Walden West, Sunday 18 March 2001

I HAD A VIVID DREAM last night that I should think less and paint more -- "just do it" was the general idea. Specifically, the dream said I should paint using the colors blue and black. Got up, had breakfast (leftover sandwich from yesterday) overlooking the cliff. The fog bank had moved in and the lighting effects were breathtaking: brilliant blue sky overhead, the big rock of Cormorant Point to the south shrouded in mist, and to the north a majestic, elusive arc of light that almost became a rainbow ...

So I set about to paint, taking the easel outside the cabin for the first time, and setting up a bigger work area on two sawhorses ...

The nice thing about painting outside is that you don't have to worry about spilling stuff -- in general, you can be as messy as you want -- water, acrylics flying everywhere. Anyway, I made a blue-and-black picture like the dream said, and a semi-abstract one of the campfire ...

... tried adding some red to the blue & black idea, then with great abandon and joy regressed to a crystal-clear memory of finger-painting in kindergarten with a Jackson Pollock type thing ...

But for some months I'd been meaning to erect a little "shrine" and put some sacred objects in it. To please and worship the gods of the coastal locale ... to give thanks for the beauty & holiness of this place ... and also, so that when I am back in the Bay Area in my busy workaday world, I can think of the shrine sitting out in nature by itself, with no one around, and be satisfied. What with last night's dream, this morning's awe-inspiring sky -- flocks of birds flying north of course -- and the paints all ready to go, today seemed as good a day as any. So I nailed together a little wooden box in the shape of the cabin, painted it, and set it on a pallet in a field facing West. The back of the shrine says "Sanctus" (Latin for "Holy") ...

On the two sides are abstract representations of water and air, while the top is the universe (sun and moon)...

The front is open to let light in and display the sacred objects -- conch, marbly night ball, horseshoe crab shell, candle, and bamboo flute ...

It's a short stroll from the cabin to the field -- I think I will paint the pallet green ...

The shrine points directly to the horizon point at which the sun set today -- March 18, 2001 -- pretty darn close to the Vernal Equinox ...

... everything is in cosmic alignment -- so, I can relax and play some guitar now -- whew!

LOVE is ALIVE