A Journey

I was asked by the newsletter editor for my swimming club 

to respond to a short questionnaire about myself 

and "why I swim." In response, I told her that, in addition 

to using the sport to help me combat obesity, 

I've found that swimming has given me more confidence 

in other aspects of my life. It is also helping me 

to become more disciplined in working towards 

achieving my goals away from the pool.

For the past year, I've been working to develop,

to revitalize, really, my drawing and painting skills.

Not surprisingly, these drawings have had swimmers

as my subject matter. The drawings aren't so much 

about the swimmers as they are about the water,

the colors and patterns that element takes on as the

athletes glide, kick, and move in the beautiful,

blue stuff. I'm working to make my marks on the canvas

and paper more personal, reflecting more how

I feel about what I see. I don't want them to be 

mere illustrations; that is too easy.

I love David Hockney's swimming pool paintings, 

but I don't care for his swimmers. While they are, 

purportedly, homoerotic, I find the male

figures all to have undefined bodies with flat butts,

completely unappetizing to this womanly eye.

But never mind that - the way Hockney renders water

is interesting, and his marks are unique to him.

And so, I work towards making my own marks to

describe how I feel about this activity and the people 

with whom I share the pool. 

The top picture is a detail of a small painting 

I am currently working on. The second is a ballpoint drawing 

I made to use as reference. The third is the underdrawing

for the little painting. It was done over another 

painting I'd started and set aside. 

Hell, I liked the brush strokes set against 

their predecessors grid marks and washy blue blotches. 

I painted over it anyway.