Star Wars

Star Wars was a pop culture phenomenon from the get go when it first came out in 1977. Sequels followed quickly and all the films were nominated for or won Academy Awards.  The story line captured the imagination of the nation and continues to hold our fascination.

This is a portrait of a young boy at the age of five who is now grown up.  He grew up dreaming of Jedi knights, wookies and lightsaber duels. He grew into a man of great character and is very creative.  He has many interests and talents.  We feel privileged to count him as one of our friends. 

Oil on canvas. 11 x 16 inches. 2015.

"There's no such thing as a good painting about nothing."
~ Mark Rothko

"It's not about painting life.  It's about giving life to painting."
~ Pierre Bonnard

Dreams of a Young Boy

I grew up in the country on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River ~ specifically Pool 19 also known as Cooper Lake just above the lock and dam at Keokuk, Iowa about 40 miles north of where Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn were said to have lived. Little did I know it was a historic place along the Great River Road. It's just where I grew up watching barges go up and down the river, playing in the fields with my dog, traipsing out onto docks to take a break and dream about what lay around the bend in the river. It was a good place to be a kid.

Oil on canvas. 11 x 14 inches. 2015.

Tulips

Tulips herald springtime - they symbolize the return of warmth and abundance after a long time without.  We always were happy to see the tulips coming up in the garden that my mother planted.  It was a good sign of things to come. They gave us hope.

Red tulips mean "believe me" ~ yellow tulips mean "you have beautiful eyes" and are cheerful ~ orange tulips  mean energy, enthusiasm, desire and passion.  These variegated ones are a combination all those beautiful thoughts.  

These are some of the things I thought about as I painted this painting.  Another thing I was thinking about was the transfer of energy from the sun, the rain, the air,the soil and even from God Himself into the plant ~ all the energy it took to create these beautiful living organisms ~ and then how that energy worked into and within the cells of the plant as it grew ~ finally emanating from the plants out into the atmosphere freely. Vibrant, vibrating.  One can even feel it in the palms of your hands if you cup them a few inches away from each bloom.  God's love in the palm of your hands as expressed through what He created in nature. . . 

Oil on canvas. 11 x 14 inches. 2015.

"To my mind, a picture should be something pleasant, cheerful, and pretty, yes pretty! There are too many unpleasant things in life as it is without creating still more of them."
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French Artist (1841 - 1919)

Eli Loves Watermelon

Eli is a great kid.  He's one of my sister's grandchildren, which makes him my great-nephew.  He loves to swim in the summer time and here he is enjoying a slice of watermelon after a dip in the pool.  

Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Oh, Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry
Oil on canvas. 11x14 inches. 2015

Amish Boy

We lived a few hours drive from an Amish community in southeast Iowa - Kalona.  Once in a while we would drive through that part of the country past immaculate farms where the families lived without electricity or any modern machinery... including cars. It was not unusual to see horse-drawn buggies going down the road. I remember stopping at a farmhouse and buying a beautiful hand-made quilt from one of the Amish women. I admired their pure and simple way of life. They are a gentle, peaceful religious people who do not get involved in the ways of the world.  

Tis the gift to be simple
'Tis the gift to be free
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be
And when we find ourselves in the place just right
It will be in the valley of love and delight

When true simplicity is gained
To bow and to bend, we will not be ashamed
To turn, turn, will be our delight
'Til by turning, turning, we come round right.

Watercolor on archival paper. 11x14 inches. 2006.