Bears in Their Garden!

Boys Will Be Boys

98.5"h x 46.5" w x 39"l

This week I have enjoyed being inspired at Lauritzen Gardens here in Omaha, NE. The weather was great and all the rain has created a lush environment.  Particularly I was there to scope out the 35 works in bronze by sculptor Dan Ostermiller of Loveland, CO.  These pieces have been placed throughout the Lauritzen Gardens, encouraging one to walk the paths all around the beautiful acres.

Dan grew up with a taxidermist father from whom he gained his thorough knowledge of animal structure.  Dan seeks to not only portray the realistic features of his animals, but to capture their personality as well.  

This Bighorn sheep was my favorite as I really enjoy Bighorn sheep anatomy and behavior.  It is titled "The Emporer" and he looks like it!!  

I highly recommend Lauritzen Gardens to you if you are ever in Omaha.  A variety of the gardens within it are representative of a number of world gardens.  This beautiful facility and acreage are located near Interstate 80 and the Missouri River.

Be brave and courageous!

A Photosynthesis Selfie

Social media "selfies" or pictures taken of and by one's self via cell-phone are all the rage now.  So what is a photosynthesis "selfie", you wonder?  As I was walking in the nearby park the other day, I was noticing the brilliant sunlight on all the trees and the rich greens of their leaves.  Everything looked so lush and alive.  Vibrant!  And that got me to thinking about the process of photosynthesis that allows the trees to have that look or even to be alive.  

Photosynthesis is a quiet, ongoing process of how leaves take in sunlight energy through chloroplasts in their cells.  They take that energy and mix it with carbon dioxide and water to make chemical energy or food for themselves.  So where's the "selfie" thing in all this?
Follow me...what struck me as I walked was the concept of what was being taken in by the leaves.  They were absorbing sunlight.  And this affects their very existence and the quality of how well they exist.

The metaphor for us is huge.  What are we taking into our lives on a regular basis and how is that affecting our liveliness and quality of life?  Former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once said, "Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think."  What we take into our lives on a daily basis is forming the sculptural shape of our lives.  We can't help but be what our mind's diet is.  Like the leaves, we need the light in our lives.  Jesus said that He was the light of the world.  If we walk with Him we won't walk in darkness.  Our lives will be full, rich, flourishing, and thriving.  And that takes time.  Time of being still, quiet, turning off the noise in our lives.  Ramping down the schedule.  Making time for intake of what is nourishing for our souls.  Getting away from the Internet and exposing our selves to what really enriches our inner lives.  Things like getting out in nature, reading great books,  listening to great music,  looking at great art.  Spending time with God in prayer and reading His Word.  That way we will have something to benefit the world that is truly good.  Our times of interaction with others will leave them with a positive charge, will fill their cups instead of draining them and leaving them with less.

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Here's a few more little watercolors of The Eyes Series that I've been working on this week:

Rhino Eye

4" x 4"

Watercolor

And no, this is not a selfie taken by the rhino!  

Starting to sketch the ring lemur's eye....

Ring Lemur

4" x 4"

Watercolor

Be bold and courageous!

A Week of Wood and Horses

Victory Riding Academy

Founders:  Tony and JoDee Barnes

My life has been so enriched by the people that God brings across my path.  This week I am going to give a "shout-out" to three of them.  First, let me introduce you to Tony and JoDee Barnes who founded the Victory Riding Academy for the purpose of offering complimentary horse experiences to military, police, fire, first responders, and their families.

Both Tony and JoDee have served our country in the military, and bring an awareness of servicemen and women's needs to their work.  

Last week week I met with Tony and JoDee to discuss my bringing a class of young art students out to their stables for horse drawing lessons. Then I was able to spend most of Sunday with them watching as they did their horse work at a benefit fundraiser in their honor. 

Victory Riding Academy is registered as a Horses4Heroes riding facility.  They also are a registered Equine Assisted Therapy Center providing a variety of services to those with special needs.  VRA has many outreaches including the Scouts, and provides riding classes.They work with the University of Nebraska Biomechanics division in research of horse movement and the human gait.

