Camping in a Cul-de-Sac – Sunset, Thursday, 27 December 2012

William Van Doren, CAMPING IN A CUL-DE-SAC. Sunset from Woodbridge/Dale City, Prince William County, Va. Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

Every December 27th lately my sunset has been the view from the suburban home of my sister-in-law and her husband. Usually I have to figure out what to do about the fact that I’m facing several big houses that I don’t really feel like including. This time, as I stood in the cold on Mary’s porch, I decided I would move the scene (in my mind at least) just a few miles to the Occoquan reservoir, where I camped with my brother Steve and our friends Bobby Thompson and Gavin MacGregor, when we were around 13 or so, over a Christmas holiday. There was snow on the ground and the low that first night was 18°F. Bobby, a very funny, likable guy, was killed in Vietnam not many years later.