The President of the United States flew into Larkspur yesterday, and Marine Helicopter Squadron One landed right across the street from my apartment! It was my understanding that Joe Biden was on his way to Ross or Kentfield for a fundraising event. When he landed, I was in my usual painting spot next to the salt marsh with a brush in hand, trying to capture the scene. Watching the Marines fly about 200 meters overhead and land in a place I know so well was very exciting and surreal. However, as a painter, it was also sheer terror because the backwash from those MV-22 Ospreys is incredible. Thank goodness I had pre-stowed a bunch of my supplies, ballasted the tripod, and had a hand on the painting, or everything would have been gone when the last Osprey hovered directly overhead. That one hit hard and nearly blew me away; it knocked my gear back a few feet and tumbled the neighbors’ bikes to the ground. By sheer luck, I caught my palette before it crashed into a nearby car. Definitely the most exciting painting day this neighborhood has seen in a while. I was picking rocks and bits of grass out of the paint for a while after that.
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