Today (meaning yesterday – I write my posts the day before and post schedule for 12 midnight) we drove to Burbank.  It is a 5 – 6 hour drive, but a straight shot down Interstate 5 (called ‘The 5’ by locals).

In anticipation of this occasion, I painted my rendition of back pain. Actually, I did have a back ache the other day. Joy told me that I overdid my exercising, but I don’t agree. The drive is what did it today.

At any rate, this is a visual rendition of how my back pain feels to me:

Back Pain
9″x12″ 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Block

Comment:

It is hard to draw a feeling, so I thought about this a lot. I think the discontinuity between the block of cobalt blue and the Winsor red, pointed out by the yellow arrow (should anyone miss the obvious) is a literal and metaphorical description of how my back felt. Literally, I think the pain in my back is due to the muscles straining to keep my vertebrates aligned. The metaphor requires another element:   the Van Dyke brown, upon which the blue and red body parts are seated. The curve of the red area of paint juxtaposed with the flat, unyielding brown surface. So the metaphor would be, “my pain is the space between the red and brown.”

Ok, not the usual metaphor. I’ll have to think about this a bit – later. Now, I need a tylenol.