This year we had the blessing of a wet winter here in
Southern California. And, as I’ve noticed over the years, a wet winter is
usually followed by a cool gray spring that can linger into July. With
exception of a couple days here and there, this year is holding true to form.
The sun half-heartedly melts through the cloud cover around 1:00 PM. Despite the lingering daylight, the deep afternoons are cool, and the
sky is clouded over again by sunset. All too soon enough we’ll awaken to a bright summer heat that won’t let up until after Thanksgiving. But for now
the Southland holds its breath against the blast.
The first day of summer comes this week. Despite the wet winter and
gray spring, the hills have already lost much of their green. That’s just how
it is here. Sad to say, I have not been up to the hills yet this season.
I missed winter completely, and there are only four or five days until solstice. Strange, considering how close they are to me, and how frequently I am
accustomed to hiking up there. Stranger, since I’ve been immersed in this
project for months, now, recording Pete’s writings, and photographing painting
after painting of the hills. Somehow, getting up to what is now the
preserve keeps sliding off the week’s agenda.
And as I draw closer to
finishing the work of photography, and recording, I find myself toying with the
idea of staging an all night camera session and finishing everything in one
marathon burn. It’s the same kind of urge I’ve encountered near the end of a
long road trip.
Haste is seldom your friend. Even though I know better I’ve
fallen for my own stupid ideas more than once. A straight power drive from
Wyoming to Los Angeles is a bad idea. So is staying up all night with the camera. Prudence, and patience
in all things, especially this. Anyway…
We’re still looking at archive 11, Paintings to The Lost Era.
Like The Lost Canyon Trip, The Lost Era slide show was both a portrait of rural La Habra in the 1940’s, and a look deep
into Pete’s inner world. The Deep Dark Hole sequence was part of the Lost Era,
as were the fantastical Telephonepolies
we saw last week.
As you may have noticed all of this week’s paintings are rain
and night scenes. As long as I remember knowing Pete, he was nearly always
angry with the weather. He hated the hot dry months, especially during the
smoggy 1960’s and 70’s. And accordingly, Pete loved the winter and the rain. A major feature of The Lost Era was Pete’s
childhood recollections of huge thunderstorms rolling through the sparsely
settled hills.
In later life he always kept a microphone set up near an open
window just in case there was the sound of rainfall, or best of all, thunder to
record.
The winter of 2018—’19 was one of the wettest, and stormiest seasons in
over a decade. Ironic that he missed this one.
We’ll have more of the Lost Era collection next week, and
possibly even a hint of what will follow.
