Festivals, Museums, and Architecture

(The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art)

Days of work combined with days of play...now that makes for a pleasant blend!  That's what the last 9 days have been for me.  Northwest Arkansas provided the scene for all my activity the past week.  First came the Bella Vista Arts and Crafts Festival where I had a booth selling my artwork and prints.  Meeting new people and interacting with fellow artists makes for good networking.  

(The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art)

One of the highlights of my Arkansas stay was studying at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.  This beautiful facility was built by Walmart and has a good foundation of supporters.  If you ever are around the Bella Vista, Arkansas area, take the time to explore and enjoy some great art and surroundings.  Admission is free!  Thank you, Walmart!

The above photo shows the third floor library at the museum.  I could absolutely spend hours studying in the thousands of great art volumes.  Going to have to schedule time down the road dedicated to that purpose.

(Mildred B. Cooper Chapel)

My older brother Gordon gave me another highlight during my time in Arkansas.  Monday night we sat and watched a documentary he had of the Arkansas architect Fay Jones.  Mr. Jones had mentored under the great architect Frank Lloyd Wright.  Then all of Tuesday, Gordon toured me around northwest Arkansas to view various structures designed by Fay Jones.  This chapel is one of them in the beautiful woods near Bella Vista.

Another structure of Fay Jones we visited was a home owned by a local Springdale farmer.  He was thrilled to take us on a tour of his home.  I wrote lots of notes down as he talked about the design, construction, and actual interaction and character of Fay Jones throughout the process.

Fay Jones' philosophy was to build a structure that complemented the surrounding environment and blended in with the landscape.  He wanted the land to look better for having his building on it, than it would look without it.  Fay Jones inspired his contractors to build every part with the best of all your life in it.  And then to build the remotest corner with the same quality as the front door.  Do you see some good life applications here?  I sure did!!  

Fay also taught that the greatest task an architect has is how they handle light.  That certainly is a part of my task, as well, for my artwork.

One significant note of interest to me was an observation Frank Lloyd Wright made of his student Fay Jones.  Mr. Wright said he built horizontally in his design to leave God out, but that Fay Jones built vertically to point to God.  Philosophy/world view matters in everything we do...that's where it all starts....in what we believe.  It then ripples out from there to everything we do.  And you can see and experience that in the structures of these architects.  Being in the beautiful Mildred B. Cooper Chapel was a beautifully inspiring experience.  

I conclude this blog with a sketch done just this morning by my 14 year old nephew Josh Milligan.  He was sitting at my drawing desk taking a Spanish test for his teacher Mom who is attending my father's surgery this morning.  Here is how he finished up that exam....this is what my drawing desk looks like:

Keep pushing the pencil, Josh!  I love your delicious sense of detail and line!

Be brave and courageous!

Traveling Mercies

Whenever one heads out to travel a distance, there are always possible troubles to expect. One could encounter vehicle failure, an accident, sickness (I experienced food poisoning on my last trip), or theft.  So when a safe and successful trip occurs, we have much for which to be thankful.   How easy it is to take it all for granted, even in having the freedom to travel as one chooses!  Recently I completed a 3500 mile journey and never once experienced a mishap, although there were some close ones... like when I almost drove over the edge around a steep curve into a canyon at Yellowstone National Park.  My front tire was already off the pavement.  It took me a number of minutes to recover from the scare of that frightening experience.  I was in awe of the great mercy and protection shown me at that time!  I thought I was for sure a goner!

(The falls at Yellowstone National Park)

My next opportunity for traveling is just around the corner.  Next week I will be participating in the Northwest Arkansas Bella Vista Arts and Crafts Festival  from October 16 - 18th.  If you happen to be in the area please stop by and see me!  This is a first rate show and I'm eager to have my artwork in it.

My little art manikin Michelangelo is rounding up his wild buddies in busy preparation for the trip.  A lot goes into having a booth in these shows!  I'm grateful for his "help" although he's got his hands full trying to keep the wildlife on peaceful terms with one another!

In the book of Psalms there is a chapter that was written for travelers going up to Jerusalem.  The words are reassuring for any traveler today.  The writer declares in Psalm 121 where the source of his help comes from...it is from the Lord who made heaven and earth!  Not only is this God big enough to make the universe, but He is also declared to be powerful enough to watch over, care for, and protect the traveler.  And for all on the journey through this life, God is ENOUGH!   That's powerfully reassuring to take out the door with you into your day.

This is a sneak preview of a sketch I did for a possible painting down the road after I get back from Arkansas.  Hold on tight as it doesn't look like an easy ride!

"May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May the Lord make His face shine on you, 

and be gracious to you:

May the Lord show you His favor 

and give you His peace."

---Numbers 6:24-26

Be brave and courageous!

