Temple of Trees, Whitechapel, On Stranger Tides, Tim Powers and James Blaylock

Temple of Trees, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

This is a painting I worked on over the weekend, I think it was. I am afraid my days sometimes blur together, especially in winter when all I want to do is hibernate.

Amusingly enough the local high school near my house is opening 2 hours later tomorrow due to snow but there is no snow at all in my neighborhood. There is snow in other places in the city, however. I figured that mere threat of snow - enough to have most people in Seattle quaking in their shoes -- was a good excuse to hole up and knit. I finished my last Christmas present (Only 3 weeks late!) and I worked on a lace lotus pattern scarf I am knitting for myself. I watched some dvds while I was knitting - first the BBC series Whitechapel, which is about a modern-day Jack the Ripper. I liked it a lot and recommend it to anyone who likes the sort of darker grittier reality the BBC has been showing in the last few years - think Sherlock or Torchwood. It's not a cozy little drama, it's stark and eerie and a little bloody at times. Anyway, I enjoyed it and look forward to seeing Season 2. (The 1st season was 3 episodes. I think the BBC has the right idea to do short series and really do them WELL.)

I also watched the last Pirates of the Caribbean movie. I was more disappointed than I thought I would be. It's "inspired by" a novel by Tim Powers called On Stranger Tides but there is not much of Tim's story left. I mean I knew there would not be, after all Tim did not write about any of the characters from the Disney movies. Still, I hoped for a bit more. I first read On Stranger Tides when it came out in the late 80s. I love all of Tim Powers' books, It would be hard to pick a favorite, but if you are inclined to check him out I'd suggest the Anubis Gates and Declare as being two I especially liked. I am also very fond of his friend and sometimes co-author James Blaylock. You really cannot go wrong with any of theirs - though I am less partial to James' 1st trilogy (Balumnia trilogy) than his later work. The 1st trilogy is more traditional fantasy and does not show quite as much of the sheer originality that shows up in his later work.

And I am not sure what any of that has to do with this painting, but I can hardly get myself to post anything without an accompanying picture.

Temple of Trees
5 x 7 inches
watercolor and ink on paper
Available on Etsy.