Ceanothus in Bloom and a new Crucifix finished

I have labored over this corpus for hours on end. The cross, I cut from dead Ceanothus (see below) wood that is on our property. Together, they make a very nice crucifix with the ' Franciscan' spirit of poverty, simplicity and devotion.

And here is the Ceanothus tree,  fully alive and in Bloom this time of year.

Once again, in mid winter, the lovely Ceanothus blooms with wonderful white flowers. This variety is all over the valley here and in a few days the entire valley will look like it has had a dusting of snow.

Jan. 1st Feast of the Theotokos (Mary Mother of God)

Happy New year to all.

Bach Toccata and Fugue Played by Edin Karamazov

Another Crucifix

Working on another Crucifix. Here is the Corpus for it, still in the painting stage.

Digital vs. Traditional

Is there any value to digital painting? If the above image( that I painted on the computer )were printed on  canvas, and the digital file then destroyed so that no other copies could be made would that make a difference? But artists have prints made of their work and sell them. Isn't that the same? Is it the fact that none of the tools of the painter came into play in creating this image, other than digital tools? ( I painted this in Corel Painter 9.5 ). Is art then, only viable when traditional tools are used to create it? How about a word processor for the writer? Is poetry less than it should be if the poet wrote the words in a word processing program rather than with pen and paper?  I can understand both sides of the argument.

Nov. 21 2010 -The Feast of Christ The King

He is everywhere and awaits us.

The hermit in all of us

An image from my book, A VISIT WITH CHRIST.  It was a challenge to do this book, and even more to get any sales.

Fall moss on our hillside

A sample of the intricate texture of the moss that has appeared from all the cool damp weather here on our hillside.

young woman revised

 In progress. I Revised the face and put in a lighter environment so that the figure is the center of attention.

young woman

I've always like the look of heavy cloth and capes and scarves. This has been fun to paint-however the poor girls face is not yet where it should be. Ah! the more I practice the arts, the more I find myself lacking.
Oh well..... one can strive.

Happy Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

A little girl has come among us

Meet Rosemary Kelly Meyers, my great niece. The world has just become a better place!

Old Footage of St. Padre Pio

I know I jump around a lot from secular to sacred and what have you but that's just me. I couldn't resist putting a link to this old footage of St. Padre Pio taken in the 1940's and 1950's and beyond. GI's used to go up to see him during world war II.

This footage has just solo Cello behind it. It is very well done.
CLICK HERE

Martha Argerich and Ravel's piano concerto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nym2KdtLNfk

I poster about the master Pianist Martha Argerich playing this movement many posts earlier (CLICK HERE). That video was from 20 years ago. Here she is again, now 20 years older playing it even better. To me she is the bar to be measured against in the world of Pianists. I think all women should let there hair go grey as she has.She has such passion for this piece.

The challenges of a story artist in film

I draw with a digital tablet at work. Hours and hours of time have I spent capturing the written story into image after image after image. We story artists are the ones, along with the editors and director, that oftentimes you will find in the studio on weekends.  I used to feel that Animators were the kings of the Animated movie when I animated, but as I moved into story I began to see how the story artist is the one who must be many things;  Director, Actor, Cinematographer, Choreographer, Key Grip, etc. Not only do we stage each and every shot ( cut to cut) but we act out the emotions and dramatics called for during the time that the film gate opens till it closes in the 'Take'.

The above shot called for my character, 'Eddie,' to be testing a new racing engine and moving through the gears.  It wasn't about speed, but about precision. Here he is taking a curve and is completely lost in the moment - eyes fast on the road, ears on the RPM's of the engine and mind switching from sound to sight and beyond. Click on the image to get a full frame view of it.

And it starts with a blank page.

Joshua Bell - Faure - Apres un reve (After a dream)

This instrumental version of the Song 'Apres un Reve' By Gabriel Faure is worth listening to. Joshua Bell has great tone and emotion.

Our Lady of Kibeho

This is a book all men and women of all faiths must read. We all know of the horrific Rwandan Genocide that took place in 1994. The author of this book, Immaculee IIibagiza, has written of those terrible days from one who lived through them, hiding in a tiny bathroom with several other women for 90 days as outside the window she could hear her brothers and villagers being slaughtered one after another. That book, Left to Tell, is well know and loved by all.

This book, Our Lady of Kibeho, is about a time 10 years earlier when Our Lady Appeared to several children  in Rwanda with messages to give to the government, and all mankind - to let go of the hatred in ones heart. She foretold the Genocide that would come if men would not change and one of the visionaries was show it10 years before it happened!

It can be purchased many places. Available at Imaculee's web store HERE.To find it on Amazon, click HERE.

For further information online about this amazing story and the  children involved, You can start HERE

Brilliant and Moving Puppet Theatre

If you like puppetry, as I do, than you will enjoy this very moving and original act by a master puppeteer.

various sketches

girl in a breeze

Dolphin drawings for a TV series from the
1980's that never aired.

The Old Garage

Richters Garage in Wilmington where my Dad was a mechanic. He raised a good family doing this humble work. It's not about large salaries that makes for a happy family.