Stopping to Smell the Flowers

I've been busy doing things for a while. It can seem that being busy and being productive are the same things. But my definition of "productive" has changed of late. Productive in what sense?

I fight my mind for which direction I should be going, want to go or am going. All do not lead to happiness. As of late, programming / designing as not been my happiness trail. I'm sure it will be later, but my needs now are on a different path.

It being spring may be the motivator for this, but doing little jobs around the house, painting, performing fixes on my neglected car "rattles" and getting the garden ready has brought me pleasant rewards.

Sometimes you just need a break from all the media in our lives. The quick sound bites, images and headlines that never truly satisfy. In no field is this more true than in the software field. So much information, ideas and products that are just out of reach, for now. Time and energy can be filled up with just trying to keep up, only to discover that just like sugar, it's mostly empty calories.

I just came back from a quick trip to Tucson where my wife and I flew down but drove back with a car to sell. It's a long way from Tucson to Park City, but the time with good company, lots of desert and no (ok, very little) technology. It was refreshing. The noise quieted down and I felt like coming back to life. Ah, perspective.

Still have a few more chores to do this weekend before I feel "caught up" in this category. Then onward to ....

Comments

There is no "Right" way.

It's not that your way is not the right way, it's that everyone has their own right way. So which is the right way? Is there a right way? Software development is full of discussions that revolve about the "right" way of doing something. The terms used in discussing software design, tools and implementation are so undefined as to make them meaningless. Code is not designed and written in a vacuum, it's designed by real people in real companies, each with their own constraints and issues. Code that may look like a hack could have been the result of an employee dragged out of bed at 2am by a company shirt that only cared that they they did not lose their personal client the next morning. Everything must be looked at in context. A project written to "Best Practices" may never be finished before development funding dries up. Goals, vision, constraints and thoughts should be somewhat aligned for project to be successful (or at least enjoyable ...

3rd Try is a Charm

I've been trying to draw / paint these barns for a couple of years but never felt or got them right. This time I think they turned out right. So What went wrong before and what's right now with this drawing? This time, the light was right. It's coming from the upper right and the shadows just looked right. The other thing is the corn field on the left had to "be in season", otherwise it's just a plowed field. I had taken other photos from different angles but they never felt right. This angle has the road, power lines, corn field, etc. all leading to the right. The shadows on the lower right helps fill in that corner (don't forget about the corners!). The last part is trying to draw (ink paint maybe) the trees in the background. Not so easy when they are kind of a blob is green shades. So yeah, it's composition that is king. Many times I just don't see it until the drawing / painting is finished and when it's right it feels goo...

So THIS is My Style?

If I play around long enough my style will appear. I'm guessing that this is kind of it. I'll keep working on other techniques in watercolor but for now this appears to be my style. I do like it and others appear (to my face) to also like this. Not every one of my paintings is a success. About 1/3 so far, but when they do I am rather pleased that anything good comes out of it at all. I do love color. Color is happy and outdoors is full of color, be it the west or back east with the greens. Color color color. Also doing some painting on hot press paper and see how that goes. Later......

A Person, Artist, Software Engineer, Geologist.

Search This Blog