When Silence Is Not Golden

"Before You Were Born"

12" x 9"

Pastel

History has its horror stories of when a people or nation chose to look the other way and pretend something wasn't as bad as it seemed.  Lies were listened to and believed by a majority.  Because of that, up to 6 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust!  

Since Roe vs. Wade in 1973 in the United States over 54 million babies have been killed by abortion!  Tomorrow in our nation's capitol on the grounds of the Washington Monument, the 44th Annual March for LIfe takes place.  What is at stake is human life....the lives of unborn little human beings who have no voice to defend themselves or cry out for justice.  We have to be their voice!

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body

and knit me together in my mother's womb.

Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex!

Your workmanship is marvelous---how well I know it.

You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,

as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

You saw me before I was born.

Every day of my life was recorded in Your book

Every moment was laid out

before a single day had passed."

---King David

            Psalm 139:13-16

Live bravely and beautifully!

The Route to Interesting

"Chillin' in Hawaii"

Small watercolor study

"I'm bored!"  We've all heard that and probably said that at some point in our lives.  Something in our wiring is repulsed by the thought of having nothing to do.  We fidget. We fret.  We eat.  We get ourselves into trouble.  We do anything to keep from being bored.  We want to be interested by life.  We like to hang out with interesting people. 

Here's a provoking observation on boredom by American educator John Taylor Gatto:

"If you're bored, that means you're boring.  It means you have a limited mind and you better do something about that because nobody wants to hang around with boring people." 

Yikes!  Who wants to be considered as boring?!  Remedies are available to become one whom others find fascinating.  Henry Miller starts us off with some good direction:

"Develop an interest in life as you see it;  the people, things, literature, music---the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls, and interesting people."

Use your imagination!  Look at the various areas and interests of your life.  Purpose to develop and grow in those areas.  Consider new things that you've never tried before.  Be open to exploring.  Be awake to life and the possibilities that come in each moment.    Read, read widely, read deeply!  Cultivate a rich, interior life as Daniel Goleman suggests.  Listen to others and really listen deeply to what matters to their hearts.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a little update on what I'm currently working on in my studio with woodburning:

This is on 24" x 40" birch panel and is about two charging Bighorn rams.

Live bravely and beautifully!

Not What I Intended

Small watercolor study

So often when we set out to do something, along comes a sidetrack or detour, and we find ourselves off in an entirely different direction. Sometimes that can be a good thing, like this crow.  I was up in the Cascade Range nearby to hike, sketch and photo-shoot around the Mt. Baker area.  Stunning, beautiful scenery beckoned from every direction.  My mind was filling with various ideas for some landscape paintings to do back in my studio.  

Mt. Baker from near Artist's Point

But this "pesky" crow kept hopping around where I was sketching, hoping for something in the food department.  I tried to ignore it for awhile as I was there to focus on mountains, not crows.  The crow remained persistent and I couldn't help but start observing its antics. So I took several photos of it and that's what first turned up as art in my studio from that trip.  

That isn't the first time that has happened to my art creation plans.  Another instance was when a young friend invited me to come out to their ranch as she was having a couple of her Paint horses loaded up to take to a camp.  She thought I could get some good photos of them during that process.  But while I tried to focus on the horses, one of her cats named Radar kept jumping up on the corral posts, staring at me with this inquiring look.  That later became a 19" x 24' graphite drawing titled Cat Scan.  

Life gives us many opportunities for changes in direction.  At times these are challenging and very difficult, but other times these re-routes open new doors of possibility.  The key to making it work well is to be flexible and in the "ready position" so that you are poised to take advantage of the situation and make it work for good.  Here are three quotes that express what you can do with unintended changes in direction:

Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.

---John Wooden

The world is full of possibilities and potential, but we're the ones who choose to be open or closed to them.

---Mike Mariner

Determine to make the most out of every situation.

---Kathy Ireland

Live bravely and beautifully!

How to Soar

Soar!

8" x 10"

Oil

To soar is to fly high in the air.  It is to ascend above the usual level.  If you've ever visited the Grand Canyon, you most likely had the opportunity to observe a California condor soaring in the thermal updrafts of the Canyon.  A condor's wing span can be as much as 9.5 - 10 ft. and they can weigh up to 23 lbs.  Condors can fly at speeds of 50 m.p.h.  Their lifespan can be up to 60 years.  The condor was on the verge of dying out, but in the last few years they are successfully being introduced into the wild again.

