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
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
With this painting my mind harkened back to when we went to Colorado on vacation a little over a year ago. The scenery is a hodgepodge of photos we took. Part of that trip we stayed in Estes Park. This is a stunning area of the Rocky Mountain National Park, and it’s loaded with Elk. I guess I wanted to make a tribute to the magnificent Elk standing majestically in the cool crisp Rocky Mountain air. It is a beautiful animal, and I don’t know what the painting commands most? The attention of the Elk or the scenery? I made this painting on three pine board planks.
I wrote the below narrative back in 2015 after a river trip. I think it is appropriate for the daily prompt word “BETTER”. My blog here is an archive of my paintings. My story below are words only. I have a deep appreciation for people who can paint their stories with words. I think I will stick to painting 🙂
Sep 10th 2015
Early morning rain drops began to hit our camp. The drops steadily increased splatting harder on our overhead canopy. The clouds got thicker and grayer, and the rain picked up speed. I was thinking this will be our second float day. Why? Why must it rain today? We had already finished our breakfast, but now the rain was in sheets. The outfitter bus was scheduled to pick us up at 10:30 am at our camp. As I watched a fat little wood chuck rob something from a few camps down and wattle his way back towards the river bank, I thought we still might have a chance to float today. It would burn off I told myself. Our bus arrived, and we loaded our gear and headed north. As we headed upward on the winding up and down snake back road the clouds were breaking up and slivers of sunlight shined through the rugged tree line. Yes, I thought this is going to work. It wasn’t long after we were standing at the Akers Ferry put in. My wife and I never get tired of floating the Current River, and this is a real good 9 mile stretch of it. I have floated this river since I was 15 and I’m now 59, and each time is different. The river has it’s own beating pulse and life with each time of the year, day, hour and minute. Blue sky was now starting to overtake the odd shaped puffy clouds above. Bulging gray rain clouds were still rolling by, so I was still a bit wary of a cold wet blast. No matter, the magic of the river was pulling us to go in, and that dominated any other emotion. The morning rain cleared the humid air and the temperature dropped nicely. Two days earlier on our first float further down the river we seen abundant wildlife. Numerous striped bass, blue heron, king fisher, ducks, turtles, beaver, otter and more. The air was also teaming with dragonfly and butterfly. We expected the same this day and we were not disappointed. The water was swift on our first float, and I knew it would be even faster today. The slope of the river increases the further up you go. It was running perfect and slightly high. We anxiously sat in our canoe and shoved off. As we traveled down and picking up speed, I glanced back and I couldn’t get over how evident the downward slope of the river was? I wasn’t sure if it was an illusion or actual, but I almost felt I was on an escalator. We were moving at a great clip now. With patches of thick clouds still rolling by and cool air slipping over our skin we couldn’t stop smiling. Love this river! I barely had to use the oar to paddle, and mainly only used it as a steering device. Even in the widening flatter parts of the river we were moving at a good pace. On many occasions, I stood up. Standing gives a much greater vantage point when you look downward into the river. Of course, this made my wife a little a little nervous, so I was limited on this practice. This stretch of the river does have some tricky bits to negotiate from time to time. Large root wads and boulders sneakily hide just below the surface of the water, and so what looks like a harmless ripple from way back, can be a trap. After running a few little white caps through some twists in turns of the river, we heard an increasingly louder roar from around a coming bend. We had little time to react to what was lying ahead. The river straightened a bit, and I was standing once again to survey our choice of routes. The left bank had a narrow passage with deep roaring water slamming into the high hillside, and the white caps turned sharply with a hard right and out of sight. This canoe size wide passage had a very large round root wad the size of a car with another passage next to it. Next to the root wad and further right was a downed tree with large limbs spreading up and outward in all directions. Moving further right and just passed the middle of the river you could tell the river was starting to get very shallow as it moved to the right bank. This water was still running fast and hard, but you could start to see the surface gravel glisten in the sun. I almost chose that point