Ol' Sol

A television show I like is Sunday Morning on CBS. It always has interesting stories, but it also has a charming assortment of artwork of the sun throughout its ninety minutes of airing. It inspired me to attempt this watercolor of Ol' Sol. Who says Sol has to be a guy?

During the summer it is all about the sun, but in a different way now than when I was a teenager, when a suntan was a most desirable thing to have. The browner our skin got, the better. If we didn't get to the beach for our tans, we would spend long hours lying in our backyards on blankets or what we called "chaise lounges." We would usually grease up with Coppertone or our own baby oil concoction to create a bronzy glow, not to prevent skin cancer, which we never heard of.

The heat was another story. Now when a heat wave is upon us, we are cautioned to avoid it and stay in our nice, cool homes. But fifty plus years ago, before air-conditioning became as standard and necessary as a clothes dryer, a house was too hot to stay in on days like today. Wearing our light summer clothes, families would find a shady spot perhaps under a tree where a breeze would cool our skin, and we would enjoy something cold like lemonade or popsicles and hang out with the neighbors. It was a happy time, back when the sun was our friend.