Tuesday, September 7, 2010

cramming day II


Another watercolour painting I'm working on. Just putting down base colors now, then I'll darken / brighten by adding more washes. A wash of cadmium yellow over the green will really make it glow. My main way to make colours vibrant is by putting them alongside contrasting colours. I love the challenge of placing colours. It puts my mind in a good place.

Swimming in deep, cold water is downright scary at the moment. I'm only staying in for 4-5 minutes now, which isn't long enough to swim any distance or tire myself out. I think fear is making me think I'm less capable than I actually am.

It's a whole new ballgame, because it's harder to breathe at first, my skin tingles and my fingers go numb after only a few minutes. Is that safe? A friend sent me a great article on hyprothermia that says you have at least 2 hours before you go hypothermic, which eased my mind somewhat... but, like I said before, I've saved three people who suddenly "couldn't swim" any more, and all three times the swimmers said they stopped swimming because they got too cold. I can't get that out of my head.

I usually jump in the ocean a few times every winter, and this already feels close to winter temperatures.

I keep telling myself that next time I'll use a wetsuit, but I still can't bring myself to do it. What's the fun in separating yourself and that beautiful water by a thick layer of stinky plastic? That would be like listening to an IPod while praying at a church. The wilderness is my temple, and when I'm givin' my respect I want to be right in there, feeling it as fully as I can, dealing with it using my animal-body and nothing else.

3 comments:

  1. FWIW, wetsuits work by having a layer of water between you and the neoprene that your body heats up, and the neoprene insulates. So you wouldn't be separating yourself from the water, you'll just be holding some of it close to you for longer than usual.

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  2. Yeah but the water's all skanky and warm.

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  3. The water's only skanky if you are. Just sayin'.

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