Moon Water 24x12

Blood splattered all over the shop. It should have tipped me off that something was amiss.  Well, I thought, as long as no one came running in to wake me from my sweet and happy dreamworld it couldn't have been that bad.  Later, in the shop, I saw a whole fingernail...not attatched to a finger! Eli grows them out real long for guitar playing.  I guess they're not that effective at staying clear of the belt sander.  So the studio floor as well as the stairwell sport a new and colorful motif and there are strips of gauze and band aid wrappers strewn all over the house.  They make (the kids) such a big deal out of a little blood loss.  Back in my day we didn't go to the doctor's unless our legs were broke in half by a rampaging atv.  Speaking of that, next week is the one year anniversary of the left-leg titanium implant.  The new leg works great for painting.  It's real easy to chain to the easel and there I stand most days building masterpieces while casting pitiful glances out the window at all the other children who are able to run and free to play.  Such is the life I lead. I only thank God for odorless mineral spirits...helps keep me sane and... keeps the ghosts (of ducks) away.

Puffer Fish 36x24, Solitary 24x24, The Wind & The Lion 12x24

One of the great benefits of 3am rising is that I get a chance to listen to Coast To Coast AM with George Noory while driving the duck truck. This early bird habit is brought on by the autumnal urge to be knee deep in swamp water to watch the sunrise and listen to mallard chatter. So the other morning the guest was a parapsychologist who also happened to be a professional chocolatier and excelled in a number of other completely unrelated and equally wackadoodle pursuits. Well, to quote my uncle Bob Dylan, "You ever seen a ghost? No, but you have heard of them"  After reciting a long list of pseudo accomplishments the ghost whisperer, who takes himself way too serious, offered to mentor would-be ghost chasers. I say if you don't want to stay up all night listening to the radio but still would like to experience some first-hand conjuring... just watch what I can do with a duck call and some oil paint.  These paintings were all made with a lanyard of calls around my neck and 7 ducks (Black East Indies) just outside the studio door. Ghosts can fly but they can't quack.

Aviary, Bull Sleep, Waterdown

Demonic serpents should not play a significant roll in anyone's life. That's what I think.  But hey, it is Halloween season and I guess it's fitting that we narrowly escaped another encounter with the fanged fury of the desert.  I was just about to tell Eli to walk directly behind me and step exactly where I stepped.  I was thinking 'bout rattlers as we hiked over prickly pear fields in search of wild, edible game.  Ankle-high grass with the most annoying and penetrating seeds known to man had infiltrated my boots and socks and a jumping cactus had already been painfully extricated from my left calf. (The titanium does nothing to repel hitchhikers. So what use is the bionic leg anyway?) The sun had set and the light was quickly fading. We were headed for the truck, shotguns over our shoulders but still spread out in battle formation. A few yards behind and off to my right trundled Eli in full hunting regalia. Oh, I guess he was more comfortable in his thin-soled canvas skater shoes. Anyway, he yelled and I turned. There was a fat and venomous mouth of death coiled and ready to strike ...I had just passed to within a moth's whisker of certain pain and amazing blog-fodder. Thanks to my boy's good eyes and my covenant with God against all things vile and sinful we made it home safe and sound. These pictures reflect the sentiment of a grateful heart.

Boom 36x24, Flowers 24x36, The Rocks 18x12

I highly recommend you download the "paperweight" and "hockey puck" apps for your smart phone, they work fantastic.

3 New paintings