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Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, on assignment in Lipetsk, Конечно.

You'll note that I felt compelled up there in the title line to preface that this is NOT another one of those koi painting posts - that poor critter has been painted ENOUGH.  

We are still going to talk about fish, but I promise to keep them allegorical in nature.

A couple of recent events contribute to the premise of this post.   Don't they always?

Spouse and I just passed our one year anniversary of our embarkment on the Big Adventure.  On September 5th, 2013 we hopped on a plane in Des Moines, headed for Lipetsk, and a three year contract to make more efficient, some facilities here in Russia.

It's not at all difficult to think back through the year, and remember the emotions at various points.  From:

 

are we really doing this?  to 

oh yeah, watch us do this!  to

rohroh, what are we doing?  to

man, look at us rock this gig!  to

this is incredible AND incredibly amazing!  to just plain old

WOW.

 

To say the least, I have gained incredible respect for others who have made the transition from one place to another, where the language is not your own.  I will tell you there are days when I feel like the Big Fish in the little sea, where we can take on any трудно (difficult) language lesson with Elena (our valiant Russian language teacher)  When we can handle ANY waitress who tells us they don't have an английский  (English!) menu.  And there are the little fish days too - they normally happen on those that involve banking.  Dios mio.

"And is she going to tie it to art?" you ask.  But of course.  I would say there are all kinds of fish in the world of art.  There are fish (er, artists) who know it all (presumably) and make sure everyone around them is aware also.    There are fish (art parody) who hide from the eyes of the world.  The are art folk who are content with the little pond instead of the big sea, and produce amazing work, despite no headlines.

I'm getting to the point, we think.  That point being that whether you're a fish, or an artist, or a person who can't speak the langauge very darn well, it seems to be that it's how you handle the situation that matters.  A little bit of self respect, preceded by a lot of respect for those around you - well, I'm here to tell you, you'll get by.  

And how on earth did this funnel through the brain chamber?  We went fishing last weekend.  On the Voronezh River.  The weatherman's forecast translated as "delightful", so we enjoyed the day, even without a bite  :)

 

 

Voronezh River, No Bites, an oil painting on canvas measuring in at 20 x 19 inches.  Yes, it's in the online portfolio, with a few decisions yet to be made....

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Later, KCooper

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