Today (written 1/1/2014) as we were walking through a foggy Canemah park, it was unusually quiet. The birds, which provide most of the interest this time of year, had obviously found somewhere warm and try to hole up.

As we walked, I got to thinking about light and dark. In the Pacific Northwest we are blessed with a lot of very soft light. Unlike in Arizona or Greece, where the light provides true whites, in Oregon we have a lot of grey. Yet when I look at this seed pod, I am fascinated.

Blackberry seedpod up close

That got me thinking about pattern. I’m drawn to it, but don’t often use it to its fullest extent in my paintings.

Maybe I should work on this in 2014.