Whitetail Creek Canyon

Gift for my friends at Whitetail Creek Lodge in Hulett, WY.  This is the view from their deck of the road that leads back to their little piece of heaven on earth.  I love to drive back this road and get serenaded by the neighbor's donkeys along the way.  They always make me laugh.

Working on a 24" x 48" landscape. A few more hours of added color and it will be declared finished, according to my standards -- which when compared to the skills of others might be a bit premature. The more I study other artists' applications the more I realize how much wisdom is lacking in my work, especially when it comes to color. Of course, the fact that I'm literally painting in a corner of my living room under a small "day" lamp that tries desperately to mimic the glory of the sun doesn't really help the situation... but even when I move my easel out into the open I still have difficulty knowing which perfect pigments to work together to get the richest shadows, what yellow will create the golden effects of the sunlight, which blues will meet the depths of the sky.

Every now and again I hit the jackpot and actually squeal with delight. Yesterday's moment of triumph was when I came to truly understand reflections of light and color as I painted the sunset over a canyon wall. The wall came to life when I added the deep blue of the sky into the crevices of the rocks and yellow-orange to the face. Boom. There it was.

And that's the joy of painting, isn't it? The journey from an empty canvas to a conglomeration of color that forms a visual. It's the act of creating something that literally comes to 'life'. I wonder if that's how God felt when He created us...

Unlike God however, I still have some perfecting to do in my work. And with each intent study, each blend of color, each brushstroke, I take one step forward and hopefully upward to that goal of wisdom. And I remain ever grateful to those of you who share your painting experiences. You may not realize it, but you are teachers. Givers of knowledge. Thank you.

Therapy

Spearfish Canyon Creek in the fall is as much therapy as one ever needs, I believe.  The sound of the water rolling over the rocks, the freshness in the air, the icy cold when I put my feet in the stream. Reliving it as I paint is almost as therapeutic. 

A Sky for Linda

Gift for a friend, painted from a photo she took of the sky over her cabin in Sundance, WY.  Gotta love these western sunsets.

Going Fishing

Painted for auction at Macedonian Ministries Mission Sunday at Gettysburg Baptist Church. The reference photo (permission granted by the photographer) was taken in Haiti as the men loaded up their vessels to go out fishing. The sails on the boats are patched together using old, worn pieces of fabric, but still able catch the wind despite the tears and frayed edges. Like these old sails, God uses His chosen, tattered and torn as they may be, to do His work. He blows the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit into our hearts and if we are surrendered to His calling, it moves us into motion. And we become fishers of men.

Spearfish Canyon Creek

Gift for my cousin back in PA.

Spearfish Creek

One of a series of paintings I did of Spearfish Canyon Creek, and possibly my favorite of the group.  I was very pleased with the rocks and reflections in the water.