Making "Someday",,, Into Today

Too many times in our busy daily lives, we put our spirit of adventure or dreams on hold. We simply put off "the doing"... and sadly, many of these opportunities and life rewards are either buried under other daily chores, or are forgotten - never to be fulfilled.

Deb and I decided last week to commit to knocking one adventure we had talked about for too long... off our ol' bucket list. As I mentioned in my last post, we headed down to Corning NY last Friday and made a pilgrimage to see the famous collection of blown and stained glass at The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning NY.

Deb is a stained glass artisan... and in my own humble view... her unique works are quite simply... "a cut above" the rest. Her creative process engages the use of positive and negative... or completely open space coupled with the gaiety of glass colour to create a recognizable style of her own. She spends days creating her own one-of -a-kind designs... even with her smallest modestly priced "sun catcher" pieces, Each and every piece is unique and assembled with the same attention to care a detail as her larger pieces.

For "Her.... visiting Corning represented a pilgrimage to Mecca. How thrilled and excited she was as she wandered the halls which house three thousand years of glass making ... from Egypt where glass-making was born... up through the Italian Renaissance through to contemporary glass artistry.

I had made the trek more in support of her interests... but came to find many things in the exhibits which piqued my own artistic spirit and I came away equally enriched and stimulated. We are both highly dependent visual "learners"... which is likely the reason that this smorgasbord of colour and form had such an impact upon us.

I would like to close out this post by sharing in jpegs some of the highlights for us... but they are but a few. It is well worth a visit to Corning. It would be a place I will carry a watercolour kit on the next visit... in April!!! Hope that you enjoy the mini tour!

Foyer masterpiece... Deb... with Dale Chihuly masterwork installation piece... mind boggling in concept and execution! What an entry!!!

Could be a "Vincent" piece... in glass

An exquisite Italian tessarae (tile) portrait masterpiece from the Twentieth Century

"O I have slipped the surly bonds of earth..."  High Flight"... for Deb!

Colourful fused glass fish scape. They never did move...

Tiffany Dragonfly masterpiece

How many hours are in this piece. Certainly a Victorian 5oo piece jigsaw masterwork!

Painted church glass... an increasingly lost art. We play with crayons folks!!!

Intricate handwork to produce this 3D bug

Any painter would salivate over the clean linework and minimal colour in this beauty

Italian historic chess set

Detail... artisanship unmatched anywhere except on the Venetian islands of  Murano and Burano

This explains the provenance and story behind this Italian chess set!..... Magnifico!

Corning cut crystal punch bowl masterpiece. Beyond imagining..... never mind executing!

Diorama workman-cutter... puts you in the picture!

"Snuff" bottle cuties... for every taste... and nose!

Is that flower cluster really.... glass??? Breath-takingly delicate and fragile!

Deb... dipped into the rich colour and elegance of the Art Nouveau

Blown glass demo ... at the 2100F.... 24 hours a day fired electric kiln. Forget your meagre winter hydro bill complaints folks!

"Bowling"... Corning-style!!!

History of lens making diorama figures

I see you!.... upside down... and backwards...

My crystal ball and Bucket List... all... in one image!

Glass birds of a feather... sold together... in the gift shop

My Mom owned such a dandy" candy dish... held her red n' green home made Christmas candies!

Something for all of you current "abstract" art enthusiasts... "in the round"!

A wee slice of the quaint, historic... and friendly Main Street retail area known as the Gaffer District

Looking up on the slopes of the valley... "housed" in rich colour and architectural beauty.

In closing out my post this morning... I send out just a small cross-section of Deb's glass artistry. I think you can easily share my respect for her artistry and unique talent. Wish that we had more widows to house some more of her works. I am blessed to share my life... home and studio with this beautiful spirit. 

"She" quite simply is.... my "Bucket List"!

She's a "recycler"... of past thoughts... happenings... and storm windows!

A whimsical accident... simply entitled... "Oops!"

"Tribute to Vincent". We both share a love for his genius and organic energy in his work

"Georgian Guardian", Brebeuf Light on Beausoleil Island

"Sunny... Sunny Day" brought me many days of light during one grey winter.... before it found a new home.

A pair of male gold finch perched on a "found" object!

A small flock of her free standing glass friends. She loves her cheery song birds.... and so do her customers!!

Here are two of her works that are in the "permaent collection"... of AWB. They offer me plwasure... a million times a day!

Two male finches keeping fire watch ... on our mantle! Two heats to  dive away the winter cold!

