Bare Naked Trees 24x12, Thought of You 24x24, For The Love Of The Marsh 12x24

Simple compositions, strong contrasts and muted tones of vibrant colors...these are a few of my favorite things.  Also, watching a dog run on two legs.  I had our little black lab Sunny out in the desert the other day chasing birds.  There are a lot of stickly and prickly cactus-like thorny pokers all over the desert.  It seems every 5 minutes she is lifting a paw for a few steps. Every ten minutes she needs to come over to get unstuck from an unwelcome tenacious hitchhiker.  The cholla cactus are the worse 'cause as soon as you get them out of one toe they're back on you and they sink deep and hurt and make blood to flow.  Anyway, a slight limp or raised foot ain't too much to be concerned with usually but when Sunny was all of a sudden lifting two legs (on the same side) and starting running I believed I was witnessing a miracle...kind of like I feel when watching the sunset on my favorite marshland (bottom picture). These will be available soon on auction forever to be reminders of the two legged dog.
Happy new year!

...a merry little Christmas

A wet Christmas morning for Sunny after chasing ducks through water and wood. No one stirred at the pre-dawn call to watch the sunrise and look into the stockings hung with care on Christmas morn so Sunny and I had to answer. We were home before the cock finished crowing and no one was the wiser (till they went to the larder and spied the Christmas goose (ducks in this case). I have turned down the thermostat on painting the past few weeks to get some cabinets built in the old shop.  Sawdust and slivers have been the fashion around here lately but come middle of January I think I will get crackin' on some backed-up commissions and get some new work posted for sale on the bay and etsy.  Here's just a little heads up to let you know I'm still alive and wallowing in mighty grace from God.  I wish a merry Christmas and happy holiday to all my friends and patrons...looking back on this year I see that wallowing has put me in good stead. The Savior is kind and full of promise and old legs full of titanium still kick, eyes still see for hands to still paint.  Mighty grace from God in like manner to you and yours.
Merry Christmas!