April Showers

Spring in Kentucky is indeed "a wonder", as people say. It is mercurial in its swift changes from summer-like warmth to damp cold, bright sun to sudden, dark storms.


I love the strange light that turns my simple yard into a scene from another planet,


the drama of advancing storms,


the moment just before the rain begins,


the sense of being given another chance, another season to grow.

Kinneyconnick

This place is sacred to me; a place of peace and beauty. Profound connection with the Earth is an experience for which there are no words, because it is beyond thought- it's in our very blood and bones. Walt Whitman tries to express this truth in his poem "Song of the Rolling Earth", excerpted here.



A song of the rolling earth, and of words according,
Were you thinking that those were the words, those upright lines?
those curves, angles, dots?
No, those are not the words, the substantial words are in the ground
and sea,
They are in the air, they are in you.



Air, soil, water, fire-those are words,
I myself am a word with them-my qualities interpenetrate with
theirs-my name is nothing to them,
Though it were told in the three thousand languages, what would
air, soil, water, fire, know of my name?



Whoever you are! you are he or she for whom the earth is solid and
liquid,
You are he or she for whom the sun and moon hang in the sky,
For none more than you are the present and the past,
For none more than you is immortality.



I swear I begin to see little or nothing in audible words,
All merges toward the presentation of the unspoken meanings of the
earth,
Toward him who sings the songs of the body and of the truths of the
earth,
Toward him who makes the dictionaries of words that print cannot
touch.

Earth Day

So much has been said about Earth Day, and I am just one voice amongst the world of YouTube, CNN, etc. So all i will say is this:


Enough has been said. DO something.

Every day should be Earth Day

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS CLEAN COAL

The Traveller

Here is the finished version. I darkened parts of the background to hopefully lead the eye back toward the figure, and balance the visual "weight" of the birds. (Thanks, Michael!) What do you think?

Please Critique (ideas? suggestions?)

This is a new piece I've been working on, and I'm not sure what it needs. Please excuse the photo, I just ran outside and snapped it real quick so I could get it on here, but hopefully you can get a general idea what it looks like. It's a collage done on top of an old watercolor, using mostly maps as collage materials. I thought it was almost finished, but am now second guessing myself. I'd REALLY appreciate any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions from all you artists out there. After all, as they say, two (or three, or ten) heads are better than one. Thanks!

Make Art, Not War

I recently saw this poster by Shepherd Fairey, (the artist who designed the famous Obama poster), and it reminded me. It reminded me of a time when people had high ideals, and great dreams for the human race and the planet. I just joined facebook, and I had to think carefully about what to write in the "politics" section of my profile. Finally, I wrote, "We can change the world." This is what we believed when I was a kid in the sixties and seventies. We believed that people could learn to treat others with respect, to live in peace and tolerance, to be rid of war once and for all. We believed that people could put aside their complacency, greed and self-centered ways, and do what was right. I guess it's pretty naive, but still, I can hope...

Night Trees Meet Sky

More Photoshop Weirdness

My very slow Photoshop education continues...mostly by trial and error. But I am learning, and having fun when I don't get too frustrated.
Here's the photo I stated with. I wanted to make the ripples more prominent,


which led me to this. Of course, I have to keep pushing it, just to see what happens.



After several incarnations, it's starting to look pretty strange and science fiction-y. But I don't stop yet...



Okay, this is too weird, even for me.



I decided to go with the science fiction theme here. I wanted to test my skills and see if I could make it look like the moon was coming out of, (or going into) the water.



It could certainly use some improvement, but I'm making progress! what do you think?