Friday, September 11, 2009

Olives and Chicken - May There Be Peace

Daly Practice
Tuscany, Italy

The long days and nights have me daydreaming again, and when I do that, I often return to Italy. This weekend while I was walking on my treadmill, my nearby computer was going through its screen saver mode, enticing my walking with my saved photographs. This one popped up, and so after my exercise time, I went through my photographs to find it to use as a potential sketch subject this week.

I've tried so many times to capture that blue/green of the ancient olive tree's spring foliage, and that spot of red on the chicken as s/he passed by was just too funny not to include. I think my 'scale' is a bit off ... but it was fun to try to recreate that gnarly, old texture of the tree, the holes, and that elusive color of the tree's canopy. And of course, it was terrific to daydream for a while.

Today, all over our country, we'll be holding moments of silence to remember those awful events not too many years ago. We'll bow our heads, offer prayers and think of the lives lost, the lives and times forever changed. I humbly offer visions of olive groves, clucking chickens, and the peace and serenity these bits of landscape seem to engender. And the commitment to strive, even more ardently, to truly secure world peace.

May it soon be so

4 comments:

Teri said...

Very lovely and I love that spot of red.

Anonymous said...

Well, maybe the chicken is a bit big for the tree but then don't chickens strut around making themselves look bigger and more important anyway LOL. I love it. It's a fun one yet a serene scene, as you say, far away from the city life we remember today. And I too am trying to "wage peace" every chance I get.
Hugs,
Lorraine

Sandy said...

Amen!

Joan said...

Lin - May your olive branch be a symbol of peace today!!!

I love the rooster with the tree...nice contrast of color!