Lackawaterphobia

The South Lake Apopka Water Tower in Tildenville, FL. – watercolor on 300# Arches 

I have lackawaterphobia.   The fear that there will be no drinkable water in the future.    California is in a severe drought. Lake Mead’s water level continues to recede and the Colorado River is drying up.  And what about fracking and how it sets water aflame?

Shall I continue?  If you insist…

In Charleston, W. Va., a chemical used in the processing of coal leaked from a ruptured storage tank into the Elk River, contaminating the water supply for about 300,000 people. In Toledo,  the water supply for over 400,000 people was declared unsafe because of the presence of microcystin, a toxin released by algae blooms in nearby Lake Erie, the source of the city’s water.

When my dog-walking buddy Charlie still lived in NYC he was FIXATED with the levels of the reservoirs we have in upstate NY that provide water to the City. He would check the levels continuously and worry if he thought they were getting low. We got along based on our neuroses.

Sigh,   there is no place to move.   Every place is too hot, too cold, or there is no clean water to drink.   I feel like Goldilocks trying to find the state or area that’s “just right”.  If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

And now that there have been reports of bedbugs on the subways, that may actually push me over the edge into leaving my great city.

The above painting was done using a reference photo from my friend Jim.  It was taken in Florida, a state with great beaches, but not so great drinking water.  Once again I started with a grisaille, a paynes gray value painting.  I then dripped both clean and highly diluted water of paynes gray and raw sienna.  Finally I went back, added some local color, defined areas that needed it and softened some of the edges where I splashed water.

Thanks for visiting.