Sun Catcher

Sun Catcher

The graceful dolphin’s arched leap over the sun catches the fading light that will soon turn into night. My wife likes owls and hummingbirds. She also likes dolphins and whales. This painting is for her. I did this painting in one day on three pine board planks glued together.

The Pier

The Pier

Imagine on a sunny day standing on this pier. A cool ocean breeze slips across your skin. The blue-grey water gently moves back and forth below your feet. Reluctantly, you leave to return another day. While away…BOOM! This pier is under siege. Darkened skies, massive swells, lighting and thunder and a freakish gigantic wave develops. The world around this pier is in chaos. The pier like many times before will endure this drama, violent turmoil and unrest that seemingly won’t end. The pier will stand strong in adversity. Another day awaits. A beautiful, serene calmness will surround the pier again. We as humans are in many ways like this pier. Our daily lives can be filled with peace, love and harmony. But, in an instant our world can be turned upside down in an upheaval of unwelcome noise, darkness and uncertainty. The pier is me. The pier is you. The pier to me represents what we as humans face throughout our lives. I left a hint of blue sky in the upper left corner of this painting. It gives hope of what was and what will be in brighter days ahead. For me, this small space of calm gives the biggest message in an otherwise dominant mixture of anarchy and disorder. This tiny blue space within all of us reminds us that when we are experiencing dark and unhinged feelings there will be peace forthcoming. Keep the faith and hope alive inside you when your world is turned upside down. I made this painting on 4 pine planks glued together.

I did two other theme paintings like this one. They are titled “The Barn” and “The Dividing Line”, and they can be seen within this blog.

P.S I am sober eight years now. There was a time I was a functioning alcoholic. I was in a constant state of clouded numbness filled with anger and regret. Freeing myself from the bottle has heightened my creativity with painting. I wrote a poem years ago after some very dark days. Looking in the mirror and not liking that person very much I made a decision to stop the hurt I inflicted on others and to myself. That person is gone now and he is not allowed back into my life.

Alcohol was my downward spin
It was my friend that helped me sin
The juice took its toll on my role
Now I repent and mend and give hope to my soul
As a husband, a dad and granddad I’m glad
I am proud and at the same time sometimes I’m sad
I have changed as I live with regret its true
I hope my good replaces the bad I gave you
I wish I knew then what I know now
I’ve caused some hurt, anger and pain that’s foul
I no longer place blame on my old deceitful friend
Calm and peace is now my trend

It’s taken me years…I was a man astray
I thought I knew who I was…now I pay
I was weak from the juice and standing in my own way
I clearly see now and hold a new day
As I write this poem I want to weep
I can’t turn the clock back so I must keep
Bad childhood memories started my rue
Like with my dad the juice made me a fool too
Getting older makes me wiser I’ve seen
I’m only human and am no longer mean
I’ve changed my path and bettered myself
I focus only on family, time, love and health
My heart has ached with a piece of it empty
So I have learned to fill it with love and be true plenty
I’m a better man…you will see I am new
So please give me a chance and I will prove it to you

The Northern Lights

Northern Lights have always facinated me. So, why not do a painting of it? And, for added measure, I through a snowy owl in the mix. This is just one reason I love to paint. You can create anything your imagination desires. I’ve done paintings with owls before, but this is my first snowy owl. The backdrop is somewhere in Norway. I’ve never been there, but would like to see the Northern lights in person some day. Just another thing to add to my bucket list 🙂 This was done on three pine board planks glued together. For those of you who have never picked up an artist paint brush, give it a try. You might surprise yourself.

Super Blue Blood Moon

The Super Blue Blood Moon glows brightly red in the cold black night as a seagull sails above a mighty ocean wave.

I wanted to make a painting/tribute about a rare epoch celestial stunner that will occur on 31 Jan 2018. It’s a moon trifecta. An All-In-One Blue Moon, Super Moon and Blood Moon event.

A Blue Moon happens every 2.5 years according to NASA. It has a couple different definitions, but it’s basically a second full moon happening in a single month. Hence the saying “Once in a blue moon”.

