Within the landscape

    Before I paint a landscape, I feel the landscape.

    I am not a desert person, no doubt about it. However, that's on my plate right now-- sand, cacti, yellow, dry air... I would not have known what dry air is till I went beyond the end of the desert and felt the humid air. Sometimes back and forth,  comparing and contrasting, in time. I understood then why people reacted so fussily in regards to the type of air. Most of them like dry air, and loathe the humid one. But I feel that dry air is no feel at all, while it's still harsh on the skin. The sun is scorching in the desert and you miss the breath of the foliage. If the sun is not hurting you, then the dusty wind will...

    Because its vegetation is scarce, the desert lets you see far and beyond. So, a perception of the vastness of the land kicks in. You feel yourself so small. This is not necessarily bad because it's true. In the desert the landscape is hazy and it helps you dream. You see in the distance the mirage and you dream of water, perhaps. I dream of my life in the tropical world...

    There is a sense of touch and wonder in the tropical world, every day-- air, water, flowers...The mist that you feel on the chics and the chirping sound of the greenery remind you continually of life...Yes, the air was hot and humid, but I was not as bothered, knowing that this air sustained beauty. People go crazy with air conditioning in those lands. But air conditioning gives the sensation that you dwell in a refrigerator or something, so I refrained from too much air like that. A woman told me that I was a reptile, seeing how I indulged myself in the heat and humid air. Even when I was driving I would not turn the air conditioning right away; I would feel at some point how water develops on my chest and drops go down my cleavage, and then I would turn it on a bit.

    You are always touched by water in a tropical land: rain, waves, dew...I had to be ready to get wet any time; I regularly kept a bag with swimming stuff in the car because I never knew when I would find a beach, or a pool to plunge in. People always stop at the beach...and get the salty smell and damp feet... 

    I cried when I had to leave the tropical for the desert. Such a contrast! Another woman told me that I had to bloom even in the desert. I try...