F-15 Eagle

My brother-In-Law (Brother), Ray asked me to do a painting for him. I asked him what kind? He said something military. Since we were stationed together on the same base in Europe 40 years ago this would be something I could do that we both would feel good about. The first fighter I ever worked on was the F-4 Phantom, so I almost went with that for my center piece of the painting. But, my favorite fighter was the F-15 Eagle which I also worked on after the F-4. I decided to go with the F-15. Of course, since it’s called the Eagle I decided to also include it’s depiction. Since we both were in the Air Force and are Veterans I also decided to word it in the painting with a Red, White and Blue theme. For anyone who knows the F-15 it was known for it’s full after burner max climbs, as it corkscrewed through the clouds. It’s engines capable of producing 50,000 pounds of thrust easily propelled this fighter jet with sheer brute force. I never tired of watching it over the years I worked on it. Loud and proud…it was and still is an excellent bird! Thank you Ray for your service. Go Air Force! I made this painting on three pine planks glued together.

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.

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).

Homemade Wood Plank Storage Chest

And now for something completely different…I handmade this for our grandkids. Three pics below….

When I started this Blog, I did it to display and archive my paintings on wood. Of course, I love to paint, but I also love to make things with wood. I have made countless pieces of furniture since I was a teenager. Recently, my wife wanted some sort of storage chest to store our three grandchildren’s toys. We scoured the internet to buy something, and found some we liked. For the chests we liked it cost anywhere from $200 to $500. We almost bought something, but my wife suggested that maybe I should make something instead. That way we can make it the size we want.

I hadn’t really thought about it, but the wood planks I painted on came to mind. So, in one day I thought up the measurements and bought pine board to construct a chest. I cut the boards, sanded and screwed together the pieces and literally had the chest done in a single day. My wife wanted doors on it though. Making and hanging the doors was much more time consuming. Two weeks later I was done with the doors. I made this shelved toy chest for less than $60. I decided to add this piece to this blog to show that the planks I use for painting wood canvases can also be used to make furniture. Eventually I will Clear Coat it, but for now I like the natural rustic look.

Being near Christmas, I feel like one of Santa’s Elves making furniture. I only needed a saw, drill, clamps, wood glue and hardware to make this thing. Wife happy. Happy wife, happy life. Now, I can get back to painting 🙂