Best of intentions

You know that old saying -- the road to hell is paved with good intentions? Well I believe I've found the perfect illustration!

So last night I had a little trouble falling asleep, so I got up and watched a brief video, and there was a painting on the wall behind the speaker that I just loved. So I took a screen shot, blew it up, printed it, and left it on my studio wall to tackle in the morning.

It had everything I wanted to pursue in my art: new colors, smaller brush strokes, a delicious balance of dark and light -- and it haunted my dreams ALL NIGHT. So much so that I probably only got 3-4 hours of sleep: NOT a great way to start the day.

But I was determined, so -- in spite of the sleepless night, powered by 1 1/2 cups of coffee, I strode purposefully into my studio and began to paint. And at first it was great -- and very like the original -- but then I decided I should try and make it my own; throw in some of my signature moves, sponging, scraping, spraying -- and it just went ... south. I ended up with everything I like least about my work.

Which is why I scribbled leftover paint over it and then sprayed the heck out of it: if nothing else, it will make a fine base for whatever my next painting will be.

But oh, what a tangled web we weave, and oh, what a muddy, bloody mess!

And so I say, to all those folks out there who are horrified at the various ways the various states are messing up in attempting to deal with the coronavirus: Yes! It's a fricking muddy bloody mess! But, I believe, made with the best of intentions. No one knows quite what to do, and without definitive leadership from above, each state is doing the best with what it knows. And sometimes that best -- and what is known -- is going to look very different: there are just too many oppositional needs at stake for there to be one right answer that works for everyone, and too many different, disagreeing sources of information.

I'm hoping, as with this canvas, that this muddy bloody mess gives us a solid base for some much wiser decisions in the future. But that's me: Pollyanna...

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