(Soaring eagle from my photos)

Just as the condor soars above the Canyon landscape, so we, too, crave that sense of soaring over the landscapes of our lives.  We love those moments that invigorate or give us that rush of well-being.  What makes the difference between the animals that inhabit the rocks and canyons with the gliding condor?  The terrain remains the same for both, but their experience of it is vastly contrasts.  It is the same for us.  We don't live in Paradise every day.  Sometimes our vacations or moments of grandness can get us close to that feeling, but what are we to do with the everydayness of our lives?  Can we bring a sense of soaring into those hours, minutes, and moments?

I think we can!  Here's some suggestions to help you incorporate the ability to soar in your every day encounters...I'll call them The Three E's:

1.  Enjoy progress!

Setting goals for yourself in a variety of areas can lead to a sense of accomplishment and deep satisfaction.  As you work towards them, even if it's incremental progress, a lifting of your spirit's results. This will ignite continued momentum and a sense of soaring in your life. 

It is the process and not only the destination that can bring great joy.  When you are making forward motion in your life, you will not only inspire yourself to climb higher, but others can not help but be encouraged to do the same. 

Don't worry or give in to setbacks and failures along the way.  They are a part of the terrain along the journey and actually can become the stepping stones towards accomplishment. Brendan Case made a statement that really encourages one in dealing with obstacles: 

"The challenges that lie in our path do not only block our way;  by resisting us, they give us the traction we need to move forward." 

2.  Exercise gratitude!

What a difference your perspective about life can make!  When you allow the challenges and setbacks to loom foremost in your thoughts, you find yourself plummeting to the canyon depths of discouragement and despair.  But when you purposefully choose to look at all the things for which you can be thankful, wow....all of a sudden you sense a lifting of your spirits. Things could be much worse than they are.   When you drive down the street brooding on your situation and find yourself feeling like "yuck" inside, look closely at the person on the sidewalk waiting for the light to turn.  He is in a wheelchair operating it with a joystick due to almost total paralysis.  The weather is cold and windy.  Yet there he is...contending with life and not letting it deprive him of being actively engaged in it.  And there you sit in a nice, warm vehicle that works and you have all your body parts that work at will.  That can change your perspective immediately!

Intentionally practice being thankful....all throughout the day!  It will be a choice and a fight at times, but do it anyway!  The rewards are worth it.

(Me finishing another marathon)

3.  Exchange strength!

In the race of life, we quickly learn that we cannot finish well without the help of others.  This makes who we have in our lives of great significance.  We need people who will encourage us, inspire us and speak truth to us.  More than that, we need God's strength in our weakness.  I love what Isaiah 40:31 says:

But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength.

They will soar high on wings like eagles.

They will run and not grow weary.

They will walk and not faint.

This is the truth for how to stay strong, day in and day out.  This is how you can bring the experience of soaring into every moment of your life.  Exchanging God's strength for your weakness renews you and enables you to overcome the rough and challenging events in your life, and to build a legacy of soaring.  

Live bravely and beautifully!

Climb That Mountain!

Sunday Gulch Trail Mountain

(Small watercolor study)

All my life in my family this mountain was referred to as The Cabin Mountain. Summers in my early childhood were happily spent playing at the Smith Cabin near the famous Mt. Rushmore.  The Smith family were dear friends of ours from Kadoka, South Dakota. Often our two families would be at the cabin together.  The beautiful Black Hills of western South Dakota provided the backdrop for awesome times together as family.

Dad

(Watercolor portrait by Marine artist friend Asante)

Dad would take my older brother Gordon and other teens hiking up to the top of this commanding mountain behind the Smith Cabin.  When I finally was old enough, my rite of passage to this mountain came.  I'll never forget being up on top and surveying miles of Black Hills country in every direction.  That was the first mountain I had the opportunity to climb.  Eventually I went on to climb other peaks, including Mt. Whitney in the Sierra Nevada of California and Long's Peak in the Colorado Rockies.  

(My dad doing a handstand with a fellow marine buddy.)

