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!

All That Jazz!

The New York Voices

This past week I was delighted with great art through the Grammy Award winning vocal group New York Voices.  They gave an outstanding performance at Dundee Presbyterian Church here in Omaha.  Their music genre is smooth jazz with tight knit vocal blending.  It is always inspirational to be in the presence of artists who have perfected their craft and put in their ten thousand hours of hard practice.

I find it enjoyable at concerts to be sketching the performers.  It really brings back the memories more poignantly than if I had just taken a picture on my cell phone.  I can almost hear the music again when I look at these sketches.

                               

They are always moving around so I only have time to catch the essence of them in that moment.

Oh, yes...there was the drummer keeping things moving...played an incredible and creative drum solo!

And last but not least...the pianist!

Coming up this Sunday I am attending a luncheon for artists in Lincoln, Nebraska.  It is being held at the Lincoln Berean Church where a piece of my work is hanging in one of their galleries through Easter.  It is a pastel I did in January...titled "My Father's World". 

The day after Sunday will find me with my art manikin Michelangelo on another MAJOR adventure, but we'll keep that for the next blog!  Until then, I hope there's plenty of music in your life in more ways than one!  Take time to hear and see the wonder in life this week!

Be brave and courageous! 

Sonata for Bugles and Horns

Sonata for Bugles and Horns

20" x 26"

Oil

$520.00

Have you ever had the privilege to hear an elk bugle?  I'll never forget one of the times I heard elk bugling.  It was in early October.  I was attending an outdoor watercolor workshop taught by Mark Silvers in Moran Park in the Rocky Mountains.  All throughout the day we could hear their call as they sought to find a mate during rut season.  It was wild and marvelous to experience!  Just so you don't feel left out, here is a sample of their bugling from Youtube:

As you can see from the above painting, I think I am finished with the elk painting I have been working on the last couple weeks.  Every time I stood in front of my easel, I felt like I was there enjoying the high country and listening to the elk bugling.  From off in the woods I do believe I could even hear a response!  You never know what happens in my studio!

I've enjoyed having my little bull elk Edward here in my studio for modeling.  He's a part of my little studio wildlife sanctuary along with the bears, beavers, moose, and Bighorn sheep.  He's grateful that I'm finished so he can go and take a load off his feet finally, maybe even practice a few bugles for next fall's rut season.

Time to clean up my palette now that my painting is finished.  It's a mess, right?  As always, I'm attracted to metaphors for life.  My palette doesn't make much sense to you.  It's a lot like our lives...things don't always make sense and life can get messy, even ugly looking at times.  But when you trust that God is in control of your life, He says that He can take all the messy and the ugly parts, and make it work out for the good.  I don't know how that happens, as some things can be drastically messy, but God is trustworthy and faithful.  He never gives up on us.  He is perfecting his work in us, creating a masterpiece of art that someday will astonish ourselves and the world...for HIs honor and glory!

Be brave and courageous!

Putting Things in Perspective

With realistic art it is important to scale things accurately.  I could have gotten into a whole lot of trouble with this bull elk's antlers not being sized right and in the correct position.  One tool that kept me out of error was my proportional divider.  It is a tool used by architects but can also be very useful for artists.

Here is my reference photo that I was using of this Roosevelt elk on the Olympic peninsula in Washington.  He is shown here with his head down grazing.  For my composition, I wanted his head upraised with those magnificent antlers highlighted.  And for drama's sake, I wanted his mouth open for bugling.  So I was going to have to change the head position and keep everything in perspective.  

To accomplish this, I made two photo copies of my reference photo.  I cut one head and antlers out to move into the area I figured it would be for bugling.  Once settled on the new position, I sketched out a grid to help with accuracy.

 Using my proportional divider to compare sizes of antler from the photo to the larger sketch on my painting...

I was able to draw the antlers in correct position to have a believable looking bull elk.

I find much in art that contains great metaphors for my life.  The use of my proportional divider reminds me, as my art manikin Michelangelo demonstrates, of how God's Word is like a proportional divider for my life.  When I am making decisions or have gotten off track, I can come to God's Word and find instruction or correction to make a good decision or adjustment in my life.  

Well, better get back to my bull elk.  By the way...can you guess what the title is going to be for this painting?  Hint....it has to do with classical music!  Now just think about that elk and what he has or does that connects with classical music.  Hmmm... more on that next time!

Be brave and courageous!