"Spidy"... with bobbing "babies" on braided copper adds to the river view in our kitchen cozy bay ... where we lunch every day at noon.

We are now settled safely in for winter... a bush cord of firewood...  cut and split in the now empty gallery space. The work is hung in our downstairs studio where music and new creations are already underway. I headed off for a wonderful afternoon of plein air painting at Ivy Lea Park with my long tome painting pal Frank. Stay tuned... for that adventiure in my next post... along with the "correct" answer to the plein air imposter from two posts back...

Happy Painting to ALL.... and Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American Friends!

Pausing to Remember....

November 11th... a day in a month of change from summer giddiness and gaiety to stillness and a more sombre and muted landscape. The world about us seems to accommodate the tone and mood necessary to pause within our busy lives to honour those men and women who serve... and have served to preserve the very freedoms and quality of life that we enjoy. Be it be called Remembrance... or Veteran's Day we will celebrate and remember as they fought... side by side.

This past weekend, Deb and I fulfilled a long held promise to visit the Corning Glass Museum located in Upstate New York. The village of Corning, cradled in a deep valley by the western remnants of the Catskill mountains straddles the Chemung River. It is a picturesque throwback to a time of main street prosperity and architectural beauty. One feels comfortably at home immediately...  and this feeling is merely confirmed by the congenial and genuine welcome offered to visitors by down town businesses.

I immediately recognized a commonality between Brockville, my home town and this new place. Though the geographical backdrops for each are entirely different... both share a similar and genuine spirit of warmth. Both places are ironically populated by distant relatives. It is an irony created by an earlier war between our two nations... an irreconcilable conflict at the time which necessitated a migration of citizens northward across the St Lawrence River to preserve their beliefs and to create a fledgling new nation... Canada.

Which brings us up to Today... November 11th , 2014.... Remembrance Day in Canada and Veteran's Day in the United States. In the succeeding two and a half centuries since the War of 1812 which divided us... we stand united  peacefully as neighbours. Time has succeeded in healing the deep scars inflicted by the conflict that separated us. While war creates causalities and loss... it also simultaneously ushers in the possibility of peaceful coexistence... and freedom. But there is always a price for freedom... "Lest we forget."

This morning at 11:00am, Deb and I will fittingly observe Remembrance Day in our place of birth - Brockville... along with its citizens. Many will likely be people that we grew up with in our early years. Many of the names on the cenotaph... or on the many wreathes to be laid will bear the names of family members familiar to us both. It will be personal and emotionally felt... as it always is for me. However... since July 7th, 2007... Remembrance Day has a face. I will forever remember the face of a boy... lacing up his hockey skates along with my own son Andrew.... now so very long ago.

 "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" - My personal tribute of remembrance to Matt and his family

Captain Matthew Dawe

                                         Cenotaph.. Court House Square, Brockville, Ontario

I will forever remember the image of his wife Tara, son Lucas and his parents sadly, but solemnly enjoined to celebrate the opening of a building bearing his name at Royal Military College, Kingston. These images are the inner scars that I carry personally. I cannot begin to fathom the depth of their common loss and lasting hurt.

This year... yet another face is added to my memory of Remembrance. It will be that of Nathan Cirillo... the Canadian reservist who was struck down senselessly, as he stood guard over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. His death underscores an earlier thought offered in this post.

                                                            Nathan Cirillo... "Last Post"

There is always a price for Freedom. Blessed are they who have paid that supreme price on our behalf. Blessed are their families who will carry the weight of that loss in their own lives... forever. They will never forget. The least that each of us can do to honour them... is... to remember and keep the memory of their presence and sacrifice alive.

I am deeply grateful... and blessed by their gift! How about you? Say so....in your own life.

Taking November... For What It Can Become

Normally... November causes a nose dive for most artists with its sudden drabness and loss of "high" colour. Add to these creative deficits...  the unpredictable nature of November weather and disorienting light change and you are suddenly brought  face-to-face with the annual causes of the "retreat to the studio" strategy...  or painting paralysis which grips a large number of members of plein air enthusiasts.

The strange notion of actually painting out in the cold of winter is embraced by only a few of the hardiest... or should I add craziest of individuals. I am a member... whichever view you might hold. For me... the muted (fall only) palette of russets... deep golds and tawny browns and umbers offers an opportunity to paint softly... plucking upon lost n' found edges while striking a fuller chord when contrasting shapes and colour  can be found and inserted for effect.

