Hurricane Isaac

Hurricane Isaac hit the new Orleans area on the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The storm wasn't officially recognized as a "hurricane" until the 10 p.m. report. Official reports are given at 10 a.m. & p.m. and 4 a.m. & p.m. The storm took forever to become organized. It also took forever to pass through this area. Hurricane Gustav hit Louisiana around the same time in 2008.

Evacuation, for Isaac, was voluntary in my immediate area. Lower lying areas had mandatory evacuations. Since Isaac was not expected to be as strong a storm as some previous ones, I decided to stay put. But I knew from past experiences that a tropical storm could still mean high winds and/or flooding.

When Isaac's winds had finally died down enough, I looked outside to see if I had any roof damage. One of my ceramic roof ridge tiles had fallen on my driveway and shattered. Some of the other tiles were simply displaced. So, this storm fell somewhere between Katrina (most) and Gustav (least). Other people in the region had much more damage.

This storm had me too agitated to paint. However I did render some sketches that I will post on my blog art at random. Look for them in the near future.

Storm Scare

In the fall of 2002 two tropical storms came through the New Orleans area. I painted this in reaction to the local drama. Note the tape patterns in the painting. Residents tape up windows just like that before storms.

acrylic on canvas, 18" x 36"

Storm Scare

In the fall of 2002 two tropical storms came through the New Orleans area. I painted this in reaction to the local drama. Note the tape patterns in the painting. Residents tape up windows just like that before storms. The summer of that year is when I painted four large dot paintings and my first four small dot paintings.


acrylic on canvas, 18" x 36"

Dot Bedspread

The bedspread in my room has a dot pattern. It isn’t quite as exciting as the other dot patterns I posted previously. I didn’t see any other dot patterns when I looked around this hotel. Anyway, moving on to other thoughts.

At this point I’m tempted to interrupt some of my recent dot art back home in order to make some new dot works based on this trip. I figure I should make new art while I’m inspired. Also, I have to finish some 20” x 20” dot pieces for a show in early November. So I have a lot of work ahead of me when I return home.

Hotel Key

Below is my hotel key with some red blooming begonias behind it. I forgot that this hotel’s keys have dot holes in them. Last Thursday I switched to this hotel that is in Memphis itself. It puts me closer to places I want to go. Hurricane Ike will make landfall tomorrow. I’m glad it’s not going to hit New Orleans, but I’ll be happier when it is finished.

Dot Pillow

Last Thursday I moved to another hotel in Memphis. This is a shot of a pillow from the lobby of the first hotel. It is one of two pillows. The pillows were on chairs near a big flat screen television. Folks watched the weather channel as the Hurricane Gustav made landfall.



In the meantime I've been taking a lots of pictures while visiting parks and gardens in Memphis. I've been keeping busy, but I've been too agitated to make any art. When I packed, I did manage to take some color pencils, color sticks and water color pencils. Bringing painting supplies was just too involved. Now I'm monitoring Ike's progress. Tuesday is the day that
the forecasters promise to have a better sense of where Ike will go.

Dot Sofa

This is the pattern from a sofa located near the hotel bar. It's one of those long curved ones. There are lots of cool patterned objects in this hotel.

Dot Rug

Currently I’m in the Memphis area having evacuated from the New Orleans area. I’m keeping an eye on Hurricane Gustav’s progress. Here’s a shot of the rug in my hotel room. By coincidence it happens to have dots in it.