of entry, but thought it might be to risky with the fast water pushing us into those tree limbs. I had to think fast now. I had to choose between going through the narrow passage of the tree and root wad, or the root wad and the hillside bank on the furthest left. Both options had their own unique peril. Now I had no choice but to commit. I chose between the root wad and tree. Just wide enough for our canoe to pass through, I told my wife to spread her feet wide for stability. I aimed our torpedo canoe to the target. No turning back now we were being sucked in with uncontrollable speed. Everything at this point becomes sort of a blur because a large fear of flipping suddenly becomes very apparent. You just feel like a helpless baby at this point, and just hope for the best. The water was loud and ferocious as it slammed our vessel hard into the root wad kicking us hard right into a large tree limb to the right of us. The canoe first tipped hard left and then hard right. It was a balancing act with two rag dolls flailing wildly about in all directions. We were bouncing hard atop white water with it’s fierce loudness and anger. Telling us you don’t belong here. Feeling like a hocked loogie it kicked us out of it’s clutches and bellowed towards us not to try that again. Hearts still racing a little we were able to have a sigh of relief. That was a close one because we did nearly flip which would have been a disaster at that speed. With the humidity still lingering, there were at times real thick patches of mist floating on top of the water. The air was cool when we passed through them. Some would hauntingly climb up the hillsides off the river. The river is alive and it breathes. A lone blue heron standing about 2 feet tall stays just ahead of us soaring just inches above the water, it’s 6 foot wing span let’s it glide effortlessly above the water. King fisher dives into the river grasping fish along the way. Circling above us are a few buzzards. Not a flap in there wings, they just float on the rising thermals. As we sat listening to nature with not another person on this river with us, I was thinking. All the people going to the Caribbean, Australia, Europe and other exotic locations on this wonderful planet, and here we were on this magnificent river in our backyard. Yes…we made the right choice. It’s a beautiful day. What could be Better ?! 🙂
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.
During some years, for about two weeks in mid to late February, the setting sun creates a mesmerizing deep orange glow phenomenon when it strikes Horsetail Fall. This is a small waterfall that flows over the eastern edge of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. El Capitan is a majestic enormous rock face, and a favorite of rock climbers. The fierce orange glow of the fall is caused by just the right conditions like water flows, clouds and temperature. The natural effect gives the illusion that intense bright orange lava is cascading off the cliff of El Capitan. Timing is everything when the angle of the setting sun causes the light to hit the waterfall just right.
When I lived in California for a total of nine years my family and I frequented Yosemite as much as we could. In fact, we camped there for an entire week on one occasion. I can understand why John Muir spent almost entire life there. In my opinion, its one of my top places to see on the entire planet.
I painted this on two small cedar planks. I added a snowy owl because it just felt right. I hope you enjoy the painting, and of course I always look for feedback. Good, Bad and Ugly.
I call this painting Owl Mountain. My wife loves owls, and we both love nature. I wanted to paint a painting dedicated to owls for her. I didn’t want to just paint a single owl. I wanted this painting to exploit owls in some kind of new way. At first, I couldn’t figure out how to do that. I was having painter’s block. I wanted to be outside the box on this one.
Then one day, out of nowhere it had hit me. We recently took a trip to Colorado, and the Rocky Mountains and Pikes Peak were still fresh in my mind. This is how I came up with Owl Mountain. I wanted to combine a mountain range with some owls. So, I started to formulate a plan for the scene in my head. All kinds of thoughts started to pour in. This painting is a culmination of those ideas. These are not the Rocky Mountains. They are made from my thoughts only. A fictitious place dedicated to owls.
The owls are actually part of the mountains, like the wood I paint on is part of the art. When you think of it, this isn’t to odd. Presidents are carved into Mount Rushmore, so to me (albeit weird), this wasn’t to out of the ordinary. This mountain pays tribute to owls in a grand and unusual way. Frankly, if there was such a place…I would like to visit. All said and done, I accomplished what I set out to do I think. My wife thinks so as well, and she really loves this painting. Satisfied. I can now move on to my next painting quest.