Rather than complain about the absence of brighter colour found in earlier fall landscape settings... I search out the rich palette mentioned above when juxtaposed to a point or shape of distinct contrast such as the examples found in these three sketches that I made over two days... within fifty yards of our residence in the village. I could just have easily chosen another dozen more from within the same distance.

I could just have easily taken digital references for these ... and most likely would have achieved a finer state of finish... in my own terms of reference... a painting. With many years of painting en plein air under one's belt, one learns much about the act of "seeing". That is to say... understanding how much more fully that shape, colour and atmosphere can be manipulated and interpreted to create "realism"... but at the same time be painterly and impressionistic.

At this juncture, where practice and process converge... one can easily carry that learning back into the studio, using it to paint in a fairly similar fashion. So convincingly perhaps... that the untrained eye might not be able to readily discern the difference. And should that really matter? I think not. It merely comes down to choice... and a personal level of artistic comfort. Painting en plein air is but one approach and tool of many... to enable artistic growth and development. Painting for pure pleasure and enjoyment should always be primary goals for any artist in my mind.

Here are four sketches that I made this past week All but one are plein air products. Can you identify the "trickster" that masquerades as a fully blown plein air sketch? Wanna take the plein air challenge???? I'd love to hear from you.... just curious!

PS The sketches are randomly ordered

Good Painting to ALL.... Inside or Out!!!

#1 "Beloved Fish Point" -oil on panel 8x10 inches

#2 November... Directly South of Rockport" - oil on canvas 6x12 inches

#3 "Home... Is Where the Heart Is" - oil on canvas 10x8 inches

#4 "Autumn Sunbathing Barns" oil on panel 8x10 inches

What a Difference... a Day Makes!

Despite the heavy wind and rain that we have experienced in these parts over the last couple of weeks... autumn colour has hung on and continues to bring inspiration and great pleasure to me in my recent plein air forays. Last Sunday... Paul Taylor, my painting friend from Rochester, New York joined me for a quick painting trip to Ivy Lea Park. I love this autumn bastion of quiet. Its many trails and camp sites offer numerous views of the river and nearby island clusters. A painting adventure can be readily be found around every bend. There is no need to travel far to set up one's easel. The quiet and solitude and its untrespassed sanctity of silence draw out the best in any artist. It certainly did for Paul and I during the two hours we spent painting together at Smuggler''s Cove.

The view of this cove... infamous and named  for the prominent "boot-legging" role and its hard-to-find location during the Prohibition years has a mystique and unique presence which never fails to motivate me personally... in any season. I have painted there in each of the four seasons and each presents a new view to be painted. Ironically, the island around which the cove water flows... is called Virgin Island. On the outside point facing southward there is a pale blue niche which houses none other than... "the Blessed Virgin". That statue is a well known river marker for all boaters and adds a sacrilegious historical  bit o' flavour to local river lore! Sacrimental wine.... per chance??? HA HA!!

Here in summer cottaging season... lots of noisy goings on at this time. Note the Virgin's niche on the cliff to the left.

January solitude... just "Me"... My Self... God... and  "I"... hiking about and painting... together!

Paul had to depart for home early on Sunday afternoon on his long road trip back to Rochester... so the foray was cut short... for me at least. I had selected a larger 16x20 inch canvas... because I knew that the colour was unlikely to remain "up" much  longer. The scene was perfect.

It rained lightly for about an hour... but we had purposely set up under a dense, heavy overhead cluster of mature white pines. No rain ever managed to get to us... but the wind and water played havoc with the water's surface and it kept changing every few seconds. Very distracting... when the entire foreground is entirely dominated by the current and deep green reflected shadows. We decided to call it a day after it became obvious to us that things would not be settling down... and the clock was running short for Paul to get off to a reasonable start back home. We took some reference pictures... to perhaps work from later.

After I had my breakfast on Monday morning... I couldn't resist havin' another go at the scene. The light was almost the same as Sunday's... so I headed back to the Park... primed for action. Once again... I found the zone quickly and everything seem to fall into place without any difficulties. In fact... there was a complete mirror reflection of the scene... making translation of shadows and water movement a cinch. I finished within an hour... and left the site completely pleased and satisfied with the painting. I much prefer to paint from life rather than from photos. Nature tells it... "as it is"... and all of my senses are aroused simultaneously. For me... my painting response is guided by the other stimuli... as much as the visual information lying before me.

I will close out this post by including the photo reference... along with my painted impression. You be the judge and jury. Did I hit the mark??

