Resurgence - Painting After the Tubbs Fire

"It's been phenomenal, but everybody keeps congratulating me on my resurgence and my big comeback. I haven't been away, guys. I've been working steadily for the last 63 years. "
-Betty White

Resurgence - oil on canvas, 48" x 36" 

My home is in Santa Rosa, California. During the firestorm of October 2017 my beloved town experienced unprecedented destruction beyond belief. In the Tubbs Fire, 4655 homes and 94 commercial buildings were lost, vanished. (Press Democrat, 11/1/2017) In the affected parts of Santa Rosa, people from every walk of life fled from their homes. Others of us took people in, on guard, with our suitcases and cars packed and at the ready.

Betty White's quote is right on the mark. It's going to take time to restore our county, working with a steady, determined vision. Seasons will pass, the hills and vegetation will recover and the wildlife will return. We'll see thriving businesses, all ever changing. My displaced friends and community members will find new, permanent places to live. All a series of tiny, imperceptible steps, full of patience.

Painting these new works has helped me place my vision on Resurgence, dwelling on the conviction and deliberate resolve that will continue forward in our reclamation, and spring back to the familiar where we can, reawakening our surroundings and our lives to what is most meaningful to us.

These new works, shown above and below, are full of dreams for the phenomenal, for a full and beautiful recovery.

Reawakening, Rebirth, Rebound, Rejuvenation