A Prayer

Cairns watercolor by Meera Rao

 Cairns painted with every color in my Derwent Graphitint pan set. It’s my humble attempt at a small memorial on paper and a prayer in response to what is happening in the world around.  

I recently read that Claude Monet was very ashamed and guilt ridden to be painting while ww1 wreaked havoc around. He wrote on Dec 1, 1914 :  ‘’ I feel ashamed to think about my little researches into form and color while so many people are suffering and dying.” He was working on the now famous water lilies series.  Sixty five years earlier in his life, his father had given him a choice ‘go to war or give up painting’ He went to war then, rather than give up painting. He served in French military in Algeria.  According to https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/monet-and-the-flowers-of-war-concert, “ Monet felt his late paintings were an attempt at healing. They were his artistic response to the traumatic events of the war and arguably the greatest climax to any artist’s creative career”. Many years ago I saw the paintings during our trip to France - but never really grasped the depth nor beauty of the paintings. Hope I get another chance to see ‘ the two rooms filled with 22 enormous panels - more than 80 square meters of canvas. ‘ I can’t imagine the pain  and trauma he must have felt. 

What Bird is that ?

Owl sketch in Mixed Media by Meera Rao 

I have not seen an Owl in our backyard but I hear its calls late at night and early mornings.  Recently the app  Merlin Bird ID from the The Cornell Lab added a feature to record the bird calls. The app then helps you identify the bird using its sound bank! How cool is that?  That's how I learned that it is a Great Horned Owl that is in our backyard! I have been using the app on my walks(Identified Cooper's Hawk call just yesterday), in the backyard, or anywhere else I hear a bird call that I can not recognize (which is 99% of the time!) 

I sketched this owl (Screech owl?) during a draw and paint along with Jack (John) Muir Laws  about a month ago. His website, You Tube channel, and books are  treasure troves of information on nature and nature journaling. I used pencil, pen and ink, watercolor, and my new Derwent Grahitint  paint pans set. Sketching often has definitely helped me improve my 'seeing' and drawing skills. 

 

Congressional Cemetery

 

Congressional Cemetery  Derwent Grahitint paints, watercolors and pen by Meera Rao 

This is a sketch of family vaults at the Congressional cemetery in Washington DC. When we visit DC, we often go for walks at the cemetery with our granddogs. Most days Congressional cemetery members’ dogs can roam around there leash free. ‘The Canine Corps’ and the folks who bring them form an important part in the running of the cemetery providing about 1/4th of the operating income. 

The website explains: ‘Congressional Cemetery is a 35-acre historic yet active burial ground located on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Initially known as the Washington Parish Burial Ground, Congressional Cemetery became the first truly national burial ground as Congress bought sites, buried noted civil servants, and funded the infrastructure.’ 

'Among the nearly 70,000 burials at Congressional are scores of noteworthy citizens who left their mark on the city and the nation.' 

While walking around reading the names on the gravestones, I recognize very few. But as I slowly learn the names, I am  getting a very special understanding of history of the city and the nation. The calm, quiet beauty of the place along with happy dogs strangely always makes visiting the cemetery a memorable experience. The last time we were there, the trees were in full fall color glory !