Hurrican Milton – Analog Artist Digital World

I have been working on breaking down giant root ball for the last couple of weeks which is from a fallen pine tree knocked down by Hurricane Milton next to the Yalaha studio.

I am a bit like an ant trying to move a mountain. Each night I burn the roots that I have clipped off with sheers.

The section of the pine tree that fell in the yard was cut with chainsaws and carted away. The tree cutters were supposed to return to grind down the root ball, but they haven’t returned yet. In the mean time I am using the roots as fuel for the fire which I enjoy each night.

My virtual classes let out at 8pm and I quickly make dinner and then eat it outside beside the fire. The finest roots make the best flames. they ignite quick and furiously. The bulk of the pine tree that fell is in the undeveloped lot next door. Several other trees fell in that dense tropical forest of a lot. One of the fell on a house on the far side. Some roots develop into smooth pointy shapes that are quite menacing. I am saving them from the fire because they might be useful for a future sculpture or wood caving.

There was a huge rain storm the other day and I got to see what parts of the yard flood first. I am working on a drainage ditch but that only effects water coming from the roof gutters. The other areas that flood may have to be filled with sand, dirt or mulch so the water flows off to the edge of he pr0perty. The gutters seem to get filled with pine needles rather quickly. I clean out the back gutters yesterday and plan to clean the front gutters tomorrow.

From the chaos of destruction, comes the brilliant flames of inspiration for what may lie ahead. During the day, I have been doing theater poster designs. After class, I plan to start wandering out and paint nocturnes in oil or maybe digital. I will try both. The night time is when this artist gets to play and experiment.

Another night fire to burn away roots from an uprooted pine that fell from Hurricane Milton at the Lake County studio. Sometimes rather than stare at the fire, I like to look up at the immensely tall pines that point up to the stars. On this night an owl kept hooting in the woods behind the studio.

Sparks from the fire would ascend and then flicker out. The blaze was white hot on this night. The thinnest of roots are like kindling and they light up in a flash. After finishing the sketch I felt research was needed. It was a basic full moon but my curiosity told me to look deeper into the celestial happenings that night. I discovered that a full Lunar eclipse was going to happen. There was a total lunar eclipse, or blood moon later in the evening. I didn’t want to miss it. I set my alarm to be sure to experience it first hand. Lunar eclipses occur when the earth is between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow across the lunar surface. During “totality,” the moon moves through Earth’s umbra, the dark center of its shadow, giving rise to the red-hued “Blood Moon”. The lunar eclipse reached its maximum phase, whereby the moon is fully obscured by Earth’s deepest darkest shadow, the umbra, at 2:59 a.m. eastern standard time. When the blood moon was at it’s zenith, I added it to my painting. A telescope was not needed the moon turned as red as mars.

I was feeling accomplished because I had worked my way out of a box I had painted myself into on the design of one of the Shakespeare Theater posters. At the start of the night the poster felt weird, but after many adjustments it is now my favorite poster of the season. It is unexpected but recognizable.

I bought some Masonite and a couple of thin wooden slats today. The plan is to constrict a very simple carrying case for oil paintings I do on location. Once the box is constructed and the oil paints are squeezed out on the portable palette, I plan to start doing oil paintings after class ends at 8pm each night. All the painting will be the same size which is just big enough to fit snugly into the shelves of my bookcase. This way I will be able to store hundreds of paintings neatly shelved like books.

Today an artist friend hooked me up with the Leesburg Center for the Arts which has a membership support group called the Tropic Art Alliance. They meet every third Thursday. This month I have a class when the group meets, but I am hoping I can get to the meeting next month. Mysterious happenings are occurring on land and in the sky.