I double checked to make sure that was really the word I want to use---the "urban dictionary" told me this: 

Overkill  More than what is needed. In gross excess of what is reasonably expected. An excess of something beyond what is required or  suitable for a given purpose. Originally applied to nuclear weaponry.

Now why on earth are we going there, you ask?  Here are your answers to that question in random order.  It's July.  We woke to fog.  My daughter is a pianist.  I have been working on a painting of sun and shadow.  Hmmmm... the plot thickens.

Let's start with the pianist.  Said daughter is working on her doctorate in pedagogy/performance.  She mentioned a remark her professor made.  That you need to go for the 200% so that it "appears" like a solid 100%, because if you go for 100%, it will appear weak.  People who hear a performance geared to 100% will think, "hmmm....did she really give it her all?"  Overkill seems to be a requirement in piano performance.

Now let's address "July" and "fog" in the same pararaph.  Considering that it's Saturday, my husband made an early morning trip to a local pond to see if any fish were feeling friendly.  I went for a morning run.  We got back to the house about the same time, and simultanelously said "ewwwww".  The air, both inside the house and out, was thick with stick.  I've mentioned before, I am a fan of open windows and summer air, but something just seems wrong with fog in July.  The husband said "we ARE turning on the air conitioner, period".  It's on.  But.  We had to set the thermostat at 74 degrees to make it cycle.  That's crazy overkill, but at least I am not sticking to the keyboard as I write this.  Overkill is necessary to make the air conditioner work.

And finally we get to the point about some art.  Painting.  Sun and shadow.  If I give either the sun or the shadow just 100%, will it be a solid performance?  If I don't set it out of the comfort zone, will it work?  The painting is about people gathering at a coffee shop in a town by the lake, circa July.  If the sun is not glaring with overkill, will people even notice that it's a sunny day?  If I am reserved with my color application, will anybody "get it"?  So overkill it is---white and cad yellow in the sunny places, ultramarine and violet in the shady places.  Is there really yellow in the sidewalk in front of the coffee shop?  No.  And is the wall of the shop, back there in under the front porch, really violet/ultramarine?  No.  But revert back to the previous paragraph conclusion:  overkill is necessary to make the thing work. 

The camera died.  No photo.  You'll just have to trust me on this one.  Update after a trip to some store that sells cameras.  Thanks for stopping by.

Later, Cooper