discovered the French Impressionists.  Later when he moved to the south of France, taken by the strong sunlight, van Gogh’s works grew brighter in color and he developed his unique and highly recognizable style.  From the time in Paris onwards, Van Gogh’s paintings reflect different adaptations of impressionist brushwork, separate patches of color being applied with varying thickness and direction in a way that makes each painting a fresh experience. 

I have one more painting to go, my personal favorite–The Starry Night (1889).  It has been a wonderful summer with van Gogh.