April 2009

"Out to Pasture"

10x12 oil on linen panel

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I have finally completed the challenge. I have painted my first cow painting! This was a challenge from my art friend who keeps me working and honest. She loves cows and always wants to paint them. I on the other hand can think of a number of other things I would rather paint!

Colorado inspires me at every turn. Everything in that state is a Kodak moment for me. I love the mountains and vow to live there some day, even if it has to be in my next life, ha! The photograph that inspired this painting was captured on a cool autumn day. The colors in the mountains always seem more vivid to me and the air is so pure and clean. I don't even mind the bugs and the wind as just being out of doors is a joy.

I hope that this painitng will inspire you to find a favorite place if you don't already have one. I am always looking for an excuse to escape to the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico. You can still find unsoiled territory to explore and leave the hustle and bustle of everyday behind for a little while.

Until next month.....................................................JB

March Entry

"Morning's Glory"

7x6 watercolor on paper

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I am ready for spring. About this time of year I start to get antsy. I want to be out in the flower garden, feel the warm sun on my back and dig in the dirt. The four seasons are just right for me. About the time I get sick and tired of one, change comes and it is usually welcome.

This is a small watercolor painting of Morning Glories. I love flowers and Morning Glories are one of my favorites. I think it is neat how they open up in the cool of the morning and then have sense enough to get in out of the heat of the day. Nature is like that though. To bad we all can't learn from her. We could all do with a dose of common sense now and then. Mother Nature and Father Time. One gives wisdom, the other notes the passing of our days.

Now, spring is sprung, at least in my neck of the woods, and none to soon. So, get out and take a walk, smell the flowers, watch the trees awaken from the winter and say thank you to the almighty that even though change comes, some things will always stay the same.

Until next month......JB

February Post

"In Between"

4x4 oil on canvas

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A cactus growing in an unlikely place caught my eye and became the basis for this small painting. This is the first for the year in my painting of the month series. January escaped me. It came and went in such a hurry I didn't have time to catch my breath let alone make a blog entry. What's the line to that old song, "slow down, you move to fast"?. That's the way I feel about life at the moment!

Mother Nature uses red and green often on her palette, and purple is good in any landscape or floral painting. This painting was inspired by one of my photographs which are usually jumping off points for me. I push the color and the image to try to create something interesting. Sometime it works, sometimes it doesn't.

So, here's to a new year. May it bring peace and prosperity to all. Until next month.....JB

November

"Harvest Moon"

8x10 oil on canvas

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It's harvest time. A time of gathering. A time for being thankful. This small painting is entitled, Harvest Moon. It has a warm feeling like we experience when we gather with friends and family this time of year.

I hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving. And if you don't happen to celebrate the holiday, just pause and give thanks for all of the many blessings we have as a people and a country. Use the holidays as an excuse to perform random acts of kindness. You never know what impact you will have or the lives you might change. Until next month......JB

Fall

"October"

6x8 oil on canvas

on masonite

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It's Fall again. The mornings have that crisp edge. The days are shorter. The year is winding down. The pumpkins are everywhere.

This is my painting of the month entitled, "October". When I think of Fall, one of the first things I visualize is all of the pumpkins. As kids we couldn't wait to carve one, and then smash it on Halloween night as a trick, after we got the treat of course.

Everyone has a favorite season and Fall is mine. I've tried to capture that feeling in this small painting. Until next month....................JB

September 2008

"A Quiet Place"

9x12 oil on canvas

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"A quiet place." How often I wish I could escape to just such a place. When the daily grind gets to be too much, it is the quiet places such as this that offer rest for our weary souls.

An actual palce in northern Illinois, it is good to know that such places do exist. This is a small work on canvas. The colors attempt to imitate nature although her pallet still escapes me for the most part. Just being out there, away from the hustle and bustle of the everyday is a joy.

Make an effort to find your own quiet place. It may be as near as your own backyard. Give yourself permission to stay for awhile, slow down, reevaluate, let go, and feed your spirit with the joy, hope and peace of things that are yet to be.............Until next month, JB

August Post

"Letting Go"
11x14 oil on canvas

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It's August, time for change, children returning to school, a time for letting go. Change is what its all about and letting go is hard. Unfamiliar territory can be daunting no matter what the situation. But in letting go we can experience real freedom. Growth occurs as we spread our wings and test our limits. Sometimes with our kids the testing is the tough part. Some tend to want to push the envelope a lot farther than others. I've found with my own children that these are the ones who will probably be the most successful in life if we can just keep them from falling out of the nest and breaking their little necks early on.

Lets face it. Life is a struggle on a good day. Change is inevidable. One of my grandchildren has decided that he dosen't want to growup because it dosen't look like any fun. I can identify with him. Sometimes its not much fun being grownup! It's a good thing we don't have a choice, or the world might be run by ten year olds....Huh. No, I won't go there.

Letting Go is the title of this painting. Letting go does not come naturally. It is a learned behavior. With freedom comes growth. Growth opens doors to greater understanding and compassion. Understanding and compassion open the door to great joy. Let go, it may be easier than you think if you just let go! Until next month......JB