Moving Towards Climage Change (in my art)

I love to paint over pieces that aren't working anymore.  When I attended art school at Texas Tech University, there was a grad student who would carelessly let things go in her paintings.  I was in awe of her ability to let go.  She said she knew things would come back to her if they needed to.  I wish I could remember her name.

This was a painting that worked for me for a long time - until it didn't.  It didn't say enough but was merely a study.  I painted it according to the photograph I took (sans people) and left it there to be a pretty good rendering.  It needed more though.

In thinking about climate change and people who are seemingly unconcerned, I decided to create a large wave and complete the painting with the addition of my son, who was in the original photo.  As I zoomed in on the image I saw the mother and son in the background.  I loved the way they casually walked toward the wave, so I painted them instead.

​Nowadays I'm in awe of how people live in the world.  I can't decide if I'm angry that we keep on going about our lives as climate change worsens or if I appreciate how we live in the moment and enjoy the time we have while things are as they are.  Probably a mix of both.