Painting Life Experiences

An old chicken coop
Worn and unsightly
Or a castle in the sun
Shining so brightly

Depends how you see it
Your perspective on things
As for those on the roof
It’s a castle for kings

Growing up in rural America provided an abundant supply of priceless memories that have recently started to flood my mind and force their way into my paintings. Standing on the roof of a chicken coop in the backyard certainly didn’t seem like something to paint at that time, but…

Not a sound on the Lake
Not a word being spoken
Water like glass
Clear and unbroken

In comes the loon
With beauty and class
Breaking the silence
And breaking the glass

The call of a loon is one of those sounds that sticks with a person their entire life.  Across all the different minds it resides in permanently, it holds a broad array of memories and experiences.  Paddling the boundary waters of northern Minnesota, coffee on the dock, evening campfires…

Painting whitetails
A childhood dream
A dream to chase
Or so it seemed

Till letting go
That dream of old
New dreams became
To watch unfold

I was excited to finally start painting this scene. For me it’s much more than just a painting. It’s a pivotal moment where I look back to the dreams and memories wrapped up in all my early whitetail sketches, and then turn and look forward to new dreams with renewed purpose….

On shimmering water
With glassy reflection
Bubbles afloat
In fragile perfection

The bubbles will burst
Be suddenly gone
But now in full bloom
The rose will float on

This painting was a little out of the ordinary for me, and I enjoyed stretching my creativity to paint a scene that didn’t necessarily make sense in the normal context of the natural world.  When I started the painting I intended to paint only the bubbles, but as it progressed the scene…