Second Surprise ~

Sampson

oil on canvas, 10"x8"

for Shawna and Josh Brickman

First surprise of two ~

Zuli

oil on canvas, 10"x8"

for Shawna and Josh Brickman

Painting Blades of Grass

Still hard at work painting the green pasture this cow calls home.  Here is an updated photo showing the progress:

To see more completed work from the Rural Meditation series, visit this link.  Works from this series are currently on display at ArtSource Fine Art in Raleigh, NC.

Graceful Repose ~ finished

Graceful Repose

oil on canvas, 30"x40"

I have been working on this painting for many, many hours now.  Finally, I think it is complete and am glad I can share it.  

Recently finished ~

Into the Soft Arms of Silence

oil on canvas, 24"x18"

In keeping with the theme, I will share a poem by Thomas Hood, which I first became acquainted with through its presence in one of my favorite films, Jane Champion's The Piano.

Silence
by Thomas Hood

There is a silence where hath been no sound,

There is a silence where no sound may be,

In the cold grave—under the deep, deep sea,

Or in wide desert where no life is found,

Which hath been mute, and still must sleep profound;

No voice is hush’d—no life treads silently,

But clouds and cloudy shadows wander free,

That never spoke, over the idle ground:

But in green ruins, in the desolate walls

Of antique palaces, where Man hath been,

Though the dun fox or wild hyæna calls,

And owls, that flit continually between,

Shriek to the echo, and the low winds moan—

There the true Silence is, self-conscious and alone.

Beginning stages of a new Rural Meditation

Here is one of the first photos of a new painting I am working on.  This is another from my Rural Meditation series, and I am going to take a photo of each stage of the process to make into a slideshow (hopefully!).