Author Archives: johndiestler

77 years ago a foreign nation dropped bombs and strafed our

These are not by Klimt, they are just an impression of Klimt. Gustav would get the humor. This next one is about 80% done.

What do you know, and when did you know it? This was the major question during the Watergate investigation. The question was asked of President Richard Nixon. If he didn’t know anything about the Watergate conspiracy until much later, then … Continue reading →

I’m calling these done. When I start contemplating using a two haired brush, something is wrong. Better to go free and easy.

I am back to slinging paint. I still don’t know what I’m doing, but that has never stopped me before, so why should this be different? It’s true that I had a burst of painting the week before surgery, but … Continue reading →

Particles react to being watched. If no one is looking they go one way, if someone is watching they go in an entirely different way. The observer effect is sometimes explained by Schrödinger’s cat: a cat, a flask of poison, … Continue reading →

I willingly took part in “risky behavior”. Well, that might be a little strong. I took a path that was “risky”, but I did nothing to change it. In the first few minutes I thought, “I’m an independent guy, I … Continue reading →

Sitting in front of the fireplace, reading a few pages, and checking the internet. Apparently the air quality index says that unhealthy air starts at about 60-70. At 3:50 pm it was 350. I have been known to prep for … Continue reading →

I had heard that the best writers did their best work in coffee houses, in hip neighborhoods of New York, or Paris. It was 1966, I was not in Paris, nor was I in New York. This might have been … Continue reading →

X’s and O’s I used to have very cool racing slicks on my front tires. They were custom tires made for trikes, and I liked them very much. I was sad to see the threads in the center of the … Continue reading →

I’m back on the trail. The weather is good, I’m coasting downhill at at a 3% slope. Life couldn’t be better, except that I have questions. I have random questions, like… is it proper for a veteran to hand salute … Continue reading →

I’ve written about leaves before. There is much to be learned from taking the time to watch leaves. They spend their lives reacting to something unseen, yet powerful. People revisit ideas and concepts in blogs when they have discovered something … Continue reading →

Dank, dark, something unknown moving over there, a fellow prisoner or just vermin? We don’t think much about dungeons today. We have trivialized it in video and board games, but it once was a very real place. Of course most … Continue reading →

Today I feel joy. Joy is within me, it is oozing from my fingertips, it is dripping from my beard… I am full up and overloaded. Six weeks ago I had two feet of poly tubing in my chest, my … Continue reading →

I’m revisiting a subject that I wrote about a few months ago. The Google Search term is “longest living organisms”. I’m not sure why I find this so interesting. Part of it stems from the remarkable possibility that there may … Continue reading →

Leonard Cohen was primarily known as a singer/song writer. What is not generally known is that he turned to music rather late in 1967, at the age of 33. Before that he was a writer and a poet. The following … Continue reading →

I find that I’m listening more. People assume that I’m retired so they often ask what did I do? More than likely I tell them that I professed. It is easier to generalize instead of picking one aspect of my … Continue reading →

I’ve arranged to participate in a sleep study. This is not for research on sleep, but a scientific analysis of my particular sleep patterns. Apparently I snore, and have apnea. It is the nature of the affliction that I do … Continue reading →

Recently, a long time friend experienced a loss of a life partner. Right away the grieving process kicks in, the endless thoughts of what was said, what was unsaid. In this case it wasn’t death, it was much more complicated. … Continue reading →

I think it worthwhile to review the “big questions” in life periodically. Partly because time moves on, and wisdom may drop from an apple tree. Mostly though, it’s good to check on the “big questions” right after a significant moment … Continue reading →

We are often driven by fear. We are taught that fear determines flight instead of fight. I think I still fear the fight. In the course of a lifetime some fears are consistent and ever present. At the same time, … Continue reading →

I’ve thrown paint at six canvases. I am really happy with about three. I could throw more paint and maybe get more happier! Or, it could be mud. I’m still happy! For now I’m done. I don’t think I will … Continue reading →

I’ve got ten canvases, eight with some paint, maybe two that are completed. All in all, not bad output for the week! Of course, it could take a month to finish. I am so over my head that I can’t … Continue reading →

Is anything final? Well, final for now! I got hypnotize laying in all those strokes. Too many, surely paintings aren’t the composite addition of tedious strokes? Don’t they just pop out after awhile? I’ve been digital too long, there must … Continue reading →

Got the midtones down. When dry I will hit the highlights & shadows. Starting to figure this out just a little. Well, landscapes at least. Portraits, gahhh!

Hmm, okay, it’s not quite right. A little haunting, a little young. What’s the chances that painting will correct things? Gahaha! None whatsoever!! Hahaha, I haven’t the slightest idea of what I’m doing!!! It’s terrifying, and wonderful!!

It’s a quiet morning. Saturday in California, and no fire nearby, and the sky is clear. Labor Day, and I haven’t labored in at least five years, and possibly forty years before that. When was the last time I worked? … Continue reading →

Sept 7 A new lease on life! Well, okay, maybe it’s just a remodel. My heart has been abused, but I get to replumb at least one artery that has been plugged for years. I thought I was just getting … Continue reading →

Heavy Rain (around the World) English- cats and dogs Iceland- fire and brimstone Greece- chair legs Columbia- husbands Catalonia- barrels and casks Ireland- cobblers knives Brazil- lizards and snakes Czech Republic- wheelbarrows Norway- witches Denmark- shoemaker’s apprentices Slovakia- tractors France- … Continue reading →

I’ve had a couple of recent conversations that have transcended the average level of communication. Not that I am above average. I have to try very hard to attain anything close to being average. By the very nature of “conversational” … Continue reading →

90% done on this landscape, lots of brush and palette knife. Learned a lot.

Closer and closer. Surprising the amount of work goes into background. It’s a big space, and there are hundreds of tones. Still avoiding the flesh tones. Coward!

Today I will buy acrylics and attempt a tribute painting. A tribute painting is similar to a tribute band. They play music in the style of their favorite group, listening very hard in order to play their songs with accuracy. … Continue reading →

Today, friends become one. Not only is this miraculous, But I’m honored to witness it. Being witness to a miracle has its ramifications. You must tell about it, “Two have become One!” You must support it, “ I, and my … Continue reading →

I’m thinking about words. I’m thinking specifically of my ability to string words together to form a sort of communication. If I wanted to express and transmit an idea or thought, I need to find the right words, the words … Continue reading →

I’ve just seen something so amazing that I hardly have words to describe how I feel. I don’t know what was the first painting of Vincent’s that I saw. I suspect it was one of his portraits. Perhaps the blueish … Continue reading →

Okay, I’m having that illusion while sitting in a parked car, you know the one, where you are certain that something is moving, but you are not sure who. I have checked the parked car across the street at least … Continue reading →

First ride after heart attack. Wow, it’s hot out here. I’m in my granny gear of all grannies. I can’t be any slower, but I’m still moving forward, heart rate hovering at 95. So I’m good. I’m only a block … Continue reading →

I have come to Morris Graves too late. It should have been sooner, I could have learned so much, If I had only listened to Ferlinghetti in 1965.