October 18, 2016 HERE COMES THE SUN

photo by Melissa Root

Fall is a glorious time to run. It is picture perfect-- there's no haze to ruin the view.  I can see clear across the Sound to Groton-- And if I had better vision--I could probably see in the windows as people enjoy their morning coffee--okay, maybe not--but you get the gist. The colors  of autumn are alive--blues, reds, pinks, oranges, and yellows. They seem like painted landscapes-- they are THAT  beautiful. Another DAZZLING feature this time of year is the clouds-- they float--whites, greys-- 3D giants against the blue in the sky making me wish I could hop on one for a relaxing ride.  Sunrise and sunset are never more beautiful than this time of year either. I usually catch the sunsets during the week--And there is nothing more exquisite--  than the sunrises which I am blessed with on the weekends. The sun seems to fuse the colors of fall together in a way that makes them blend perfectly. I absolutely love fall running, the cleaner air, and especially, the palette that is the landscape of my neighborhood. It make me feel alive and grateful.
All this talk about colors, palettes and landscapes reminds me of a great book I  recently read called The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro.
First of all, I am a sucker for books about art because I was an art history major in college. I feel at home wandering around an art museum--I am like a kid in a candy shop. So, when a friend told me about this book, I couldn't wait to read it. The main character is Claire Roth, she is a struggling artist was sells reproductions to make a living--she is actually a certified repro painter.  Claire is faced with the opportunity (not sure that is the right word)  of a lifetime--forge a Degas painting--the one stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston 25 years earlier--in exchange for a one-woman show in a famous gallery. Although Claire has reservations, the pay off is too good to turn down. This is an intriguing, thrilling story. What's really fun is that many parts of the book are factual as the Gardner Museum actually had several paintings stolen in a major art heist, including a Degas, that have never been recovered. This is a real page turner--hard to put down as you try to figure out the mystery surrounding the Degas painting. I didn't figure it out until the very end--thankfully! This is an easy 350 page book--no longer than a 4 mile run--I promise.