A Super Moon is when the moon is closer to the earth, and so it appears 14 percent larger than normal and 30 percent brighter. There are 12 to 13 full moons a year. Of these, 3-4 of them are classified as super moons.

A Blood Moon is a total lunar eclipse. This is when the full moon passes into the earth’s shadow. The moon becomes bathed in a bright red glow. It’s like seeing a combination of the world’s sunsets and sunrises all at once being reflected off the surface of the moon. It’s been more than 150 years since this spectacular event has occurred.

Any one of these events is amazing, but having all three occur at the same moment in time is an immense astronomical event not to be missed!

NOTE: This painting is on two pine board planks measuring 6 1/2 inches wide and 15 inches in length.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the painting. Any feedback (good, bad and ugly),is always welcome.

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.

Penguins Heart On The Beach

This is my fourth painting in a series of Penelope and Louis. World Penguin Day is coming up on 25 April 2017, so I wanted a special painting of them on their day. By facing each other and holding their flippers they created a heart. I will call this painting Penguins Heart On The Beach. It is painted on three pine board planks. The beach is the unpainted wood, and I glued on some sea shells for an added effect. Hope you enjoy the painting.

Salmon Fishing Reflections

I made this painting for my good friend Don whom I’ve known for 40 years as of this year 2017. Don, since I know you love Salmon fishing, I decided to make a painting for you. Besides, what is the point of painting if you can’t share it with the people special to you in your life. I really racked my brain on what I wanted to paint, and then it just came to me. This painting is on two small cedar planks. Hope you like it Don, and I will have it in the mail to you soon. I wish I could hand deliver it, but Oregon is little far for me right now. I will be there to see you some time though, so have an extra pole and lures ready for me! Your friend for life…Kevin 

P.S I learned from the first photo of taking this painting to not take it in artificial light. The detail of the painting won’t come out as good and it won’t have a yellow sheen to it. I retook the photo in natural light and it made a much better picture I think.

 

 

 

The Dividing Line

 

I made this painting with the same theme of my Barn painting. This time I wanted to mix black and white with color on pine wood planks. It really is a mood painting. What mood are you in? A dark unsettled gloomy mood, or a bright and sunny mood? It’s a painting that takes your mood temperature. As I have said throughout this blog, I have to have a real feeling to paint something, and that includes serious and funny themes. Of course, I am also happy to paint something for someone that has meaning only to them. If I had to guess I would say most people’s temperatures are somewhere in the middle of this painting. Some leaning a little to the left into the darkness of life’s challenges (by choice or not by choice), and some leaning a little to the right into the optimistic peace and love of life. Personally, I strive to be “All In” on the right side of the painting. That can be an immense challenge at times. I guess that’s peering at the world with rose colored glasses, but in my opinion it’s much better than being gloom and doom all the time. I’ve been to the dark side more than once in my life, and it’s no fun over there. The only power I have is my attitude. I’m not trying to be deep or complex here. In fact, someone once told me I wasn’t deep and I took it as a compliment. I would much rather be simplistic and happy than deep and overly complex and brooding. This painting is just an expression of where one is at in their life. Some people can throw buckets of paint on a canvas and let it roll all together and end up having it hang on a museum wall. The viewer can then stare at it and make their own interpretation of it. I’m not knocking that. It is what it is. This painting allows the viewer to also make their own interpretation of it. The themes of good vs evil, good vs bad, happy vs sad and so on intrigues me. What wins out? I guess that depends on where one is in their ever evolving life? This painting concept allows me to experiment with these impressions in a weird way. My own form of therapy I guess.

I will be taking a little break from painting now. Not long though. I shall return soon. This blog has been a great way to archive and tell the story of my paintings in one place. Thanks again to all who have taken the time to read and view my work. It’s not a fast process, but 19 paintings in six months isn’t bad I think. Especially since I have to cut, glue, clamp, trim and sand my own canvases. I don’t mind though because the wood is part of the art for me.