WHEN in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary….
Noted in Passing: The Watercolors of Cathy Hillegas
byVanderleunonAugust 12, 2021
The holy is nothing but the ordinary, held up to the light and profoundly seen.”
This quote, by Dr. Kendyl Gibbons, explains in a nutshell why I paint. The miraculous is all around us. Treasures lie at our feet, bend in the wind above our heads, and unfurl on stems at our kneecaps. Usually, we walk right by without seeing them. Every painting is an attempt to say, “Stop! Look at this. No, really. Take a minute and really see.” — Cathy Hillegas
Lovely.
The first two are sycamore’s.
Got em all over the place around here, 3 biggins right outside my winder hole.
Leave’s as big as turkey platters.
PA CatAugust 12, 2021, 1:16 PM
A welcome respite from the antics of the Bidens and Obamas; we can all benefit from the loveliness of the natural world.
TrangBang68August 12, 2021, 2:31 PM
I’m glad you identified that as the work of Cathy Hillegas. I would have mis-identified as the work of Humper Biden, the Meth Period
LadyBikkiAugust 12, 2021, 2:43 PM
So beautiful.
And I needed the break from a horrible, no good, terrible day.
Dear eldest daughter, who works for the VA, and son in law, Iraq and Afganistan vet and now full time National Guard, have both been mandated to get the death jab.
I’m grateful for small favors….and found, by happy happenstance, the recipe for the Holy Cookie.
And I’m a damn good cook…can’t wait to try this.
There is still beauty and joy in this world.
Hanging on by fingernails but hanging on.
gwbnycAugust 12, 2021, 3:46 PM
Sycamores…
Had one on our property line when I was a boy- when I saw the pic I recalled the particular odor of the leaves when fallen, especially when rolled between the palms. And the scattered shards of bark rendered. A rather vivid recollection.
My father disliked them because the leaves and bark surrounded their trunks in continual disorder, but he was a man who was never out of his coat, tie, and Dobbs hat.
VanderleunAugust 12, 2021, 4:41 PM
The Holy Cookie?? I should bring that back. It’s time for the perfect cookie.
It’s nice having a good sized monitor to take in the pictures. Even so, a .jpg on a web site can scarcely do justice to the original. I’d love to see these live on stage. A good portrait can give a glimpse into the soul. These watercolors capture that moment of transcendence that we are sometimes lucky enough to catch in the web of our own experience. Beautiful stuff.
JWM
Kevin in PAAugust 12, 2021, 6:03 PM
Water colors? Really? Wow!
Such beauty is refreshing and centering in the midst of all the lies and rot.
Awesome, this stuff is why I’m here. My chill pill
VI
ghostsniperAugust 13, 2021, 1:30 PM
My wife and I are small time art collectors. Our Florida custom home was designed with the idea of “Sun, Sand, and Surf” with the premise to showcase the artwork we have collected. My favorite 2 pieces flank the fireplace and are water colors done by a Cape Coral artist named David Belling. One is of an old fishing shack marina along Pine Island Sound where I have put boats in many times. The other is of the old Captain Can’s house in Bokeelia, facing out onto Charlotte Harbor before I remodeled it into the Tarpon Inn in the mid 90’s. Yes, I have a water color painting of a building I actually did work on. From 10′ away both paintings look like photographs. Look Belling up.
I’m working with plywood today. Lots of plywood. Stuff got heavier since the last time I worked with it. About 52 pounds per sheet. I have 66 sheets to install on a ceiling, total, and so far I have done 20. I originally figured I’d be done tomorrow but as it stands right now I believe it won’t be done til Sunday. I’m already hurting but I’m going to do 2 more sheets to finish up a row, then I’m done for the day. Tomorrow when I get up I might feel murdered.
So I went out on the bridge between my workshop and house and took a break. It was about 2:30 and the sun was hot and the air was very humid. I laid right down on the bare assed deck and stared straight up. Into the 30′ long branches of a large double trunked sycamore tree. I tilted my head to the left slightly and the light filtered through the leaves giving them a light green-yellowish tint, sort of transparent. Shannon came over and laid down. right. on. me. I laid there for about 5 mins and Shannon was making my arm go to sleep so I told her to get off of me and she just stared at me, acting like she didn’t know what I was saying. I pushed her off, stood up, almost faltered, and came into the cold AC in my office. Break time is over, that plywood isn’t going to haul it’s own ass up onto that workshop ceiling. I gotta go out there and give it an inspirational nudge….
