California Magnolia….

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abstract art, abstract photography, bnwphoto, bnwphotography, California Magnolia image, landscapes, nature, nature art, nature photography, photography, tree

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Folk Art Bird……

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art, folk art, folk art bird, Howard Finster, landscape, nature, nature art, oil, oil painting, original painting, painting, portrait, rural georgia landscapes, tree, whimsical

Having grown up in the southern part of the United States seeing works by local folk artist was normal. While in my early twenties I had the privilege to visit the home and ‘Paradise Gardens’ of Georgia’s own renowned folk artist Howard Finster. The High Museum of Atlanta has within its permanent collection many works of Mr. Finster and is worth a visit to Atlanta to see.

With all that said it seems natural to work in that particular visual genre now and again. Being a naturalist at heart, birds are a favorite theme of mine. Here is my folk art painting for the day. As you can see the style is simplified and plays on the whimsical nature of the bird and it’s roost.

The piece measures 8.5 x11.5 inches and was painted on un-stretched canvas using oil paints.

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by…….would love to hear about your favorite folk artist from where you are from.

 

Tallulah Gorge

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georgia, getting outside, hardwood tree, hiking, moss, outdoor living, Tallulah Gorge, tree, trees covered in moss

We just recently went on a five-mile hike into Georgia’s Tallulah Gorge. The strenuous hike starts with 1000 steps down, crossing the river twice, a very steep climb out, and a two-mile walk back to the interpretive center. Below are a few interesting visuals we saw on our hike.

While on this hike we saw many trees that had a distinctive look and character. The recent rains gave the moss a beautiful deep green color and several of the trees had gnarled twisted bark. Hope you get a chance to make this hike soon. It was a winner with our teen-aged kids and a super time outside.

Flowering Tree on Yellow

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flowering tree, Japanese landscape, landscapes, nature, nature art, oil, oil painting, tree, yellow

The picture of this painting is fair representation of the actual colors of the painting, but I think you get the idea. The dark brownish-red tree trunk pops on the yellow background. The red flowers accent the reddish tones and give a dark contrast next to the light ground.

This painting was done in several steps the first being the drawing. The drawing was laid straight on to the canvas with  pencil. Second step was to cover the entire canvas with a golden yellow acrylic.  The third step was to lay the flowers, buds, and tree trunk out in acrylic. Acrylics are used in these preliminary steps because of the fast drying properties of acrylic paints.

All the final stages are done in oils. Oil paints have a luster and can be varnished to protect the painting and create a deep rich color. The yellows used were yellow ochre, Naples yellow mixed with white in places. The yellows are darker around the canvas edges and gradually get lighter toward the tree trunk. This gives the trunk a slight glow.

The flowers are a mix of crimson red and cadmium red. The trunk is a  simple mix of crimson and burnt umber. A hint of black was used to create knots on the trunk.

Getting Outside

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art from nature, flowers, nature, nature art, nature craft, plant, tree, trees, Tugaloo State Park

This summer I have been working as a Naturalist at Tugaloo, a Georgia State Park, and it has been a great outdoor adventure. The many hours spent hiking and sharing the wonders of nature to the park’s visitors has given me a fresh and intimate connection to the native plant and animal species of my state.

At first glace this old pine seemed uneventful, but a closer look unlocked the deep caverns of the bark and the alien mossy greens. The recesses of the bark remind me of the color filled canyons of the southwest. The textured greens look scaly and fishlike.

This beauty was found at the edge of a wooded area that bordered Lake Hartwell. The flowering stage is almost complete and the seed is being formed. A black and white format was chosen to help focus the viewer’s eye on the roundness and angularity of the subject.

Lastly, this is a picture of a fallen log. As you can see nature’s recyclers have been busy working on returning this once tall standing tree into rich soil for new seedlings. The light quality on the forest floor was low, except for a few light patches which in this picture enhanced the distinct bug road patterns chewed into the log.

Getting outside has been a rewarding experience and one I hope to continue even when my summer job comes to an end.

Christ and the Terebinth Tree

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Christ, icon, icons, Jesus, light, oil, original, painting, paintings, spiritual, spiritual renewing, terebinth, terebinth tree, tree

It has been some time since I’ve worked on an icon. I have come to realize that I’m not a production warehouse and I’ve come to grips with that. My calling is not that of one who writes in a continuous stream. Instead, I’m the type who sees and then is left to meditate for some time on what I’ve seen before picking up the first brush. The last icon of significance that I worked on was this one of our Lord and a terebinth tree.

God revealed this icon to me nearly four years ago when my Dad had a massive stroke. Needless to say, I was very distraught over Daddy’s sickness and often found myself in a place of  God’s presence that I hadn’t been in before. It was a place of stillness, deeply withdrawn from the voices and cares of this world. Although I have been a Christian for a long time I had not known of such a place until that time and place in my life.

God walked me to this place and there I found complete rest, enlightenment of the sacred, and peace. Although it was through a painful experience that enabled me to visit this place for the first time, I know now, I can visit this place in God regardless of  life’s situations.

The Vision of our Lord and the Terebinth Tree

This icon came to me through a vision. To help alleviate some of the stress of the experience of Daddy’s illness, my family began walking in a local state park. This park has beautiful walking trails. Our favorite trail was one that meandered through the woods and finished with a walk along a medium size creek. Every Saturday we would head off to the park as a family and enjoy a good hour of fresh air and companionship with each other.

One particular Saturday however, no one wanted to go, but me. I needed these walks…. so I found myself driving to the park alone, angry, upset, and afraid because the rest of my family was not coming along.  Secretly, I was afraid to hike in the woods without them.

The first half of my hike was spent grumbling against them for not coming with me. I blamed them for my feelings of fear. But as I walked I began to look up at the tree canopies and suddenly I was in the fear of the Lord. My vision began to change from  my spacial surroundings to a portal opening. Somehow I was seeing,  not the space around me, but the space beyond me. A space of  all-encompassing blueish light and of a tree that was unlike any I had ever seen before. The Lord told me the tree that I was seeing was a Terebinth tree.

As soon as I got home I began looking in the Old Testament for this tree. Having taught the Old Testament for nearly eight years in India, I knew the Patriarchs would from time to time have encounters with Yahweh in places with trees.

Abraham had such encounters. In Genesis 12:6-8 Yahweh spoke to Abram while he was in the sacred place near the terebinth of More. In Gen. 21:32-34 Abraham planted a terebinth tree after a conflict between Abraham and those of Philistine territory was resolved.  There are many more references throughout the book of Genesis.

Terebinth trees are a part of the Sumac family and are related to the magnolia and pistachio. The terebinth tree can grow to be very large and live for over a thousand years.

So what is so important about the terebinth tree? Scripture associates them with sacred places.  The oil from the tree is known to have been used in a healing balm. The Lord shows us a place of sacred meeting, healing and rest under the Tree of Life. The question is are we willing to rest under the blue flickering light as it passes through the canopy of the terebinth tree?

I gave this icon to my Dad, and since then we have witnessed him dedicate his life to the Lord and maintain, through all the ups and downs of such an illness, a constancy in the Lord. To God be the glory.