Tiger Double

I have to admit I'm having way too much fun with the tiger stuff, but there is a lot of interest in it right now so I'm going to stay on it until I get bored or get behind on my turkey schedule. These are two 12"x36" paintings that can be sold separately or as one unit as pictured. Rarrrrrr! The decorating possibilities with this format are endless. They fit long, narrow, vertical spots in the house as well as places above doors or other places that traditional art does not fit. The tiger is the mascot for about a million high school and college teams in the U.S. I'm going to make them affordable to anyone. I guess if I was in college, you might say I was majoring in turkeys with a minor in tigers!!

Tiger Eyes

Well, in case you can't tell, these are not turkeys! No, I am not abandoning my committment to specialize in wild turkey art. This is just a project that popped up and looked like fun. Daniel and I saw some tiger eyes in a store while Christmas shopping. He thought his girlfriend, Amber, would really like something like this for her apartment. She had just graduated from MU and is a fan of the Missouri Tigers. Debbie and I jumped at the gift idea! We found a 12" x 36" canvas with a 1 3/8"profile. I did my research on tigers and did her the painting. She loved it and it was great fun to paint. Seems like everyone who saw it, liked it and suggested I do more. My creative side took over, so I sketched out both horizontal and vertical ideas. They are very light, easy to hang, and no frame is needed! Each one is an original. Tigers have markings and stripes that are very unique to each individual. This gives me alot of freedom. There are lots of schools out there with tiger mascots. It seems like the young people like this type of art. I'm going to use most of February to get the turkey paintings rolling again. My oldest son, Eric is buying some equipment to put in food plots for hunting. I look forward to helping him when he needs a hand. This is going to be a fun year!!!

"On A Mission"

It's a new year and I'm still painting turkeys! I've spent the last three months bowhunting and spending time with friends and family. I spent many hours in the solitude of a treestand. I hunted on everything from a bright, sun shiny fall day to the coldest, cloudy days of winter. All of the hunts were GREAT in their own rite. Good friend, John Roe allowed me to hunt his spectacular farm for some of the smartest does on earth. (what an experience). My hunting partner, Donnie Stuver, and I had some memorable hunts , to say the least! Donnie and John own a farm together. Donnie had back and neck surgery in October, so I helped him hunt during his recovery. I leased land from John for twelve years, so we all know the land and the deer very well. We had encounters with some really good bucks. They will be huge next year. Four does were unlucky enough to have encounters with the Stuver/Hoyt bow team. John's son, Garrett, killed a big 9 point that Donnie and I watched with a doe for three hours during the peak of the rut. IT WAS A SEASON FULL OF MEMORIES! Today's painting is a gift to John Roe for giving me more bowhunting memories . Thank you John. I'm RECHARGED and ready to paint. 2010 here I come!!!!!

10 PT. Bowkill 10-23-09

I told you I was going to spend some time in my treestands. A cold front moved through Friday evening and I knew it would be a good night to hunt. Iwalked to my stand in the rain, but the temperature was dropping so I knew the rain would stop and the deer would move. It was a dreary old evening, but the turkeys were gobbling like it was spring. WEIRD. I'd been calling on my grunt call pretty aggressively, looked up, and here he came. From the time I spotted him, until he was down, took less than two minutes. He's not a huge buck, but he's a wonderful trophy to me. It's so good to be deer hunting again!

"Amazing Grace"

It's been forever since I've sat down to paint. You'll have to forgive me. Fall is here and with that comes bow season. I was working with the Missouri Department of Corrections last year at this time and I missed the entire fall and all the glory that comes with it. NEVER AGAIN! I love the Spring and it's turkeys, but Fall is a magical time of year that makes it almost impossible to stay inside. I'll be in my treestands alot for the next couple months chasing the deer. There is nothing like harvesting a big buck with a bow! This makes 40 years. It's harder to walk, climb and drag than it used to be. When I settle in on the stand and everything gets quiet and the smells of the timber hit me, all the aches,worries and years fade away. It's my Fountain of Youth.

