The works on this page have been created during a time where my dominant right hand was in a sling. Recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum, a torn bicep, and calcification in my rotator cuff gave me time every day to sit in my OptiFlexS chair and let my right arm be rotated gave me an opportunity to do something positive with those four hours. Having made a number of photographs of plants and flowers from around my neighborhood, I chose to bring my plein air painting inside, and rather than working outside where I’d much rather be, I felt it necessary to continue working on my small scale watercolors. The challenging part has been training my left hand to work with my eyes and discover mark making and brush strokes through these means.
While I was locked in my sling, and locked in my chair, there have been some other horrific things happening in America at the same time. While immigration is what made America great to begin with, immigration problems have been amplified and invented by the current president and his administration. Children have been locked in cages, separated from their parents, given no soap, no toothbrushes, no clean clothes in order to be safe and secure. Calling my state congressman has done very little at this point. I’ve spent 3 years calling my senators and representatives in the house, and the inhumane treatment has continued.
There are so many other things that I am concerned about: Medicaid for all, expansion on Medicaid in the state, the Affordable Care Act maintaining its legal status and giving Americans affordable medical care, the fight for women to be in control of their bodies rather than having the government being control. Tax breaks for the rich, the middle class getting smaller and smaller and the poor becoming poorer and poorer. Billion dollar companies not paying their taxes to help support those who they employ. And the list continues. The environmental disaster we are in the midst of. Tariffs, nuclear fears and armament, lies, misgivings, and falsehoods (10,000+ at the time of this writing – all from one person in a uniquely shaped office space) and the GOP marching lockstep with their leader. So here’s what I did
Most of the watercolors that I created during my time in my sling were sold for $100 each. All of the money (after paying for envelopes and postage to mail them off to their new homes) was donated to an organization that works to help our immigrants have representation and safety. Many of the immigrants that are coming to America are doing so in order to do everything they can to provide a safe and new life themselves and their families. We raised $700 to help RAICES help our immigrant neighbors, brothers and sisters, and fellow humans.
All right… you’ve gotten this far through my page. Please make sure you call your state representatives, call your state senators, call your congress people and let them know that this inhumane treatment cannot continue. If you have other concerns, as I do clearly, make sure you verbalize those concerns to those who represent you as well.
A link to my Google gallery is HERE.
How does a painting progress? Here is a end of hour by hour series of photographs of the progress of one of them. PROGRESS PHOTOS HERE.
What else can you do? Here are a couple of places for you to look.
Frank Korb 