VanderleunAugust 13, 2021, 6:23 PM
ghostsniper, if you live anywhere near Palmetto or Bradenton send me an email. Thanks.
In the meantime, since you are working over head and perhaps with ladders, let’s review:
ghostsniperAugust 14, 2021, 4:59 AM
Gerard, thanks for adding the Belling pik. Nice, aren’t they? We no longer live in FL though our son and his fambly live there. Our “Florida house” is in Cape Coral and much of the design work I do is on the barrier islands off the coast there. Pine Island, Sanibel, Captiva, Useppa, Cayo Costa, Boca Grande, etc. Palmetto and Bradenton are about 75 miles north of where we lived, close to Tampa. I’ve been to both but am not familiar with them. Do you have a question? I lived in SW FL for 40 years.
Sid VAugust 14, 2021, 5:47 AM
There is a stately sycamore a couple blocks away from me, the top 2/3 as white as can be. The sun hits it just right at dawn, when everything else is still in shadow. So beautiful.
VanderleunAugust 14, 2021, 9:55 AM
ghost, Just has an old, good friend who lives down in Palmetto that I thought you might like to meet.
ghostsniperAugust 14, 2021, 11:08 AM
I probably would like to meet and talk with them Gerard. But I ain’t driving 1200 miles to do so. Thanks!
PS, maybe YOU could use a little cross country road trip! Florida’s supposed to be a red state, ya know.
On your way back you could stop by here, and me and Gnawbone Jack would take you out for a giant 14″ tenderloin sandwich and Jack would give you a tour of the finest hardware store you have ever seen.
Real World Address for Donations, Mash Notes and Hate Mail
Gerard Van der Leun
1692 MANGROVE AVE
APT 379
Chico, Ca 95926
Green Pants Interior by Klahn
Who Am I? by Carl Sandburg
My head knocks against the stars.
My feet are on the hilltops.
My finger-tips are in the valleys and shores of universal life.
Down in the sounding foam of primal things I reach my hands and play with pebbles of destiny.
I have been to hell and back many times.
I know all about heaven, for I have talked with God.
I dabble in the blood and guts of the terrible.
I know the passionate seizure of beauty
And the marvelous rebellion of man at all signs reading “Keep Off.”
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.
Duty, Beauty, Liberty, Country, Honor, Family, Faith — Plus a few simple easy to follow rules for guys
Men saw the stars at the edge of the sea
They thought great thoughts about liberty
Poets wrote down words that did fit
Writers wrote books
Thinkers thought about it
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
Many’s the road I have walked upon
Many’s the hour between dusk and dawn
Many’s the time
Many’s the mile
I see it all now
Through the eyes of a child
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
And close your eyes
Leave it all for a while
Leave the world
And your worries behind
You will build on whatever is real
And wake up each day
To a new waking dream
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Change, change come over
Change come over
Talkin’ about a change
Change, change
Change come over, now
Change, change, change come over
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
The holy is nothing but the ordinary, held up to the light and profoundly seen.”
Gerard Van der Leun
Comments on this entry are closed.
Lovely.
The first two are sycamore’s.
Got em all over the place around here, 3 biggins right outside my winder hole.
Leave’s as big as turkey platters.
A welcome respite from the antics of the Bidens and Obamas; we can all benefit from the loveliness of the natural world.
I’m glad you identified that as the work of Cathy Hillegas. I would have mis-identified as the work of Humper Biden, the Meth Period
So beautiful.
And I needed the break from a horrible, no good, terrible day.
Dear eldest daughter, who works for the VA, and son in law, Iraq and Afganistan vet and now full time National Guard, have both been mandated to get the death jab.
I’m grateful for small favors….and found, by happy happenstance, the recipe for the Holy Cookie.
And I’m a damn good cook…can’t wait to try this.
There is still beauty and joy in this world.
Hanging on by fingernails but hanging on.
Sycamores…
Had one on our property line when I was a boy- when I saw the pic I recalled the particular odor of the leaves when fallen, especially when rolled between the palms. And the scattered shards of bark rendered. A rather vivid recollection.
