Red sky in morning--Oklahoma

Oklahoma morning, 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 watercolor, 140# d'Arches

Oklahoma morning, storm a'coming.
If you don't get up early, you miss brilliant color in Oklahoma and much of nature's beauty.
The old saying "Red sky in morning, sailors take warning, red sky at night, sailors' delight" does apply considering our forecast, but of more delight to me today were the brilliant colors just before sunrise. 
Yes, soon the skies turned gray, but this image, minus the trees bare trees out my window, called for a painting. Blue skies and clouds turning rose colored from the sun still below the horizon, and distance Oklahoma hills.
Colors used, trying to match nature's brilliance--Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Red, Alizarin Crimson, Quinacridone Rose,  Permanent Rose, Aureolin, Quinacridon Sienna.

Spring approaches

Spring closes in--5 1/2 by 9 watercolor, 140# d'Arches

Everyone I know is ready for spring...and despite snowfall last night, and more cold forecasts for the weekend, today brings promise of sunshine and spring showers, on fallow fields and minds. Equinox is close. Thus today's painting...hope for color and renewal on the plains of Oklahoma.

Invaded again--blood and bars

Invaded again--5 1/2 by 8 1/2 watercolor, 140# d'Arches

The crisis in Ukraine and Crimea is nothing new...the strategic area has been invaded and occupied over and over, from the Turks, to the Russians, to the Nazis, to the Soviets, and now after a few years of independence, again the Russians
The Russians, with Putin pulling the same prevarications  Hitler did in Europe years ago (we've got to protect the ethnic Russians), are bullying their way back into Empire, and innocent, free people will suffer.
For some reason, this crisis is very personal to me. Thus today's painting. The blue and yellow of Ukraine's flag, being swallowed by tyranny's red flag, with bars looming.
I have readers of this blog in Ukraine, and wrote about them a year ago: The Ukraine.

Ukraine's flag was adopted in 1918 in its short lived Ukrainian People's Republic, following the Russian Revolution, but was later changed to red and red-blue flags as part of the USSR. It was officially restored in 1992 following independence, and flag day has been celebrated since 2004 on Aug. 23.

The colors symbolize the blue skies and golden wheat fields of the steppes, but the first representations of the colors for the Ukraine go back to pre-Christian times for ceremonies and represented fire and sky.
I remember growing up that one of my fellow high school students was a blond-haired girl who had Ukrainian royal blood. Her parents and grandmother had fled the Soviets.  That made the threat of communism very real to me.

Color for a gray day

Where footsteps and time blur...5 by 7 watercolor, 140# d'Arches

Yes, the sun was out, and bright on the snow.
But around the world and in Oklahoma, it was a gray day. And more winter weather is coming.
 We're about to see Russia swallow an independent Ukraine, with Putin using the same tactics Hiter did in Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland. And the world is powerless. Putin is the new Hitler.
And in Oklahoma, the narrow-minded legislature and puppet governor Fallin are attacking the arts, science  and education, cutting funds, stifling creativity, gutting the quality of life and future for normal people, and the good of the state as a whole. They are the new  "No-Nothings," sending us back into new Dark Ages.
It's hard to be anything but disturbed or depressed. 
We need color in our lives more than ever, and thus today's painting, where the colors run together and our footsteps and time blur.

OKC mayor election & front page editorials--Yes!

Front page editorials. How dare newspapers do that?
 They used to be discussed and cussed in Oklahoma on a regular basis, until a few years ago when the then Daily Oklahoman ceased publishing the always conservative, political opinion pieces on candidates and issues, clearly labeled at the top of the page.
This week, with the Oklahoma City mayoral election tomorrow, another publication has come out with a clearly-labeled front page editorial, endorsing Ed Shadid over the incumbent Mick Cornett.
The City Sentinel, a weekly newspaper serving downtown, carried the editorial. Patrick McGuigan, former editorial writer for The Oklahoman, and a true-believer conservative, publishes the paper.
People who protest such an activity as biased, inappropriate journalism are flat out ignorant of American journalism history. Front page editorials have a long history in this country. They go back all the way to the beginnings in colonial times, and later when every political faction had a newspaper in town.
They've gone away because the press is increasingly corporate, and tries not to offend anyone to protect shareholders' investments. In the process, much of the press has become namby-pamby  milktoast publications that are boring and spineless. Corporates can't seem to figure out why they're losing readers.
Another approach is sometimes seen in thinly-disguised hatchet jobs masquerading as "investigative journalism," where one issue or candidate opposing corporate owners' positions is attacked. The opposite tack is taken in running almost verbatim PR releases from outfits and candidates supported by corporates.
That's why I applaud The City Sentinel and Pat for courageously taking a stand. You don't have to agree with him, but at least you know it's honest journalism. And it builds readers and integrity, especially with a well-reasoned editorial, rather than using propaganda tactics like name calling and target words like "liberal" and conservative."
McGuiggan's first few sentences show that reasoning:
     "After 13 years with the current mayor in office (ten as mayor, three on the Council), it is time for a fresh voice and a stronger focus on the broader needs and issues for all Oklahoma City residents.
     "For the first time in The City Sentinel’s history, we formally endorse a candidate for public office. The newspaper supports Dr. Ed Shadid, the Ward 2 council member, in the Tuesday, March 4 election.
     "This endorsement is an expression of support for the challenger, not a slap at the incumbent.
    "Shadid aims to establish a more inclusive government. He has spoken to hundreds of groups and thousands of local residents — some of whom say their input in city matters has rarely or never been solicited.
    "Many to whom Shadid has spoken have long felt disenfranchised from city government. Ours is not just a downtown city; its entire 640 square miles still has a long way to go, he says. And, he is right."
Check the link above it you want to keep reading.
Two disclaimers. I can't vote in the election, so technically, it doesn't matter to me. Second, McGuigan and I are far apart when it comes to political philosophy, but that's ok. We  can disagree, respect each other, and enjoy conversation and journalism. It matters not to me which candidate he endorsed, as long as he did so with reasoning. 
As a former weekly newspaper publisher of the Waurika News-Democrat, I wrote front page editorials rarely, and always for significant issues, like urging a bond issue for a new grade school. I remember clearly  one quote, "A newspaper that doesn't stand for something, stands for nothing."
Well-reasoned front page editorials like The City Sentinel's are good news for Oklahoma journalism, and Oklahomans.