Victory Riding Academy seeks to use the special relationship of horses with humans to help people persevere, overcome, and conquer any of life's challenges.  Currently they have a fundraising goal of $150,000 to help with property acquisition, program development, and ongoing expenses.  Their informative website can be found at  www.victoryride.org .  Theirs is a very worthwhile endeavor!! 

 

Next, my other "shout-out" goes to Lonnie Theer of Theer Creative here in Papillion, NE.  Lonnie is a very gifted artisan with wood.  

Here are some samples of his fine quality work:

Lonnie is always willing to give advice to me regarding my own woodworking/framing questions.  This morning he graciously gave me an hour and a half of his time to help me in cutting frames and providing all kinds of woodworking tips.  Lonnie also sells many varieties of wine sauces and barbecue sauces at his shop in the Bell Place Shops here in Papillion, NE.  You can follow him on Facebook at Theer Creative to see all the variety of very creative works he does in wood.

Here's a frame I built this week for my 9" x 12" pastel of the Columbia River:  

Be brave and courageous!

What I Found in the Bird Nest

The Quiet Watcher

21.75" x 23"

Pastel

$450.00

We''ll get to the bird nest in a moment.  First, let's take a look at what is fresh off the easel this week.  This is my latest work in pastel and there's a bit of a story behind this painting.

 This barn stood in northwest Arkansas until recently.  It has since been taken down, but that's where art can preserve the beauty and memory of a place.  My sister Robyn's friend, Jennifer Brown, happened to capture this unique moment on camera with the cat in the hayloft at her neighbor's barn. 

 When I saw the picture, the cat with the dark background immediately resonated with me.  To me, it speaks of those moments we all so greatly need for stillness, for time as Robert Frost wrote..."to sit and stare as cows do." 

 All our technology is a wonderful tool, but remember you are a human being with the capacity for so much more than what you experience on the Internet.  And what happens when your soul is refreshed in those quiet places is invaluable.  Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, wrote:  "...people who are self-reflective----who take time out to pray or to meditate or have some way of being in nature regularly, who spend time being with themselves and have a rich interior life----are better able to pay full attention to other people."

Okay, now off to the bird nest thing!  Here is what I found on my walk yesterday afternoon:

What a prize, eh?!  This bird has a degree in design engineering!!  Okay, so you are wondering what I found in the nest?  Here goes:  as I was out walking in the local park here, I passed under a tree and saw this nest lying on the ground, apparently having been blown out in the thunderstorm during the night.  I picked it up and continued walking, but kept studying the structure of this little dwelling of twigs and straw.  The more I looked at it and reflected on what I was seeing, these metaphors emerged from the nest:

*Raw Materials - This bird used what was available and creatively built with the materials on hand.  The challenge I found was to look at what are available resources to me in skills and opportunities, to think outside the box.  Straw + twigs + beak = incubator for life!

*Limitations - This bird only had a beak to accomplish such a secure, tight dwelling for the eventual tiny tweeters that would live there.  How she managed to maneuver all those hundreds of little twigs, pieces of rope, straw, and mud into this sturdy nest is pure amazing!  I have more than a beak.  I have a variety of abilities with which to create, so what all could I accomplish with that!  I need to focus on possibilities with what I do have and not on my limitations.

*Craftsmanship - This bird built a sturdy structure, tightly-woven together to last the duration till little wings could take flight.  You have to really tug hard to pull it apart.  There are no substitutes found in short-cuts or sloppy work.  Jack Canfield said that how you do anything is how you do everything.  The whole  process, start to finish, needs to be stamped with excellence.


*Order - There is a timeline or progression for every endeavor.  This bird didn't start out with the soft straw you see in the middle.  It started out with the chunkier twigs and mud.  Then at the end comes the fine, soft straw.  I find in art that the first part of the process is the framework for all that follows.  Logical procedures must flow from the concept to sketches to first strokes all the way to final touches and evaluation.  You can't be haphazard in your approach.  Self-discipline and staying focused are critical to the overall success of a work.