Your call Friends!

Here's our selected site... as I encountered it on the second go....

Here's my first go... lacking sharpness...

Completed canvas on day two

"Between Showers... Smuggler's Cove" - oil on canvas 16 x 20 inches

Busy at it... "in the Flow"

"He leadeth me beside still waters... it restoreth my soul..."

Good Painting ... to ALL!!!


BOOO!.... Happy Hallowe'en Friends!

I stumbled upon this artful jack-o-lantern a few days back. It speaks of someone looking beyond whatever the rest o' the "herd" does. Step up... and  be brave. Dare to Dream! "You"... and the world will be better for it!

World's Best Guitar Player Unbelievable.... and GRATITUDE

I thought that I would introduce my post today in an unusual fashion... perhaps catching each of you as much off guard as the You Tube guitarist did me... with his intentionally "troubled" and very questionable start. He most certainly more than redeemed himself with his virtuosity... verging upon guitar genius. Consider in the same breath... that he is attending Harvard University... for God knows whatever other intellectual "gift" that he must possess... and demonstrate.

I am simply in awe of his rich guitar virtuosity...  but what prompted me to choose him as my "front man" on today's "gig"... was the verbal expression he used to introduce himself before he played a single note or chord. The title of his presentation....? Gratitude... Gratitude for the wonderful things which had entered into his life in his coming to Harvard... and the friends he had made there... "that would last much longer tn the fame they would attain later in life.." Chuckle! Chuckle!... but nonetheless true!

The word which comes to mind to best describe this young man and his actions in this "Gig" is...  "humility". I believe that both humility and gratitude walk hand-in-hand. Together... they bring to those who embrace both fully and actively in their lives, a measure of Peace and Joy beyond that experienced by other travellers in life. This observation is especially true when I think about artists whom  I admire. All of them demonstrate a complete lack of pretence in regard to their achievements... and can readily recognize and accept their weaknesses and criticism graciously. They seem to me... to be able "to live comfortably in their own skins". They know who they are!

A Plan for  Helping Develop... Achieving and Receiving a Greater Sense of Personal Gratitude

Reducing the Importance and Need for Competition in Daily Life

I have given much thought to the "idea" of Gratitude as of late. I personally believe that a real gratitude is achieved in stages and with practice. I think that the most well-adjusted "seniors"... as we're referred to in this generation (it used to be elders)... have reached a point in their personal life journeys when most of the mountains we're forced to climb in life have been climbed. The need to struggle to "climb" to greater heights daily has been met and the drive for our goal-seeking greatly lessened - by personal choice.

Use of Personal Time

We have the advantage of "seeing" the value of Time as "the coin of the realm"... as opposed to the almighty dollar being the standard in earlier life. Life slows down just enough... for us to breathe and for us to be able to look around and to enjoy the scenery (too rapidly) passing by our window. For the most part many of us better value and use our time to seek new experiences and adventures... especially travel.

Re-evaluating Important Life Relationships

A feeling of genuine Gratitude for the smaller blessings of each new day gradually replaces the need for competition or comparison to make our lives seem complete. We simply "are"... at peace with the Self that each of us carries within. We become more aware of true importance of those we travel with. Those special few... who have loved and supported us during our lives - our spouses, our families and long time friends. Choosing to devote more time to being with those precious few individuals adds further to a rapidly growing sense of fuller Gratitude.

Pursuit of New Personal Adventures

The ideas and thoughts that I have mentioned in the above body of my post are not to be construed as any plan to opt out of further growth and achievement. Just the opposite. I would offer that this life stage we have currently reached in our "senior" years is comparable to Autumn itself in the cycle of seasons in the Natural World. It is rich in colour and opportunity. We can reap the harvest of our labours and savour the security that we have obtained.

That is why I view autumn.. albeit too brief...  as an opportunity for deep Reflection. For me,  that is inwardly directed questioning about prioritized and achievable goals or markers. Things to be checked off my list of "want-to-dos". That reflection also includes the coalescing of "want-to-dos" which Deb needs to fulfill her own life goals and needs. That as well involves setting aside more time to be shared with  family and friends.

Fortunately for Deb and I, we are "much on the same page" in regards to this reflection process... simply because our lives are woven together in a rather unique fashion. We are not only enjoined happily in a matrimonial sense... we are as well contentedly sliced together in our individual artistic pursuits and our joint Gallery business activities.

