2020 Begins, a Bobcat and Part 3 of Washington DC

Fundamental Limit to Precision / oil on linen / 18 x 24

Hot off the easel - first painting of 2020. And a big surprise this morning as I was having coffee in my kitchen - a beautiful, bobcat walked right across the backyard! I was not fast enough to get to my camera for a photo but did remember this lynx  (cousin of a bobcat and very similar in appearance)  painting I did a while ago.

Canadian Lynx / oil on masonite / 14 x 18

We finally got to tour Mount Vernon on the next morning of our Christmas vacation. I have wanted to see the home of George Washington for  a  long time and was not disappointed. I was filled with a sense of awe and of history to be able to walk through the rooms and gardens where he and Martha hosted Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Madison. I learned that following his Presidency, he was an avid farmer and was surprised to hear that he was the first person to breed a mule - a cross between a female horse and a male donkey. He wanted a big, strong animal with lots of stamina to be able to plow the fields!

Mount Vernon

Breathtaking view from the porch over the Potomac River

Bedroom where Lafayette stayed when visiting Washington.

George Washington's study with his chest from the Revolutionary War and his  chair with an overhead fan powered by foot pedals.

The working section of the farm - the laundry, ice house and stables.

We spent the afternoon walking the gentle hills and valleys of Arlington National Cemetery - a place I have no adequate words to describe other than to say I have never felt more humbled or more grateful for the sacrifice of these men and women. It is a still and quiet place of great yet disquieting beauty - a place for deep sorrow,  reverence and introspection .

I have yet to show you my photos from the National Gallery of Art and the National Portrait Gallery. I will post those next time. I hope that this New Year is beginning with great promise and potential for everyone as we move forward into this brand new decade!