The American bald eagle. What an amazing creature. I just had to paint this guy. I made up the background, but I was inspired by the infinity pool I had seen when I was at Johnson Shut-Ins two weeks ago. The eagle is in action eyeing his river prey. Soon he will have his fish in his mighty claws. No escape. I used seven cedar wood planks in vertical fashion. I wanted to enhance the river violently going over the falls, and thought by placing the wood planks vertically that it might help? I’m not sure it helped at all, but I don’t think it hurt either. It’s a fictious scene for sure, but I think it’s not to far off the mark. A similar situation may play out on any day in Alaska for instance. There are many Bald Eagles nesting near where I live here in the American midwest. There are also many eagle watching places and days here to spot this magnificent animal. Mainly in the spring, fall and winter months. For me, painting nature in action is my favorite subject. I’m still learning how to splash acrylic paint around together to learn what it does. It dries fast, so you sort of have to be quick with your decision of what you want from it. Again, I’m no teacher on the subject. Quite the opposite. I’m just trying to encourage anyone looking at my paintings that maybe some day they could give it a try. Of course, you will mess up, but like anything else with each try it builds a little more confidence to try again. You might surprise yourself on your abilities. Over thirty years ago I started out with water colors and poster boards. That medium doesn’t cost a lot of money if cost is a concern. For that matter acrylic isn’t that expensive either. Oil painting is a different story and it will eat you alive. Back then, living in the military on base with a couple small kids it was a concern. So, painting with water color was a cheap and fun outlet for me. Then I got away from it for decades until this year where I have gone ape painting on wood with acrylic paint. I never knew my love for wood would be incorporated with painting. Glad I stumbled on it. So, whoever is looking at this, consider grabbing a paint brush and let your imagination flow through your hands. For me it makes me look at the world through a sharper lens. I find myself focusing more on what a cloud looks like or a tree or whatever. Stuff that we just take for granted on a daily basis all of sudden comes alive a little more. Like the blog says….Shine On, and don’t be dulled by what others think.
I decided to paint another strange picture. Why not? We live in a wacky world anyway. Earlier I had painted two whales playing soccer (you can view that pic further down in this blog). After receiving some good compliments on it I decided a Whale encore was in order. I call this one “Rare Penguin Moment Captured”. Nothing odd about two penguins admiring a majestic whale breaching the sea. Just two loving penguins admiring another sea creature I thought. I named the penguins Louis and Penelope after the movie “Trading Places”. One funny movie. Louis and Penelope just seemed to me to be the right fit for these two love birds. Perhaps you will see them again in another painting? You never know where these two will end up. Okay…..I’ve lost my mind. I’m talking about fictitious animals and scenery. Oh well, a little humor can go a long way 🙂 I hope you enjoy the painting.
After camping here for a week with my wife in May of 2015, I decided to do a painting of Cane Creek Falls. This state park (Fall Creek Falls), is nothing short of spectacular. In fact, it’s hard to believe a it’s only a state park. In my opinion it could be a national park. It’s located in Tennessee and it’s massive with over 26,000 acres. There are six major waterfalls located within it. In the foreground of this painting is Cane Creek Cascades. Cane Creek Falls is in the distance, and its not even the largest falls there (85 feet). That title belongs to Fall Creek Falls (256 feet), and its the tallest water falls east of the Mississippi. This place is absolutely amazing. Beautiful hiking trails, a lake, lodge, vistas and abundant camp grounds. This is just one painting of it. I could do 30 paintings of this park, and not even scratch the surface depicting it’s beauty!
I enjoyed doing this painting because of the time of day approaching sunset. The orange sky splashed on the trees and water nicely. If you are looking to paint something for the first time, you just can’t go wrong painting nature. I didn’t use cedar planks this time. I used pine planks. They are basically the same as far as dimensions, but the wood is a little heavier, but its also smoother. For me cedar or pine do very well for my canvas. I won’t paint on anything else for now.
Since I started painting again this year (2016), this painting is #16. I’m going to keep running with it and see where it goes. I’m practicing for retirement. Like I said in other parts of this blog, I’m just trying to show that the wood canvas is part of the art, and I’m trying to encourage that anyone can give painting a try. I have absolutely no training is this. I’m simply winging it with my own painting style. I don’t care if it’s right or wrong. I’m just going with the flow, or in this case with and against the grain. If I can do this, anyone can. There is one problem I am having now though. I’m running out of wall space to hang the paintings. Oh well, I guess I’ll just start stock piling them somewhere or give them away to anyone who wants them. I hope you enjoy the falls. It’s a great place to escape.
Wood Canvas Artist 