Spring Soldier

It's been a month since I've entered anything on this blog. I've been working on getting my brother John's 500 acre wetland farm ready to lease for waterfowl and deer hunting. Hot, wet weather has slowed the process, not to mention seven inches of rain in the last 24 hours. I have been painting some also. I've got four 9"x12" paintings finished that are not yet on the blog. I also "touched up" several of my earlier paintings with some improvements. Today's painting is an 11"x14". I've been working on it for several days. Summer sure has flown by. Two good things happen at the end of Summer. The yard mowing comes to an end and hunting season begins!!!!

Feeling the Spring

I'm on a roll today. It's been fun to put the final touches on two paintings in one day. It does get a little tense at times. It's easier to put things in slowly and be sure I like them , than to rush something in and have to paint it out. I'm really pleased with these last two paintings. The colors are really eye catching in the gobbler, and also in his surroundings. As a matter of fact, I'm so pleased with myself I'm going to take me out and buy myself a beer out by my pool!

Silent Partner

Here it is Wednesday and this is my first blog for the week. I do have another painting almost done using this layout. I just needed to study exactly what I want to add as final touches. I'd like to keep the painting as uncluttered as possible. I want it to look very much like Spring and that means grass, flowers and color. Everything I was taught is that less is more. Tell that to Mother Nature because she throws alot of "stuff" in her artwork!

Spring Shadows

This painting took longer than my others. It's an 11"x14" and is one of my paintings I'm submitting for consideration as a turkey stamp. Instead of the usual "fly by the seat of my pants" painting style , I have to check for several things to keep it in stamp format. It's like the old days when I was working on my annual print painting. I always had to think about every little thing I put in the painting. Think, think, think....Thinking is not my strong suit. If I wanted to think all day, I would have got a real job!!!

Springtime Dream

Today is the day the memorial for Michael Jackson was held. It was quite an affair. It's been on all day so I've bounced back and forth between my painting and the TV. Like him or not, he was the third most recognized person on Earth behind Queen Elizabeth and the Pope. His life and death made history. I liked his music from the start. I loved to watch him dance.( Believe it or not, when I was younger I did a pretty mean Moon Walk my own self!) I hope you like today's painting.

Flyin' the Colors

Since we just finished celebrating Independence Day, I decided to pick a title that was patriotic. The holiday was perfect. We spent lots of time here at our place with lots of family. Debbie and I caught up with all that is going on in our sons lives and lots of future plans. I really managed to get refreshed enough to attack another month of painting. I usually suffer some sort of injury when we get together for the Fourth. I did manage to step directly on my black dog in the dark and fall on my head. I recovered nicely. After The Fourth of July 2009, I'm happy to be able to say I still have ten fingers to paint with for another year!

Shining Spring

I just had to squeeze one more painting in before the Fourth. I woke up this morning as it was barely getting light. I made a pot of coffee, got a cup and enjoyed a walk around our 6 acres. It was only 58 degrees so it felt like spring. I keep a labyrinth of trails mowed so it is great fun to just wander as the day begins. I have also found it is just as much fun to walk the trails on a hot summer afternoon if you substitute the coffee with something a little colder!!!

Showin' Off

I actually did this painting two weeks ago on a weekend and never blogged it.This week will not be very productive as far as new paintings go. I'm getting ready for Fourth of July festivities. This is the first one I've had completely off in years. With both sons coming in with their lovely women AND granddaughter Clara plus other family, it will be great fun. Happy Independence Day to everyone and remember why we celebrate. God bless the USA and all those who protect it !!!

Morning Drummer

In today's painting there are several small things that just make it work for me. The brightness of the grass, the patterns of dark trees and foliage in the background, the shadow of the bird and other subtle things all join together to make this a good painting. I've been married to Debbie for 33 years today. We're like this painting. It seems like there is no one big thing in our life that has kept us together. It's all the small things we think, do and say each day that just makes it work!

Fourth Spring

I used the reverse of this pose on Tuesday's painting. It's fun to see how the same turkey looks so different by changing the setting. Coming up with a title is a daily challenge. Some titles become obvious as the painting developes. Sometimes the title is chosen at the beginning before I put a drop of paint on. Other times, I've signed the painting and still don't have a title. It would be easier if I could just name them Bob or Don, but then what would you name people? I know our sons would be ticked if I had named them, Old Veteran and Brilliant Sunshine!