My father disliked them because the leaves and bark surrounded their trunks in continual disorder, but he was a man who was never out of his coat, tie, and Dobbs hat.
The Holy Cookie?? I should bring that back. It’s time for the perfect cookie.
do it
do it
do it
GV
It’s nice having a good sized monitor to take in the pictures. Even so, a .jpg on a web site can scarcely do justice to the original. I’d love to see these live on stage. A good portrait can give a glimpse into the soul. These watercolors capture that moment of transcendence that we are sometimes lucky enough to catch in the web of our own experience. Beautiful stuff.
JWM
Water colors? Really? Wow!
Such beauty is refreshing and centering in the midst of all the lies and rot.
Beautiful! Thank you!
Amazing, Gerard. Thank you!
jd
re: Military death jab
It’s rumored you can apply for, and perhaps receive, a religious exemption.
You may want to start investigating that now.
It didn’t work for me at my private employer. But hope springs eternal.
Watercolor as a versatile and enduring art medium, is underrated. Watercolor artists are underappreciated.
Actually I’m down with that. Results in more art that’s art, not political, social justice, aware awake propaganda.
Awesome, this stuff is why I’m here. My chill pill
VI
My wife and I are small time art collectors. Our Florida custom home was designed with the idea of “Sun, Sand, and Surf” with the premise to showcase the artwork we have collected. My favorite 2 pieces flank the fireplace and are water colors done by a Cape Coral artist named David Belling. One is of an old fishing shack marina along Pine Island Sound where I have put boats in many times. The other is of the old Captain Can’s house in Bokeelia, facing out onto Charlotte Harbor before I remodeled it into the Tarpon Inn in the mid 90’s. Yes, I have a water color painting of a building I actually did work on. From 10′ away both paintings look like photographs. Look Belling up.
I’m working with plywood today. Lots of plywood. Stuff got heavier since the last time I worked with it. About 52 pounds per sheet. I have 66 sheets to install on a ceiling, total, and so far I have done 20. I originally figured I’d be done tomorrow but as it stands right now I believe it won’t be done til Sunday. I’m already hurting but I’m going to do 2 more sheets to finish up a row, then I’m done for the day. Tomorrow when I get up I might feel murdered.
So I went out on the bridge between my workshop and house and took a break. It was about 2:30 and the sun was hot and the air was very humid. I laid right down on the bare assed deck and stared straight up. Into the 30′ long branches of a large double trunked sycamore tree. I tilted my head to the left slightly and the light filtered through the leaves giving them a light green-yellowish tint, sort of transparent. Shannon came over and laid down. right. on. me. I laid there for about 5 mins and Shannon was making my arm go to sleep so I told her to get off of me and she just stared at me, acting like she didn’t know what I was saying. I pushed her off, stood up, almost faltered, and came into the cold AC in my office. Break time is over, that plywood isn’t going to haul it’s own ass up onto that workshop ceiling. I gotta go out there and give it an inspirational nudge….
ghostsniper, if you live anywhere near Palmetto or Bradenton send me an email. Thanks.
In the meantime, since you are working over head and perhaps with ladders, let’s review:
Gerard, thanks for adding the Belling pik. Nice, aren’t they? We no longer live in FL though our son and his fambly live there. Our “Florida house” is in Cape Coral and much of the design work I do is on the barrier islands off the coast there. Pine Island, Sanibel, Captiva, Useppa, Cayo Costa, Boca Grande, etc. Palmetto and Bradenton are about 75 miles north of where we lived, close to Tampa. I’ve been to both but am not familiar with them. Do you have a question? I lived in SW FL for 40 years.
There is a stately sycamore a couple blocks away from me, the top 2/3 as white as can be. The sun hits it just right at dawn, when everything else is still in shadow. So beautiful.
ghost, Just has an old, good friend who lives down in Palmetto that I thought you might like to meet.
I probably would like to meet and talk with them Gerard. But I ain’t driving 1200 miles to do so. Thanks!
PS, maybe YOU could use a little cross country road trip! Florida’s supposed to be a red state, ya know.
On your way back you could stop by here, and me and Gnawbone Jack would take you out for a giant 14″ tenderloin sandwich and Jack would give you a tour of the finest hardware store you have ever seen.
Good ladder video, BTW.