Now that I've finished with this latest pastel work, I've got to play catch-up and head to Home Depot for lumber to build some frames.  My art studio supervisor Michelangelo says to be prepared to swim there because of all the rain we've been getting.  

Be brave and courageous!

The Ache of Joy

The Discovery

5" x 7"

Watercolor

We all have those special moments in our lives like coming upon a deer in the woods by surprise, watching a thrilling sunset over the ocean, listening to a beautiful symphony performance, standing on top of a very high mountain, watching extreme tidal changes, holding your newborn children for the first time, finishing a marathon, receiving your diploma at college commencement, enjoying the adventure of a 50 mile bike ride, watching breathlessly as an eagle dives nearby into a cascading river, hearing the thundering of hooves as a herd of horses gallops by, or the piercing scream of a mountain lion in the night from the safety of your mountain cabin. Sometimes the beauty and joy of the moment can be felt like an ache in the heart.  The moment is so poignant and fleeting.  You can't hold onto it.  You try to grasp it but it slips elusively through your hands.  

The Path

5" x 7"

Watercolor

Simone Weil said that beauty and affliction are the only two things that can pierce our hearts.  Something can be experienced as so beautiful that it hurts.  C. S. Lewis called it JOY.  He wrote:  "It is difficult to find words strong enough for the sensation that came over me...Milton's enormous bliss of 'Eden' comes somewhere near it."  He goes on to define it as an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction."   Lewis suggests that all our lesser joys in life are but precursors or pointers to the source of all joy and delights which is God Himself.  Joy is something that we can't live without.  Many people search for it in all kinds of ways, often to their harm.  But only One can satisfy deeply and forever!  And He invites us to drink deeply from His river of delights!  Imagine that!!

Here's a moment of beauty for you to enjoy with one of my favorite contemporary composers, Yuhki Kuramoto at the piano playing "Lake Louise" with accompanying violinist: 

Here's whats currently on my easel:

(pastel)

Be brave and courageous!

Sunlight Sonata

Sunlight Sonata

14" x 24"

Pastel

Since we've experienced a very rainy, cloudy, and cool spring, here's a little sunshine to brighten your day.  These three little turtles were just begging to be in a piece of art as they basked in the sunlight.  Enjoy looking at them on the logs while listening to this beautiful composition by Paul Roy titled "Sunlight Sonata":

Here's some other art work that I've been creating here in the studio recently:

 "Eye Exam"

4" x 4"

Watercolor

"Eagle Eye"

4" x 4"

Watercolor

I've done these little studies on aquaboard, an archival hardboard panel with an acid-free textured clay surface that absorbs watercolors like a fine paper.  These panels can be sealed and framed without glass, keeping colors and textures true to life.  I have sprayed the finished artwork with UV spray varnish and then coated them with 3 coats of Liquitex Satin Varnish.  Really like the resulting beautiful surface.  You do not need to put them behind glass.  Just frame them like an oil painting, if you desire framing.  

Be brave and courageous!

Scared to Death!

Don't Mess With Me

10" x 8"

Watercolor

This Sunday marks the 21st birthday of my youngest son, Jacob Wesley Patterson.  At that point all four of my children are legitimate adults in all ways legal.  That threshold will be crossed.  I chose to do this painting for Jacob in honor of his special day.  Happy Birthday, Jacob!  This was what he was like as a young little squirt.  Now he is much taller than me.

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During breakfast yesterday I was reading about the Masked Shrew. No, it's not a major action hero character from a Marvel production. This little animal inhabits Alaska, Canada, and the northern United States.  It is quite small....averaging just under 4 inches with it's tail being almost half of that, and topping the scales at a humongous 18/100ths of an OUNCE.  This little creature looks mouse-like, but sports a long snout profusely decked with whiskers.

