Friday, March 8, 2013

Wonder... A Dispensible... But Indispensible Childhood Gift

These pictures of Deb's Grand Girls, Ava and Ella say everything really... that is necessary to substantiate a case for being in touch with the Natural World. Here, as you can readily discern, they are glued to a truly magical event... the metamorphosis and emergence of a Monarch Butterfly into Life. Their Father found the chrysalis, or cocoon in their backyard and brought it in for them to share. They had no idea that this black... lifeless-appearing container held such a beautiful creature... awaiting the right moment to begin its brief, but beautiful life journey. They learned a lesson about patient observation.They also learned firsthand, never to take what they see around them for granted. And they never shall! Each and every time that they see one of its kind flitting about as they do each summer, they will relive that precious moment of wonder and discovery. I hope that they remember to thank their Father for his gift of love and time that he offered here... and on every day in their still wee lives! "He" is a special Father indeed. Deb and I are both very proud of the Girls... and the loving Parents!


Spell bound... in the clutches of mystery and discovery.... Indelible knowledge!



True mirth and Joy!... A three-ringed seat at the Circus of Creation... No price of admission!

I will turn my attention way from the girls' experience, though not away from the subject of wonder because I have chosen to discuss how one can continue to keep that "Child within" in each of us alive... still arduously searching and seeking out wonder in our hum-drum daily lives. Choosing to paint outdoors... or en plein air, as the "go phrase" describes the practice these days, does not necessarily elevate any artist above others who paint in the studio from sketches or digital files. However... painting outdoors during all seasons does give any artist who makes the effort an edge in providing a vast treasury of knowledge which Nature offers through more than purely visual stimuli and experience. Just walking "out there" on a regular basis avails one of experiences that both enrich and familiarize one with the graphic detail and situations which arouse both wonder and the creative spirit.That opportunity  to grow and learn does not depend in any way on one's proficiency, or level of achievement as an artist. It's really just like an "open book exam"... offered by enlightened educators who teach and focus upon focus on things other than regurgitation on teacher-based and biased "exam" items.

Consider this quote as a launch platform for your own artistic journey into a vast Universe of Possibility and self-initiated discovery:

"O young artist, you search for a subject - everything is a subject. Your subject is yourself, your impressions, your emotions in the presence of nature."

These are the words of Eugene Delacroix... lest you think them mine. They are however, a perfect simile to describe my own feelings about how I enter the creative process fully on my own terms for the most part. Inspiration lies in my passion within... and without. It is derived directly from my years of experience outdoors... whether painting or not. The two however, have become virtually inseparable... for one meshes almost seamlessly with the other. It becomes such a pleasurable experience and past time for me that the painting success has become secondary to the actual act of simply communing and discovering more pieces of the puzzle that is... Creation. Simultaneously... "I" am... "One with Creation... and the Creator. I am in the only Cathedral necessary for "Me" to give praise and thanks. In my place of worship neither dogma... myth nor fear governs my thoughts or actions. Just Peace and a sense of knowing that "I" belong... on my own terms and Faith!

Still pokin' away at the 7x5 inch watercolour and ink sketches... More to post later on the weekend, or early next week. Havin' fun... "Cruisin' down the River"... amongst the Islands! HA HA!!!

One last thought from a famous and respected Canadian photographer who has haunted Waterton Lake in The Canadian Rockies for his entire life... seeking out solitude... inspiration and his own wonder:

"Art... is the union of idea and craft."

 Wonder commences with first light....


Constantly morphing... becoming another moment... filled with more wonder and majesty.
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And out on that same ice minutes later... one of out four resident bald eagles takes up his early regular morning fishing spot... awaiting a possible breakfast.


A "regular"....rat-a-tatting hairy woodpecker at our suet cage


A winter plumage needy yellow American Goldfinch male.... making a seed withdrawal at our local food bank.


And a surprise and unexpected daylight cameo appearance by our nightly red fox... Guess bird seed is not his thing! The ears tell you he's not satisfied by our drive thru' offerings!



Just a dusky drama I couldn't pass up... though it plays regularly each and every day usually... right across the street from Islesview.


Last fall... on one of my tromps through Ivy Lea Park... long after the summer campers had disappeared... I found this wonderful inspiring site. Sat a few minutes and just drank it all in. Solitude... and Peace... "still waters."


Two weeks ago I was playing in my sketch book... long after the fall experience was anything more than a sweet memory... "Snippits"... shorthand for me to better search and understand...


A preliminary ink rendering to expand upon the possibility... still just that... "possibility

 But... "I" ... wonder!

Pretty much describes it for me accurately...succinctly. Craftsmanship only comes from ideas... and hard work...  consistently over time. There are no shortcuts!

I am deeply blessed... and offer that "You" can be too... and on your own terms!

I still "wonder"after all the years passed... just as Ava and Ella have just begun to... early in their wee lives! Thanks Mom and Dad for encouraging and valuing my wonder!

Good Painting!... and rich blessings!

14 comments:

  1. Love the photos of the grandchildren seeing the wonder of the emerging butterfly...something they will never forget. Also, thank you for the charming photos of the areas around where you live! Spring is definitely in the air!

