I had an accident on the carretera a few weeks ago (the main drag) and damaged my knee. I now have a few weeks of pain under my belt: a leg brace, a walker and general all around disability that I am ready to leave behind. I want this to go away but it’s not happening yet.
In the meantime I am still working on my Spanish, I go to class when I am up to it and I try to fumble through as much speaking as I can. It’s getting better. Painting makes everything fell better. It’s my comfort zone. If I am not feeling any pain I can paint– if I have enough energy. If I can speak a few words to my friends and neighbors en espanol, it makes me feel like I’m getting something done. I have amazing friends and family. That makes all the difference in the world.
I am painting flowers and sketching them almost on a daily basis.
I am posting to my POD sites online pretty regularly. I’ve got two major sites I’m working with and my almost daily Facebook postings keep me in touch with my friends here in Mexico and also in the states. I am corresponding with the art community here and online. I love people and they are holding me up almost on a daily basis.
The fall has been very hard on my psyche and the recovery is very slow. Cracked bones don’t heal quickly and it’s tough being temporarily disabled. Mostly it’s the trauma of the event that can be depressing. I try to not think about it because it’s so scary. I am grateful for my internal time table that pushes me to produce so much art. It’s not every day in your life that you can be motivated to paint and draw. Only since I have been in Mexico can I actually do it and not just think about it. I have the vision of painting the people here, their simple daily lives and the work they do.
Ever since I can remember I have had an obsession to document my little life, from sketchbooks, to articles, to letters, to greeting cards. It never really goes anywhere except to realize that it’s a part of me and who I am. I am learning to accept it.
This recording of events may be silly and useless to lots of people, but it has been my way of coping with good and bad happenings. It is what it is: so if I can turn it into something that others can gain any hope or encouragement from, I’ll just continue to do it and then forget about it, and move on.
In the meantime, the work is accumulating and I am healing.
Painting Mexico 