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!

Sunny Slope

I know many people spend a big part of their life in a small office or cubicle and hate it. I'm happy to be inside painting today. With the temperature 95 plus, my small desk in my small room seems very comfortable with the air conditioning blasting. I spent 13 years in my sign business back in the 70's and 80's. I got my share of hot summer days while painting and maintaining my billboards. My specialty was large signs up to 12'x48'. It would take 768 of my paintings to equal one that big. That would be a flock of turkeys!

King's Profile

I really wanted to throw some color in today. One of my all time favorite flowers is the Indian Paint-brush. With all the colors that reflect off the feathers of a gobbler, I can use all the colors of the rainbow. When I started painting years ago, Robert Bateman was my favorite artist. I loved his detail and use of subdued colors. Later, the art of Thomas Kinkade, with brilliant colors and lighting started me toward a wider, more colorful palette.I don't think I'm in the same class as those guys.....but, I'd challenge either to a race painting a wild turkey gobbler!!!

Big Ole Boys

I had a great Father's Day weekend. Lots of food and fun is very refreshing, but it has residual effects. I'll bet I gained 10 lbs. I'll have to do lots of yard work this week. I don't ever take off any weight sitting at this table painting turkeys. It's in the 90's today so any activity outside will cause weight loss, except the one I'm going to do.....float in the pool with a cold one!

Remembering Spring

With the first day of Summer one day away, this is officially my last painting of Spring '09. I went back to all the photos I took of this old boy a week before turkey season. I picked what I consider the "classic" pose. I can't help but wonder if this gobbler is still down in the timber. If you remember my turkey season, you know I didn't cause him any harm. Maybe I'm getting old, but I'm glad I was armed only with a camera when we crossed paths. Who am I kidding? Even with a fully loaded 12 ga. and a pocket of shells, the odds are still stacked in his favor. I AM getting old!!!

Spring Harmony

Summer is here! It's hotter than Kellie Pickler out there. Today's painting has been tough and I'm ready to head out and jump in the pool. This may be shorter than usual. I like to try to come up with something to make this interesting. Sometimes I use up all my creativity on the artwork. I can't come up with any words of wit today. I just can't force it because.....wit happens!

Soundin' Off

This morning I sat in the gallery and looked over all the 9x12 turkey originals I've completed during the past six months. I wanted to study them to see if some stood out as really good representatives of my current turkey art. My eye kept coming back to this pose. To me this tells it all about gobblers. They are simply magical when they're strutting. Their gobble can double the heart rate of any turkey hunter. This old gobbling bird just makes me feel good. Isn't that what art is supposed to do?

Hillside Show

It's Monday and four days since I made a turkey. Other business and yard work filled up those days, but I was fresh and ready to paint this morning. Real Summer is going to arrive this week with some 90 degree days in the forecast. I plan to paint every day, but I look directly out the window at our pool so....... I'll try! This is the first Summer in about six years I'll have all weekends off. We have outdoor speakers at the pool and love to chill out there and crank the Country Tunes. Debbie decided she has found my"theme song". It's Billy Currington's, "God is great, beer is good and people are crazy" I agree with Debbie AND Billy!!!

Dawn's Early Light

Every day I paint, I always have the country music cranked up. Time passes really fast as one great song after another plays on the SIRIUS radio channel. They play all the current hits and also the best of the 80's and 90's. I listen so many hours that I know most of the words to most of the songs. Yes, I do sing along at the top of my lungs. I've often told Debbie that I should have been a country singer. We agree the ONLY thing that stands between me and super stardom is singing ability!

Misty Trio

I was feeling pretty energetic this morning, so I decided to try a three bird layout. When painting a one day painting, I'm attentive to the amount of elements I put in. I'm not on a time clock, so when I'm feeling fresh I try something a little more challenging. I must admit that I have used up all of that excess energy today. Right now there is a huge thunderstorm rattling the windows in our house. I love to watch a good storm, so I'll head outside for the show. However, I really don't want a good bolt of lightning to be the thing that re-energizes me!