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  2. Dear Bruce - I am always well fed when I come to your blog...your granddaughters' wonder is a delight to behold. I am so glad you too have not lost your wonder...your art attests to that fact. I don't paint near enough outdoors but I spend much of my free time wandering the woods, fields and hillsides and always I come away knowing God's love exists for everyone who seeks. That in itself lends to the great virtue of wonder. Thank you as always for your lovely images and inspiring thoughts.

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  3. Hi there Karen!... Thank you for dropping by... and for leaving your ever-encouraging comments!!

    Those pix of the Grand Girls certainly are capture a moment in their new lives which words alone could never hope to capture or express so fully! A picture certainly is worth a thosand words!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  4. Hi there!...Thank you Debbie... for sharing your thoughts about the post... and for including and including your own treks out into His magnificent Creation! I always look forward to our connecting... and reading your comments.

    "Seek... and ye shall find," That is a truism which never leaves me. It applies to so many situations in life... if only more people realized that fact!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  5. I am reminded of when I was little and my dad would bring in garter snakes that he'd see/find/catch while mowing the yard. We all would get to pet them and then he'd take them back outside and let them go in the near field. We've had more baby birds, cats, and dogs that were found abandoned, lost, scared, or hurt when I was growing up. I agree that it is a special gift for any parent to pass down to their children. It teaches awe, wonder, compassion, and yes, a love of nature.

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  6. Good morning Sherry!... Your very succinct sharings and memories of your own further consolidates my belief that these respectful and necessary human values are indeed dispensed and nurtured early in childhood. Your example and my own give testimony to the fact that they are retained... and passed forward from generation to generation.

    Could that be ... "Immortality"???

    I wonder...

    Good Painting! Thanks for dropping by Sherry!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  7. I really appreciate this post. My first attempt at Plein Air did not go well... I like to paint in solitude, and I can do that in my little corner of the house. I have undertaken a challenge for myself, and that is to paint each of my grand children...examples of miracles of God's hand, I feel. I look forward to painting, too, some of the beautiful photos I have taken of beautiful landscape and scenery, but it will have to be done inside, I'm afraid.

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  8. Hi Bruce,
    The girls are adorable, and the photo's are terrific. It's so true, if we can continue to stay, young at heart, life will always give us a feeling of wonder and amazement. You know, like the song, Fairy Tales Can Come True, If We are Young At Heart. lalala, Just broke out into a song. HaHa.

    Take care my friend.
    Joan

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  9. Good afternoon Wendy!... My first attempt... and a large number of attempts over my life time have no gone well. That is one of the basic things one has to get their head around.

    Each and every toime is a new opportunity to learn... just another blank page in a sketchbook. Not every page is destined to turn out as wthe one before... or after it. It is in the looking through the whole sketchbook that one can see a consistency... or plateaus in learning.

    So it goes with plein air painting. It's about being "out there"... soaking your soul in the wonders that Nature offers you. Think about that the next time you are in the field!

    Good luck with your portraits. I have no doubt that they will turn out for you... because the effort will come from within!I'll look forward to your sharing them with us!

    Good painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  10. Hi there Joan!... The gals are indeed adorable and "old spirits" I might add! They sure do wrap Dad... Mom and Gramma around their little fingers! HA HA!!! It is... as it should be!

    A great song choice too Joan... a fav of mine as well! Perhaps it might end... "when you're young...at ART!.... Always willing to look for and find wonder each day in your work!" HA HA!!!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  11. Hi Bruce, it's nice to see the girls starting out on what I hope will be a lifetime of wonder and discovery. I never cease to wonder at and learn about the world, and other worlds too, and I hope I never shall. It saddens me when some people seem to have little interest in expanding their minds. Even just learning to "observe", rather than "see", can be enriching and that's what working outdoors can do of course.

    All the best,
    Keith

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  12. Good evening Keith!... Thank you for dropping in and leaving your own ideas!I deeply share all of your sentiments shared here!

    Wonder will always propel the human spirit to greater knowledge... which leads to greater respect for the world we live in. We are the stewards for generations of children to follow us. If we can empower them to imagine and wonder... then therein lies Hope for the future!

    Just "observing"... often is the precursor for "seeing"... isn't it Keith. Both reveal mysteries and solutions... as we travel through this life... and world... to another????... perhaps???

    I wonder....

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  13. Loved the intensity of the girls' wonder, Bruce! Ah...discovery...I still remember ones in my past and look forward to the ones right around the bend.
    You are fortunate to be plein airing! Never take it for granted, my friend.
    Due to my health, I visit my back yard on good weather days. I used to be an avid outdoor person, always fishing, hunting small game, or merely observing. All of which serves me now. I have observed much of nature at a personal level. I hope that remembered familiarity comes across in my paintings.
    Blessings.

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  14. Good afternoon Dean!... Thank you for your thoughtful words of sharing and your kind compliments!

    Experiencing discovery and that "Eureka moment"... both in my own lives and watching it arrive with children... is always a sacred and magical moment! Life is about discovery. Creation is about doing something with those discoveries... each in our own way... and with the sum total of our experiences!

    We share that commonality Dean... and that feeling of kinship keeps pulling us together!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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