Sky Chess

I call this painting Sky Chess. Ever since I was a little kid I have always loved the game of Chess. I have been wanting to paint something about Chess. Little things came to me here and there, but I was having trouble coming up with an interesting Chess theme. Then I figured why not just go all in and make something grand. This painting is a mix of my imagination, reality and fantasy. The water falls, bluffs, trees and parts of the mountains are all reality. They are from pictures I took from state parks in Tennessee. Of course, the chess board rising out of the water, and both the sun and the moon out at the same time is from my imagination and from ideas I had seen on the internet. The raven and dove are the Chess adversaries. Black is in check and the end game ensues with both birds locked in battle. The fantasy is dark v.s. light, good v.s. evil. Winning and losing are at stake on Mother Nature’s world stage. At the moment Black is in check. As I said, I love the game of Chess and this painting is my tribute to it! I made this painting on three pine board planks. It took me a long time to finish this, but I’m pleased with the time I spent creating and completing it. I hope you like it as well.

Louis Hang Gliding

This is #6 in a series of paintings depicting the adventures of Penelope and Louis. Two loving penguins exploring the world. The backdrop of this painting was inspired from a drive my wife and I took along Navarre beach on the Florida coast years ago. I remember having to drive very slow along this stretch. It’s 18 miles of raw unspoiled coast line from Pensacola to Navarre beach. There are no homes or buildings along the route, just dunes and water as far as the eye can see. Top speed was 45 mph. This is conservatory/nature route, so the speed limit is reduced for this reason. Not sure where Penelope and Louis will end up next? My wacky imagination will come up with something though. I used 4 pine planks for this painting.