On this New Year's Day my dad will turn 91 years old, so I'm thinking many thoughts about his life and some things he has taught me.  One thing Dad taught me is to be a mountain climber.  I'm not talking about all the technical jargon and mountain expeditions to high peaks.  Instead, he taught me a way of looking at life and the challenges that come our way. He taught me the value of setting goals and working to accomplish them.  He was an encourager and confidence-builder.  Dad exhibited and modeled drive for me.  He knew about persistence!

(Sketch by fellow Marine Corps buddy Asante)

And that leads me to what my blog post title is about...Climb That Mountain!  This year will contain many challenges in our paths that need to be faced with persistence. Perhaps you are also setting some goals for your life that will need persistence to follow through long after the New Year's resolutions are made.  How will you be doing come March or July or October with those goals?  It takes this tremendous life quality to overcome challenges and reach goals.....PERSISTENCE!

Famous Star Wars actor Harrison Ford had this to say about what persistence looks like: 

I realized early on that success was tied to not giving up.  Most people in this business gave up and went on to other things.  If you simply didn't  give up, you would outlast the people who came in on the bus with you.  Sometimes the only reason you get the job is that you're the only one left.  I didn't make a living acting until I was 35.  Tenacity is critical.

Getting there is all about the process and the process takes time.  Winston Churchill said:

Never give in, never give in, never, never, never---in nothing, great or small, large or petty---never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.

My dad modeled persistence for me in numerous ways.  Happy 91st birthday, Dad!

(Dad overlooking Niagara Falls)

Live bravely and beautifully!

Someday....More!

My art manager/manikin Michelangelo and his wildlife friends are all taking a moment this season to consider what most amazing Gift lay in the manger in Bethlehem so long ago! Here's a poem written by a favorite poet of mine...Ruth Bell Graham...she captures the essence of Christmas in it:

There will be less someday---

much less,

and there will be more:

less to distract

and amuse;

More, to adore;

less to burden

and confuse;

More, to undo

the cluttering of centuries,

that we might view

again, That which star

and angels

pointed to;

we shall be poorer---

and richer;

stripped---and free:

for always there will be a Gift,

always

a Tree!

---Ruth Bell Graham

(This is a piece titled "Adoration of the Shepherds" that was attributed to Rembrandt but since is thought to be a work of one of his students.)

Here's a carol of longing by The Piano Guys that deeply expresses our hearts' desire and hope for ourselves and the world...I love cello music!

Merry Christmas to you!

Live bravely and beautifully!

Animal Facts in the Nativity Story

"Leo the Lionhearted"

(Small watercolor study)

Being the wildlife artist and animal lover that I am, I have enjoyed through the years thinking about the animals that have been portrayed in famous artworks of Christ's birth and nativity scenes.  But on closer investigation, it may come as a shock to find out that the only animals that are mentioned in Christ's birth story were the sheep who were in the fields nearby Bethlehem. And according to Luke's account in Chapter 2, the shepherds had left them to go to the manger scene of Christ, because he reports that they went back to their flocks after seeing the newborn King in the manger.  

Tradition through the centuries has added the donkey, the cow, the camels and the sheep all centered around the Babe in the manger.  I don't object to that in one sense because I love animals.  And because it is a manger location, it is a possibility that animals were present. Being a dog lover, I could well imagine that there might have been a very well-trained sheep dog or two accompanying those shepherds.But those are assumptions and not facts.Sometimes traditions can become so familiar that it leads one to believe that they are part of the truth.  So just a word to the wise!

I know that all creation was invested in the Advent of Christ to the manger, because it ultimately meant the deliverance of all creation from death and decay.  The Bible talks about this in Romans 8:18-24:  

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will reveal to us later.

For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who His children really are.  

Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse.  

But with eager hope, 

the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's children

in glorious freedom

from death and decay.  

For we know that all creation

has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth

right up to the present time.

Christ Himself is referred to as the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world.  God loves His creation and wonderfully it is the whole creation that will one day be free from all the suffering under which it is now subjected.  So enjoy the great art of the centuries that depict the animals at Christ's manger, or the donkey carrying the expectant Mary, or the camels transporting the wise men across the desert sands.  Just remember to keep facts at the core of your Christmas worship.  

 "Adoration of the Shepherds"

oil

by Rembrandt

Live bravely and beautifully!