Bits and Pieces

"Emmy"

9" x 9"

Graphite/charcoal

Today's blog is about gathering up some loose ends and bringing you up-to-date now that I'm back from my travels.  First, I was working on this pencil portrait at the end of July but had never shown you the finished product.  So here it is.  This portrait of a friend speaks of the grit and determination of a western cowgirl and of the beauty she seeks to bring to life. Emmy has blessed my life!  The original drawing is now available, as well as prints.

Next, you may recall the cargo trailer I built this summer to haul my art gear to shows.  Long term plans were to cover the top with wood-hinged doors.  In all the going's on of summer I hadn't time for that, but had just used a tarp.  So this week I've been busy with the drill, screwdriver, and table saw doing just that.  Oh, the guys at Home Depot love me!  They wanted a report on my trip and were full of advice on how to complete my doors project.  I've been there so much that I feel like they are my second cousins once-removed.  Here's some photo shots of the doors project:

It's been five days since I returned from my 3500 mile trip.  I'm still thinking much about all that I drank in visually from that trip and the great people I met.  Once I get finished building and catching up on my bookwork, I am so eager to launch into some new painting/drawing projects to share with you some of the grandness that I beheld. 

(Wind River Canyon, Wyoming)

Here's a little study that I did of some antelope I saw in the middle of Wyoming:

(ink and watercolor)

Antelope are so wary that it's hard to get close to them.  I'm glad that I know a God who longs for me to be close to Him.  Like King David wrote in Psalm 42:1..."As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God..."  so I want to long for God with that kind of desperate, earnest desire.  Here is a study I did of a deer in Yellowstone National Park enjoying streams of water:

(pastel  9" x 12" study)

Be thirsty for all of life and God this week!  Dive in like the deer!  

And here's the last bit...it's a teaser.  Next week I will tell you about another exciting adventure and opportunity I'll be going on with my art in 12 days!

Be brave and courageous!

For the Beauty of the Earth

The Boss of Yellowstone

9" x 12" study in pastel

Over the past month I have experienced a lot of windshield time in my sturdy little 1989 Ford Bronco.  My travels have taken me from Omaha through the Scottsbluff National Monument, to the National Museum of Wildlife Art in the Grand Tetons, to the edge of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone in Yellowstone National Park, through western Montana, all across Washington, rush hour in Seattle, to British Columbia, around the North Cascade Range, and back down into Cody, Wyoming.  Whew...catch your breath!  Today I am here in Cody to spend the day studying at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.  The Center contains 5 different museums and a research library.  The museum I am most eager to explore is the Whitney Western Art Museum.www.centerofthewest.org

Sketching out my idea

Putting in the first layer

While traveling and beholding so much of our beautiful America, I have enjoyed listening to my CD of "The John Rutter Collection" sung by the Cambridge Singers.  One of my favorite songs on this album is "For the Beauty of the Earth"  /www.youtube.com/watch?  v=qpEbQGsPqHE .   It is a joyous celebration of all the many reasons we have to be thankful.  Listening to this song helped me to express how my heart felt to be seeing all the grandeur both small and great.  This world is full of foreboding news and uncertainties. These are realities, but how refreshing to also be reminded of the God of all creation who is Sovereign over it all....He is the maker of all these many mountain peaks that I've seen.  David said in  Psalm 95:4 that the mountain peaks belong to God.  Take that into your day!

Northern Cascade Range

Be brave and courageous!

Go and Find It!

(Mt. Shuskan, WA  8" x 10" study in oil)

Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem called "The Explorer"  describing that elusive "something" that compels an adventurer on..."Something hidden.  Go and find it.  Go and look behind the Ranges-----Something lost behind the Ranges.  Lost and waiting for you.  Go!"

To some of us, that is an irresistible invitation to the open road and adventure!  To what lies beyond...to the lure of the unknown!  Kenneth Grahame sums it quite well and humorously in The Wind in the Willows when Toad cries, ..."The open road, the dusty highway, the heath, the common, the hedgerows, the rolling downs!  Camps, villages, towns, cities!  Here today, up and off to somewhere else tomorrow!  Travel, change, interest, excitement!  The whole world before you, and a horizon that's always changing!"  

(North Cascades/Washington)

Brian Tracy describes the explorer as a traveler....one who has an incredible dissatisfaction with routine and normal living.  A question I often ask myself is "Why be ordinary?"  Settling for ho-hum and status quo isn't an option.  Sure, there's risk involved.  You are stretched way beyond your comfort zone.  Hard work and difficult circumstances demand ongoing perseverance.  But there is also joy in the journey, in the actual processes themselves, and exhilaration at the end of finally "summiting"  the goal.  I love the challenging way Henry Longfellow expressed it in a poem...."Those heights by great men, won and kept, Were not achieved by sudden flight; But they, while their companions slept, Were toiling upwards in the night."

