Hope Plants A Garden

Veggies

9" x 12"

Watercolor

The year's at the spring

And day's at the morn;

Morning's at seven;

The hill-side's dew-pearled;

The lark's on the wing;

The snail's on the thorn:

God's in his heaven---

All's right with the world!

---Robert Browning.

Turn off the news!  Go outside.  Take a deep breath.  Look for awhile at the sky, the distant horizon, the trees, the birds, the garden.  Yes....about the garden.  Every year this season brings out the gardener in many of us.  We are antsy to get those seedlings into the ground or plant those first rows of lettuce, turn over the humus, or feel the rich, moist soil in our fingers.  It takes hope to plant a garden.  You don't see the results right away.  You trust that there will be adequate rain and sun.  You hope that you can stay on top of the weeds, bugs, and four-footed nibblers.  

Study in Oranges

9" x 12"

Watercolor

So, too, in life, we go about our endeavors.  We hope that what we are doing is meaningful and will be of benefit to others.  We go on, inspite of what the news is raging about, inspite of war, horrible atrocities, and uncertain futures.  Countless times in history the power of one or the small to make an incredible impact on others for the good occurs.  Plant seeds this week in the garden of life that will leave a lasting legacy for those who follow...that they will see beauty, goodness, and truth.  And believe.  So that they will take a strong hold of life and be encouraged to build on your legacy, and go beyond.  

Here's a song titled "Hymn to Hope" by the group Secret Garden:

Be brave and courageous!

How to Get Royally Lost

Keep On Climbing

8" x 8"

Watercolor of my son Joe

Have you ever "found" yourself lost?  Then you can relate to my story.  Last night after nearing the end of a 10 hour drive from Butte, Montana to Scottsbluff, Nebraska I lost the trail....the Oregon Trail.  Which is right where I should have been...smack-dab in the middle of where all those ancient pioneer Conestoga wagons passed through.  I had successfully navigated busy cities like Seattle and Spokane on this trip, but somehow couldn't find my son Joe's and daughter-in-law Crystal's home.  It wasn't like I haven't been here before, either.  They live in the small town of Gering which is on the south part of the city of Scottsbluff.  I entered the outskirts of Scottsbluff coming in from the direction of Torrington, Wyoming at 8 p.m.  I thought to myself..."This is good.  You have made it in good time."  NOT!!  An hour later I drove up in front of their home.  What was the problem?  As I lay in bed last night trying to get the "driving-all-day-on-the-road-buzz" out of my head, I reflected on what went wrong.  And it applies metaphorically to all aspects of life.  Here goes:

1.  Be tired.

 When you are not at your best, the percentages for bad decisions go up.  Being rested enables you to be more on top of your game.  You bring a better perspective to the picture and can see more clearly the options and the choices you need to make.

2.  Do it in the dark.

Not a good idea!  All the other times that I have approached the beautiful Scottsbluff valley and the magnificent bluffs, it was daylight.  The very familiar and striking landmarks of Dome Rock and Scotts Bluff can be seen from miles away.  But....make it all go away in the darkness and sight direction is not an option.  Nothing looked familiar to me last night.  The more I tried to figure out where I was, the worse it got.  Gering is only 7 miles away from Scottsbluff.  The more I drove, the more I was heading down the highway towards Ogallala, NE.  So I turned back and eventually reached my kids' home.  In life we get our sense of direction from the landmarks of values and wisdom.  I have found God's Word to be my main landmark for guidance and direction in life.  It is so important to not be drifting through life in the dark, trying to figure out where you need to be going.  

3.  Make assumptions.

When I travel, I check on Google Maps for what routes to best take and what exits I need to be looking for.  Doing this all ahead of time helps to prevent missed turns and lost time.  I did this for all the big cities like Seattle.  So I assumed I could handle the Scottsbluff/Gering scene.  NOPE!  I didn't have my routes in my head....just assumed I could figure it out and not allowing for attempting to do that in the dark.  Like the Boy Scout motto says...."Always be prepared!"  I could have saved myself an hour of drive time at the end of a   l   o   n   g 

day's drive if I had not assumed I knew what I really didn't know.  The same goes for life...are you making choices based on what you assume to be true?  Or are you really delving into those choices and considering evidence for the best choice?  One choice that will matter for all eternity is what place Jesus Christ will have in your life.  I'd consider that one very carefully.  

I am one day away from being back home at my studio in Omaha, Nebraska.  It has been an amazing trip full of adventures, both good and difficult.  I can't wait to get to work on portraying some of the beauty I have seen.  Here's a few beautiful scenes:

Be brave and courageous!