Fortunately for us, we have just lately reached a point in both of those areas to start thinking about an "exit strategy" from the real rigours of owning and operating a gallery business. It has been indeed been a very inspiring... satisfying and rewarding venture/adventure... but as with all things... there lies within that decision a cost - a huge investment of time and energy.

Raising families, as with us all... has required years of investment of precious time and capital. Now... we find ourselves on the very cusp of seeing our children successfully and happily launched upon their own journeys. We are extremely proud of each of them for their individual achievements... and unique differences. We feel gratitude... for the gift to us of having lived sufficient time to reach this point to enjoy this special moment.

We have jointly decided to begin preparing for a new adventure - travel. Our strong passion for creating Art will still be maintained in our adventures... but it will be revised to meld with the sheer joy of freedom of choice to create... as opposed to the fiscal need to produce works for sale. Painting for pleasure... mostly - that's very different from a business perspective (usually).

My own art journey has carried me to to paint in all but one Canadian province... Newfoundland/Labrador. I have painted in each of the British Isles, Germany and Italy and as well... in parts of the USA, Jamaica and the Barbados. What's next?... That's the focus for us over the winter... as well a preparing for a final "swan song" for The Paint Box Gallery -anywhere!

Offering Gratitude to Others

The recent terrible and tragic events that have unbelievably unfolded during the last week here in Canada in Quebec and Ottawa underscore the complete lunacy and danger-fraught path that Mankind appears to be headed down. It is a hideous and totally misguided downward spiral... a vortex which sucks even the innocent into a world driven by fear... hatred... and even untimely and meaningless death. Today... Humanity itself hangs in the balance. No ideology... whether cultural... political or religious can claim "the right" to determine the future for those not included within its precepts.

I will close out today's post... as I began it. I appeal to those of you who read this to consider what role you might assume... what non-violent act you might unilaterally undertake in your own everyday life to buffer this threat for further violence and hatred. Perhaps your art... or even your smile might be seen as visible evidence... that a better way is possible!

In closing ... I offer my usual Remembrance Day tribute... a simple painting entitled "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" It echoes pictorially the very same anthem theme which prominently spearheaded the non-violent folk music movement's crusade and public appeal to bring the war in Vietnam to a speedier conclusion. I offer it humbly today in the memory and remembrance of the sacrifice made by all young men and women... especially these two recent  peace time soldiers here... on Canadian soil. I extend my deepest Gratitude to them... and my condolences and thanks for their sacrifice to their surviving family and loved ones.

Thank you!

Good Painting... and Much Peace... to ALL!

Just Another [Impromptu] Day.... in Paradise !

Autumn... like summer has been moody and temperamental. The full colour and true beauty of the Thousand Islands has just begun to reveal itself. How long it will remain... or if it will peak... will be determined by the outcome of the several days of rain we have experienced this week. Rain usually puts a hold on plein painting. Simply put... "oil and water DO NOT mix"!!!

See what you missed sleepy heads?... If only for a few moments... today was an awe-inspiring and motivational moment. The new day made its (however) brief  entry... and I stood alone to meet it. And it has made all the difference in my day. "Carpe diem"... in action! HA HA!!

However... the shortness of this beautiful and long-awaited painting season reconfigures rationality for the obsessive-compulsive die-hards of the plein air group of painters. I am surely one of these... just ask Deb. All that I needed to jump start this process was a brief morning encounter with Mr Golden Sun... and I was out... immediately following breakfast to the gallery to assemble my kit. As is usually the case... the sunrise at this time of year is no accurate barometric device for planning a plein air trek. By the time I was organized and set to go... the day had become a sullen... gloomy and spirit-deflating cocoon of greyness.

I decided to head out anyway. After all, I had promised my Rochester, NY painting pal, Paul Taylor that I would check in on his boat and trailer at the Taylor compound. This summer retreat for the Taylor clan lies perched high on a granite cliff along the river just a minute or two west of Rockport. It is a veritable piece of paradise unto itself... with the various Taylor siblings' sleeping quarters clustered about a red painted common room area where they eat... commune and play away time together.

Theirs is exemplar template of an almost disappeared river heritage that existed up and down this vast river... on both shores and at every societal level. Change and Time have all but swept this summer way of life... and in many other places into obscurity. But the Taylors are a stubborn and resourceful lot.They proudly hang on to their family values passed to them by their now passed parents over a life time of unforgettable summers. Phil Taylor Road gives testimony to their perseverance and commitment to their parents' gift.