(Mt. Baker, Washington- North Cascade Range)

One great adventure is open to all of us.  Christ said, "Follow me!"  His disciples left all to do just that.  Their answer to that call turned the world upside down....changing even the policy of the Roman empire.  That call had a high cost but those disciples never looked back once they committed.  They went beyond ordinary, safe, and mediocre.  They experienced LIFE!  

Lucy Swindoll wrote in her book I Married Adventure about that choice herself..."The choice was mine and mine alone.  I decided to go for the latter.  I determined to do whatever it took to keep my spirits up.  I took God at His word that He would be with me and take care of me, that He'd go before me and straighten the crooked places, that He'd be my Comforter, Friend, and Great Physician.  Something about that choice had a rush in it for me.  An edge.  An excitement.  Each day, I couldn't wait to see what would happen!"

(Mt. Shuskan - North Cascade Range)

So...what are we waiting for?!  Strap on your backpack, coil your rope, grip your pick axe.

Something hidden.  For you.  Christ calls.  Go and find it!

Be brave and courageous!

Water-Blogged

 (Deer in Yellowstone National Park/watercolor study)

 What is with water?!  We are drawn to it like a magnet.  Reflections of sunlight on a lake or the sound of thundering falls catch our attention.  Without water we would not be alive.  It sustains all life on this planet.  Viewing a well-watered garden is a pleasure.  

We can observe water in a variety of ways...fountains, lakes, rivers, oceans, geysers, rain, snow, and waterfalls.  

(Upper Yellowstone Falls)

Water nurtures life for plants, wildlife, and us humans.  Around water, life teems with activity. 

One is reminded of the words Jesus spoke when He stated that no one would thirst if they drank of the living water that He offers.  In John 4:14 He said, "But those who drink the water that I give will never be thirsty again.  It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life." (NLT)  

I like that!  Fresh....bubbling.  A spring!  A constant flow!  I want a well-watered life, don't you?!  Thirst is quenched in Him...life in Him becomes deeply satisfying.

(Mt. Baker from Anacortes, WA)

 ( Happy little turtles on the water log)

This is a little pastel study I did this week...first here is the underpainting.  It doesn't appear to make much sense.  Just like life.  

But as the artist develops the composition, the artwork begins to make more sense, often not looking anything like it started out.

One has to trust the process that it will hopefully be the desired result in the end.  

Okay, well that's it for this week.  Did I get you wet?!  :)  Go ahead....dive in!

Be brave and courageous!

Yellowstone Wildlife & Limited Capacity

What caught my eye in Yellowstone National Park last week, along with all the stunning scenery, were these two dignified little schnauzers.  They seemed to do everything in timed tandem...hilarious!  They indulged me politely in conversation and a pose.  Their fur was coal black in the sunlight as they sat on a log bench along the south rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  Perhaps they were a bit edgy about the high bear alert in the park that week!

My travels the past week have taken me from the monumental Scottsbluff area of Nebraska

 to Jackson, Wyoming where I got to tour the National Museum of Wildlife Art, the Grand Teton range,

 Yellowstone National Park,

 and across Montana, Idaho, and Washington into mountainous British Columbia.  So many miles and so many thoughts to think as I beheld and drove!

I was overcome much of the trip with the awareness that I just couldn't grasp all that I was seeing.  I felt so inadequate to comprehend the beauty and the vastness of all that was before me.  I kept trying to absorb as much as I could, but was left with the sense that I couldn't get it all within me.

  When faced with such immensity, beauty, and grandeur we come face to face with the reality of our limited capacity to enter into full joy, comprehension, and sensory experience of what we are beholding.  It is then that I am reminded that we are made for eternity.  There is always that yearning, that haunting for something more that lurks in our earthly experiences of beauty and truth.  We know too well that we are made for something more. 

 These are the avenues in this world that point us towards the Creator of all this beauty and that to enjoy relationship with Him is the highest and most deeply satisfying experience for the human soul.  All I could do as I beheld this grandeur was to be in the moment and express my heartfelt worship to God.  Someday I WILL have the capacity to enjoy fully forever what I struggle to get just a small grip on now!  All I can say is "Bring it on!"

I asked a tourist to take this last photo of me at a meaningful scene at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  This particular location is called Artists' Point and is where Thomas Moran painted some of his awesome paintings of Yellowstone.  

It is a challenge and reminder to me to continue to study, research, and practice techniques so that I, too, can bring the beauty of this world before many people's eyes as Thomas Moran did.  In a world that is currently in such turmoil, we need to be reminded of better things and refreshed by that!

Be brave and courageous!