this week's Substack Gideon Or The Wary Eye. Having finished the commission and craft fair projects, I’ve noticed the two recent paintings I did for myself, Atticus from a few weeks ago and Gideon, above, are not nearly as angry as expected. Wary and distressed, yes, profoundly so, but definitely not angry. Perhaps I’m still too stunned. I’m also struggling with how differently I see out of my left eye since the surgery. It’s nice to focus on things in the distance, but I can’t see a damn thing with it close up. Not my laptop, phone, a crossword puzzle, and most importantly, my artwork. The right eye, which still has a cataract, is the reverse so my eyes are not doing the same thing at the same time. I’m told they will work together better if I have the right eye done too, but then I will be completely dependent on reading glasses. What if I end up not being able to see well enough to paint? I have worn glasses since I was kid, but I could futz around the house and read or make art without them. Luckily, I have a few weeks before my surgical follow up, so maybe by then I’ll know what to do. Meanwhile, I had a great time at the holiday market at The Commons yesterday. I brought original pieces as well as the usual merchandise, and I think that helped a lot with sales. I’m there again today and hopefully it will be a big success too. Then it’s back to The Crown and Anchor, where I heard they were inside yesterday. Fingers crossed that holds for the next two weekends, it’s far too cold to be outside all day. And changing the subject, I had an encounter with a coyote Thursday afternoon in town. More accurately, it was one of those wolf/coyote/dog hybrid coy-wolf creatures that has chased off the raccoons and foxes I used to see all the time. I still see the occasional bunny, oddly enough since it would seem they would be easier prey, and I hear the coy-wolves howling in packs at night but I’ve never seen one up close. It was big and feral and very wary as it trotted off after staring me down. There’s that word again. Wary. Vigilant, or hyper-vigilant work too. So, not angry, yet. Onward. https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/gideon