A Haunting Alley Springs Mill On The Jacks Fork River

Alley Springs Mill

I’ve always wanted to do a painting of Alley Springs Mill, but I wasn’t sure on what kind of mood I wanted for it. Then it kind of hit me with Halloween coming. I decided to do a ghostly, haunting theme. It’s not quite night as the sun rays fall on the mill and the moon rises above the bluff. An unworldly set of tiger eyes pierces through the trees. Just staring and waiting for the impending darkness. I think I created an uneasy beauty with this theme. It took me awhile to get this one done because I wrestled with how I was going to create the mood. I almost left the tiger eyes out, but then decided to go with them. I hope it was the right decision. This painting is done on 4 pine planks glued together.

Cloud Hawk

This is my 4th painting of a Hawk. My previous efforts were Puddle Hawk, Harris Hawk and Moon Hawk which all can be seen here on my blog. I think one time or another we all have seen or wanted to see shapes in the clouds. So, I brought a Hawk to cloud life with this painting. It’s painted on two pine planks glued together.

Mount Katahdin

Strategic Moves

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″.

Sunrise Moon Hawk

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).

Eagle Over The Smoky Mountains

I call this painting Eagle Over The Smoky Mountains. The Smoky Mountains bring mysterious, peaceful and sometimes haunting images throughout the hours. It all depends on temperature and time of day and evening. The mist blanketing the mountains is something to behold. I remember traveling and camping here as a kid with my parents. It’s something once you see, you never forget. The eagle threads his way atop and along the horizon. This is a small painting on two pine board planks. Even though the canvas is small, this little painting packs a colorful punch and rivals any large paintings I have done. I’m completing this painting on the last day of the year 2017. As we soar into 2018, I’m thankful to be able to paint, and to all of you who have looked at my work. I wish all of you the very best in the coming year!

The Lion Within

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.

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.

Harris Hawk Soars In Moonlit Desert Sky

Harris Hawk

A mysterious night above the desert floor. A Harris Hawk soars through the moonlight sky. The idea of making this painting came to me on a recent trip that my wife and two of our three grandkids made. About a 45 minute drive from where I live, there is a World Bird Sanctuary. It’s basically a hospital for all kinds of wild birds. They even do bird shows that both kids and adults enjoy. During this particular show they brought out a Harris Hawk. These hawks are native to the American Southwest, Chili, Argentina and Brazil. It’s a social bird that usually hunts in packs. Their eye sight is eight times stronger than humans, and they are amazing to watch in flight. I used three pine planks for this painting. 

Tropical Dream

A tropical dream. A day dream floating in space. I wanted a painting with a tropical bird. Water seemed to be a natural pick for the background. Then I thought maybe a young version of my wife and I could fit in somewhere as well. And so, I came up with this wild setting. A dream world where two people gaze upon a beautiful colorful bird suspended in a made up tropical world. My imagination gets the best of me sometimes. I just went with it, and let it run its course. Go with the flow as they say. This painting is made on three pine planks glued together.

Daily Prompt: Mystical – Its A Hoot

via Daily Prompt: Mystical

I know this appears as a shameless plug for my owl painting, but I’m just responding to today’s daily word prompt word “MYSTICAL”. I did a painting for my wife because she loves owls among many other creatures. Because of her, I became more aware of them. At times they do have a ghostly / mystically look about them. The way they swivel their heads and just sit and observe their surroundings.

Their eye sight is unbelievable (especially at night). Also, did you know that the Great Horned Owl and the Hoot Owl are the only two species of owl that emit the hooting sound. Even their hoots are a bit mystical at times to me. Actually, I have two paintings depicting the owl. Here they are:

https://woodcanvasartist.wordpress.com/2016/11/12/owl-mountain/

and…

https://woodcanvasartist.wordpress.com/ (he is flying away from chaos of life on the right-hand side of the painting).