Looking at Two Paintings in the Boulder Public Library :: Personal Narrative Writing

Looking at Two Paintings in the Boulder Public Library I love to kill time. It was once said by a wise man that the one thing we’re all given an equal amount of is time, and how we use this time is what will ultimately determine the course of our lives. These days, there are plenty of instructions for those who are still unsure how to use time. â€Å"We need revision .02 living with upgraded busyness. So download the latest groupware and be sure to e-wire all those efforts to the 5 to 9 and 27/4 multitaskers.† At least it’s something like that, I can ususally pay attention until they start in with the math. At any rate, it’s needless to say that instead of working late to pay for a bigger roof, I prefer to leave early and catch the setting sun. Instead of spending Saturday morning taped to a desk, I prefer to wander the wide aisles of the local library, where coincidentally, this paper takes place. A library is like a compact, concrete garden of the globe. Where all the world’s diverse words are arranged by their type and placed in orderly rows. Now, Boulder is known somewhat for its diversity, and the library doesn’t stick out here for that reason. It’s more like the official logo stamped on the place, the swoosh under the Nike lettering. Here it was that wandering round the bookstacks, I came to a section of wall that had two paintings on it. They were both painted by the same two people, Leo and Diane Dillon, in the same year, 1978. Having paid the bills, and stocked the fridge some weeks previous, I was pleased to realize I had a little time to kill and could afford a closer look. The first painting, the one on the left, is entitled â€Å"Owl Woman†. The woman is sitting against an orange backdrop in a wide, deep brown dress that flows off the lower left hand corner of the painting. On her right hand is a rough leather glove, where perches a little orange and white owl. Her left hand is ungloved and is nestled in her lap. Worn around her head and down her shoulders all the way until it seems to be perched in her lap is the semi-transparent image of a gigantic owl. The owl’s head itself is not transparent, and is worn over the woman’s head like a snug bonnet. The woman’s face is clearly visible.