Last Words

Purple Thistle

7" x 5"

Pastel

The last words that people say before dying carry a lot of weight, as it often reveals richness or poverty of soul within that individual.  This is what is considered Holy Week for many around the world as we remember the last supper of Christ with His disciples, and the crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord.  So what were the last words of Christ as He was hanging on the cross dying?  Actually the last words of Christ are seven statements He made during those long hours on the cross.

The Three Crosses

Rembrandt

 The church has meditated on these through the centuries, as well as famous composers like Joseph Haydn.  Tonight I am looking forward to attending a string quartet performance of Hadyn's Seven Last Words of Christ.  The performers will be violinist Calvin Dyck (Concertmaster for the Vancouver Island Symphony), violinist Sonja Hindmarsh, violist Beth Nickel, and Lee Duckles (former principal cellist for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra).  Haydn considered this piece to be his greatest achievement.  The piece focuses on the gravity of tragedy and on hope and redemption.  Here is a link to parts of this meditation:

Art has a wonderful way of conveying what is deep, powerful, and rich in life.  And especially so for this tremendously significant Holy Week remembering of Christ's passionate love and suffering for us.  I find many of the movies about Christ's life coming up short of the horrendous reality He suffered.  But Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of Christ" is one of the best for portraying that historic event.  Here is a part edited to highlight the seven last sayings of Christ:

Nothing can ever come close to the actual suffering of Christ for us, as He not only suffered a torturous physical death, but also being our sin in our place as He endured God's wrath and separation from God.  He was both our sin and the perfect holy sacrificial Lamb of God at the same time.  Bring on the composer Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" in response to all this!  I hope you can sink deep into the truth of what God has done for you in this very special weekend and look forward with hope for all that Christ's resurrection and conquering death means, both now and for the future!  

Speaking of last things...this week is my last week to be up here in beautiful British Columbia.  Next week will find me wending my way back across the mountain states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming to Omaha, Nebraska.  Time to get back to classes and studio work!

Be brave and courageous!

Migration: Magic and Mystery

Sandhill Crane

5" x 7"

Pastel

March skies bring the cries of thousands of Sandhill Crane migrating through the flyways over Nebraska and several other states.  It is a wonder to behold, year after year like clockwork, the return of the cranes and other migrating birds on their way from southern parts to the great northern lands.  Last year I went with my sister Robyn and her family out towards Hastings, Nebraska along the Platte River where the magic of the migration is quite intense.  We watched as thousands of cranes descended onto the sandbars along the Platte, silhouetted against the fabulous setting sun.  The air was filled with their noisy cries. 

What triggers the birds to migrate?  What guides them all the way back to their specific breeding grounds in the North?  The Arctic Tern flies around 25,000 miles on its incredible journey from the tip of South America up to the Arctic north lands.  

Here is a video of the Sandhill Crane migration in Nebraska:

Not only do birds migrate, but other wildlife as well.  Let's look at fish, for example.  The salmon go from their spawning grounds all the way out to the ocean.  Then when it's time for spawning, they begin their formidable journey upstream all the way back to the very creek beds where they were spawned.  Amazing!!  

This is a watercolor study I did this past week of my friend Ryan fishing for steelhead salmon on the Vedder River near Chilliwack, British Columbia.  It is spawning time for the steelhead, so fishermen were dotting the river taking advantage of the moment.

You won't see elk flying by in the hordes of migrating birds, but one thing the bulls are doing right now is growing new horns that are covered in velvet, which is a hairy skin covering that dries and falls off in late summer to reveal the bony structure underneath.  

This is a watercolor study I did of a bull elk with his velvety horns in the spring sunshine this week.  Hmmm...all this seasonal change of migration and new velvety horns makes me think we humans are kind of boring to the wild kingdom.  But we are no less complex!  Just this week I was reading about the biochemistry of the eye with all it's intricate amazing parts and how it functions to provide us with sight.  All this life going on around and within us causes me to flow with wonder and awe for the great Creator God who just spoke a word and there were the stars!  All the diversity of animal life, plant life, and molecular life come from His infinitely rich imagination!  What we see are God's ideas!  Wow!  Go out and enjoy the new birthings of spring this week.

Be brave and courageous!