What caught my attention about this little shrew was that it has a fear ISSUE!!  It can literally be scared to death!  My National Audubon Pocket Guide to Mammals declares that "it lives its life at a very fast pace, and when startled, its heart rate may rise to more than 1,000 beats a minute."  Wow!!!  That's burning some calories right there! The Audubon Guide also stated that a single clap of thunder can cause the shrew to panic and die....scared to death. Amazing!

Fear not only scares Masked Shrews out of their skin, but it greatly affects us human mammals, as well.  We know too well the fight or flight instinct wired into our systems.  We have all experienced events like the land of sweaty palms before giving a speech or the gnawing unrest while waiting for medical test results.

Fear is a formidable foe.  Let's take a closer look at what it does in our lives.  First, fear pretends.  It is a phantom, not a real fact.  So therefore it is false.  It sets up scenarios in our minds that are not actual but seeks to convince us that this bad outcome is going to happen.

Fear pursues.  It can be relentless in its onslaught of our peace.  It comes after us, chasing us down the alleys of our minds, showing up and taunting us every time we seek to focus on realities.  

Fear paralyzes.  It can make you seize up, unable to feel, to move.  It makes you feel immobilized, unable to take steps to deal with a situation or accomplish a goal.  

Fear pauses.  Not only does fear attempt to keep you motionless, but it also brings to a standstill all the momentum and good action necessary for overcoming obstacles.  It puts a hold on creative projects and keeps risk-taking at bay.  It puts a damper on joy and freedom to investigate possibilities.

Fear projects.  On the wide-screen of your mind, fear heightens and escalates out of proportion possible outcomes.  Uncertainties can loom over us like a hideous monster with arms reaching out to take us down and devour us.

Fear plunders.  Like a thief, it robs of us of our peace and joy.  It steals precious time to think great thoughts and holds us hostage, sucking out energy and resolve.  It takes from us, leaving us depleted and empty-handed.  It steals what might have been undertaken for good and leaves a wasteland instead.

Fear possesses.  It seeks to dominate our will and our thoughts.  It wants to chain us by obsession with what is feared.  Fear wants to be our total focus.  It desires control.

How do we conquer fear and go on towards thriving in our lives?  May I suggest an answer of substance that you can rest your weight on?  I believe that faith is much stronger than fear.  Let's see what that looks like played out against fear.

Faith guards.  Life is uncertain, but we don't have to succumb to it.  Faith surrounds our hearts and our minds, rejecting what isn't true, turning falsehood away at the door.  Paul wrote in Philippians 4:10 that we are not to worry about anything, but to pray instead.  And that God's peace as a result would mount a guard like the cavalry soldiers on horses over our hearts and minds.  

Faith guides.  Faith looks at what is unseen and responds based on what is eternally true. We can proceed to navigate the uncertainties in our lives because we can follow the Good Shepherd Jesus and like David wrote in the famous Psalm 23...we can trust that He knows where the green pastures, quiet waters, and paths of rightness are.  And He promises to be with us in the dark shadow valleys of our lives.  

Faith goads.  It stimulates us to action, encouraging us be in forward motion with our lives. We are to carry on with what is good and not get discouraged.

Faith gives.  We can trust that the necessary resources will be there for what faith is calling us to do.  We gain an inner strength to push ahead and do the next right thing.

Faith graces.  Our lives will demonstrate an elegance or beauty in the actions we take when we respond to what faith is calling us to do.  Life is lived on a higher plane of seeking not only our own interests, but what will benefit others and enhance all of life.  

Faith grows.  Instead of the stagnation that worry brings, we experience growth through overcoming fear, enlarging our perspectives, and expanding in response to what faith calls us to do.  

Faith glorifies.  Instead of looking inward to our own limited resources in dealing with fear, faith enables us to thrive and walk in strength and peace. Because we know that the One in whom we trust is true and will never abandon us.  He is God with us and for us.  He will fight our battles for us.  And our quiet confident belief that this is so highlights the awesome God that is all this and more for us.  

Here's a quick look at what's on my easel this week...it's a work in pastel:  

Be brave and courageous!