My own family place on the river... lies distant from the Present. The Sherman Shangra-lai now exists only in the memories my family members and "I" carry for the rest of our journey. But enough gloom... I will carry on with the "brighter side"... there always is one you see... if you choose to "see" it... and focus on it.

Impromptu... makes the difference

The road into the camp was chained up... but not locked... so I took it down and proceeded to conduct my check in for Paul. The hardwood canopy was burning brightly in rich, wet colour... accented deeply by the deep greens of the white pines inter-mixed along the winding dirt road into the camp. I decided to get out and do a totally unscheduled walk about... camera in hand. Perhaps I might grab a photo or two... for future use in the studio. Maybe one that I might use to tease Paul with... when he was too far away to enjoy it during the winter months. I am a BIG tease - just ask all of my family and friends!

As I approached the red common house.. "Taylor... Action Central", as I refer to it... hung high on a granite cliff over the now silent river... the true feeling of rapture that is the mucilage of the Taylor family swept completely over "Me". For that moment... I again felt that same feeling of belonging... that feeling of being "One" with a place... that was the very cradle of my being... treasury of my dreams and memories. Looking to the point eastward from their parents deck... I was struck by a cottage view on a point directly under my vantage point. It was a Taylor place as well... though I didn't which Taylor at the time.

Looking above me... there was an overhang on their parent's home that would afford me and my easel the necessary cover... should the rain interrupt during the two hours that I would need to complete a painting. I hurried back to the van and gathered together all that I would need for a one-carry return to my aerie. Within a few minutes... I was set up and painting... selecting a vertical format for the 20x16 inch canvas. I had set out my palette of colour in my paint box before leaving Islesview. Time is precious when painting outdoors... especially in "iffy" weather.

I continued and added to my impromptu thoughts and theme by deciding to work with complete spontaneity throughout the painting session... which lasted just under two hours. That spontaneous response included filtering out the extraneous detail in the foreground... choosing to pay more attention to the central image... the cottage on the point which had first caught my eye. I built a framework in support of that focus using the distant Club Island as the back drop... carefully placing the lines and shapes that would eventually emerge as "the subject". Finally...  dropped in some "hasty notes"... to act purely as markers and guides to reserve space for some kind of foreground filler.

Choosing to paint out doors in this kind of weather certainly "dampens" (pun intended) any attempt to demonstrate verve in the use of an unbridled palette of colour. The very atmospheric nature of such an environment restricts that attack. However... on the flip side it forces the artist to play carefully with those primary colours... offering a wonderful situation and classroom for the artist to develop an understanding and new capability to create... GREYS. When these many different greys are achieved using the complementeries in tandem..... proper VALUES... come into play. This valuable tool allows the artist to create harmony and control which best imitates the very transient lights... darks and colours before them.

It has been said... that about 75% of any successful, well-conceived and executed painting is composed mainly of middle values. The remaining 25% focus upon using higher values to describe the main subject. Using this "rule of thumb"... I most always identify what I consider the subject at the very start of my process. I add mapping liners to describe either important planes or big shapes. I add the higher key treatment of the central image... and then "flash dance" (rough in) the middle values to simply fill the canvas,

The second phase of my process then addresses the light source... to keep it consistent right from  the start. In today's case... the lighting is diffuse... and lacks direction... at least at the start. If one keeps the initial application of pigment "stainy"... then changes can  be affected without concern.... should that change.

The final stage is always the "push n' pull" phase... that working period of checks and balances to adjust values and obviously distracting points or elements. Often this phase will include adding foreground elements... hopefully in a minimal fashion. I have to try really hard to "stash the rigger". But today... the developing pitter-patter of rain stepped in to help me make the decision to draw this painting day to an end.

What you see in this jpeg ... is exactly what came out of the field... in less than two hours of painting. Would more strokes in the foreground add further to this painting's "cred"????....  Perhaps, but I think for me... it complete. It fully encapsulates that feeling of "belonging". Something which binds the Taylors... Shermans and a host of other "River Rats" to this common piece of Paradise.

"There's No Place... Like Home!" - oil on canvas 20x16 inches

From my own heart  the painting says... that a "Home"... is not just a House. It is the place blended and fortified by the presence of the people and the events which they shared the brief moment in Time together. In our cases...

We are deeply blessed.....


Good Painting .... to ALL!


PS It REALLY is....... Indian Summer in our neck-o-the-woods! HA HG! Happy Autumn everyone! What you "see".. when you're not ".... "looking"!  HA HA!!....  Warned  you that I was a BIG tease!

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