A challenge and a victory. Hiking the Knife Edge Trail to Chimney Peak on Mount Katahdin Maine. Like the game of Chess it takes strategic moves. I did this painting for my oldest son. I combined his love of Chess and hiking into one little painting. It is a reminder and tribute to him for tackling the Appalacian Trail back in the year 2000. This is small wood canvas measuring only 5″ X 7″.
The Conqueror Eagle
The determined fierce conqueror eagle is unafraid as he commands the dark skies. He thrusts his strong wings through a perilous epic journey. His quest is towards calmer blue clouds. He will succeed and not be defeated by the turbulent storm winds that engulfs him. He will win out and soon be able to soar free on more peaceful heavens. I almost didn’t complete this painting. It wasn’t coming out the way I wanted it to. Through the middle of it, I completely changed directions by making it a more mystical piece. I made it on four pine planks glued together.
I called this painting Sunrise Moon Hawk. It has a sort of mystical look to it I think. There is a tree near where I live that when stripped of it’s leaves in winter looks like the one I have in this painting. The moon is the moon and it can look many different ways depending on the light, time of day and season. The moon here looks half asleep and half awake as it rises above the cold morning sun. The sunrise within a crystal blue sky is always a cool sight, so I thought it would be the right backdrop for these images. Then I decided to add a Red Tailed Hawk to the scene. There are 17 species of Hawk in North America and the Red Tailed Hawk is one of my favorites. There is a Hawk in the woods within walking distance of where I live that occasionally visits the trees near me, so I wanted a Hawk in this painting. All these images are bold and stand on their own, but when I put them together in one scene they sort of created a mysterious other world to me. I guess part of the reason is the silhouette and reflection effect. Most of my paintings mixes realism and fantasy, and this painting is no different. For me, this painting is easy on the eyes and creepy at the same time. It creates different reactions. If I can do that with a painting then I feel good about what I painted. I look forward to reading any responses to it. Three pine board planks were used for my canvas. As always, thank you for stopping by and having a look, and I look forward to any thoughts about it (good and bad).
The air is crisp and clean. The majestic Locomotive roars powerfully across its tracks. The Lion within also reveals itself as it roars powerfully in the escaping steam. With manmade and nature forces combined, these two images are unstoppable as they speed across the shadowy landscape. Do you have the Lion within you? Are your body and mind like a Locomotive? I wanted to capture in this painting the strength and noise of the Locomotive and Lion together as one symbolic powerful roaring force. I decided to go mostly black and white with this one using three cedar planks to show-case more of the grainy cedar wood canvas. I’m pleased with the result, and I hope whomever lays their eyes on it is pleased as well.
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.
Wood Canvas Artist 