Change of View

This morning while driving across the border through customs, I was thinking about the beautiful scenery of Mt. Baker, WA that one normally sees on a clear day.  This mountain is a landmark for miles around.  It has a solid mantle of white snow year round, being in the Northern Cascades and is a volcano that occasionally puffs some smoke.  Mt. Baker is a solid, massive chunk of mountain...always there when you look on a sunny day.  A quick scan of the horizon is reassuring of it's constant presence.  It's immutable or unchanging, never going away.

But today as I was driving, the view of Mt. Baker was quite different.  Bring in a change of the weather and your view is drastically altered, as in the little watercolor study I did below:

Mt. Baker was nowhere to be found.  If I was brand new to the area, you would never get me to believe that a huge, beautiful snow-capped 10,781 ft. mountain existed.  All I could see was dark, misty clouds draping what lower mountains were visible.  I missed my sunny day view of Baker.  I wanted it back so I could enjoy its stunning magnificence.  But I know in my heart that it is still there, just not for today's enjoyment.  I will look forward to when the weather forecast beams with sunshine again.  

Art often is a metaphor of life for me.  And as with this reminder today, I find some solid things that are true.  One is that God is unchanging.  He is always there, being eternal, even though life brings many changes.  The weather changes all the time, but the mountain is still there, whether I see it or not.  Psalm 62 describes God as being like a rock and a fortress where one can never be shaken.  That is solid stuff and you can hang your heart on it!

Be brave and courageous!

Hope, Lemons, and Plan B

Hope Springs Eternal

Watercolor study

Many of you are experiencing the first beautiful days of spring-like weather.  After some of the severely cold winter temps we've had, our appreciation meters are spiking as we emerge outdoors.

You've heard that quote, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!"  I personally have encountered the lemons in my life this past week.  My blog from last week announced to you that I was going to be participating in the Kamloops Cowboy Festival here in British Columbia.  This is Canada's largest cowboy/ranchlife gathering of well-known cowboy poets, western music concerts, workshops, and a tradeshow that includes saddlemakers, spur makers, cowboy magazine people, and western artists like myself.  Prior to coming, I had talked with both provincial government officials and Canadian government officials about how to pay my taxes while at the show.  They gave me advice and procedures to follow.  But when I got to Canada Customs at the border, they would not permit me to take any of my original art across the border.  So, instead of giving up in despair, I breathed a quick prayer and pursued whatever avenue I could with the officials.  Thankfully, they have permitted me to select a number of my prints to display, but not sale, at the festival.  So I will focus on making connections with people and guiding them to my online site where they can purchase my art via Paypal.  

So here's Plan B.  I purchased 2 tri-fold displays here and worked on lettering some signs this week.  Even though I cannot have large original work on display, I am trying to create an interesting, enjoyable booth at the tradeshow with the little prints I do have.   

The festival begins tomorrow and runs through Sunday.  I am very thankful that I can still be a part of it, even though it is Plan B.  I look forward to meeting many people at this great event and making some good connections.  

Proverbs 16:7 says, "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps."  We can live every moment in great peace knowing that God is in charge and nothing takes Him by surprise.  And I am so thankful that I can do what verse 3 says, "Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed."  My job is to bring honor to God with my work. I can leave the results to Him.  I hope this encourages you with whatever problems you may be encountering in your life.  Sometimes the challenges that show up in our lives are not meant to stop us, but to provide the very traction we need to move forward.

Be brave and courageous!

Eve of a Big Adventure!

Tomorrow morning I am headed out the door with my art manikin Michelangelo to the 19th Annual Kamloops Cowboy Festival.    Where in the world would you find Kamloops?!  

 It is north of Washington in the Canadian province of British Columbia.  It is located in a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains in the province's ranch country in the interior.  I will be participating in the trade show there selling my western and wildlife art.  If you happen to be in the area, please stop by and visit!

Here is a sneak peak at the festival goings on from last year:  

The festival basically goes from Friday, March 13 - Sunday, March 15 next week.  It is three days of a number of talented western musicians, cowboy poets, ranch workshops, an art show, and the tradeshow.  It is a fun variety of activities celebrating the culture of all things western!

This is a big adventure trip/exploration of new art markets for my western art.  Traveling in the winter pulling my 4' x 8' cargo trailer full of my artwork and art displays up and over numerous mountain ranges adds to the trip dynamics.  If you think about it, your prayers would be appreciated.  

Here are some inspiring quotes to encourage you in your life:

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door. 
                                                      ---Milton Berle.

Anything worthwhile will never be handed to you.  You have to work for it.
                                                      ---Rita Simo.

All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
                                                     ---Proverbs 14:23 NIV

Kamloops, British Columbia

Be brave and courageous!