Warm Colors

Debbie and I had a great weekend baby-sitting our granddaughter, Clara, at our oldest son's home in Liberty, Mo. We did lots of fun stuff, but still had lots of rest time during naps. I took full advantage of this and painted every time I got a chance. I actually finished an entire painting. Since they live in town and the yard is small, there's not much for an old country boy to do outside. I feel very blessed to live in the country where there is a restroom in any direction!

Field of Daisies

Yesterday evening my dog, April, and I took a golf cart ride down the old, dead end road behind our house. We're the only house on the road, so it's a real good place to see all kinds of wildlife late in the day. April likes to crowd in right behind the wheel (she's about 80 lbs.). I think she'd drive if I'd let her, but she is easily distracted SQUIRREL and she bails out. I was enjoying the daisies blooming everywhere when I spotted a turkey feather in the road. It was a huge primary(wing) feather from a gobbler, 18" long! Of course this gave me the idea for today's painting. Like I've said before, it only looks like I'm goofing off. I'm ALWAYS working!

Brotherhood

When I arrived at the old painting table this morning, it was cloudy and rainy. As the morning wore on, the clouds got thinner and eventually the sun began to break through. I noticed that the more sunlight there was, the faster I worked. I took fewer breaks and the painting just flew by. The day turned into a Bluebird day. My concentration even got better. Some might conclude increasing sunlight entering the cornea actually increases productivity. Nope! I just want to get OUTSIDE!

Old Warrior

The forecast for today was thunderstorms and possibly heavy rain. You just have to paint a gobblin' gobbler on a day like this. Even though it's June, I know those old gobblers are exploding with every rumble. My poor dog, April, is really scared of thunder. She is an impurebred Black Something. She was hand delivered to my ditch about five years ago during turkey season. Even though she was only about six weeks old, she laid by and guarded a gobbler, all day, that we had taken the morning we found her. She's been my runnin' buddy ever since. Right now she's hiding in the basement wondering when I'm going to finish today's painting!

Golden Thunder

We had a great weekend for our granddaughter's first birthday! Lots of food, swimming, music and about fifteen family members on an absolutely beautiful , summer-like day. Debbie and I got to spend lots of time with our sons and their women. We even had a big old bonfire and stayed up until midnight. It was perfect! When this morning dawned I was ready to paint. Life is good!

Double Up

I looked out our sunroom window this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see two summer-sleek does about thirty yards away. I imagine they each have fawns fairly close. Maybe they'll drop in later in the summer with some little visitors. Speaking of little visitors, our granddaughter, Clara Jean, is coming over tonight. She turns one on Friday. I'll be mowing and getting ready for her party here. I don't know if I can squeeze in another painting this week.

Spring Spotlight

While I wander through the progression of my paintings, I have a lot of time to think. Today I wondered where this painting would be in ten or twenty or even thirty years. How many different walls, different rooms or different homes will it hang? Maybe someone will buy it for their favorite turkey hunter. Maybe it will become one of their favorite possessions. Maybe they will pass it on to a young turkey hunter in their family. I hope so. That's why I painted it!

Tearin' it Up

I like to keep doing something different from day to day. Since yesterday's painting had no ground cover at all, I decided to put this gobbler butt deep in grass. I guess ,maybe I should have named it that. It is a challenge to think of good titles for as many paintings as I do. I do believe I'll put "Butt Deep" on the back burner for right now!

Simple Splendor

Every painting I do goes through three stages, the beginning, middle and end. The beginning is the choice of pose and a general direction I want to take with the composition, lighting, etc.. This is the easy stage. The middle is the scary part since I actually have to execute, as skillfully as possible, what I've chosen to do. I also have to put in some good turkeys. The third stage is deciding when the painting is done. More than once, I've added more than was necessary to have a good painting. Today I came to a point where everything I added, I took back out. I guess it's done!

May Magic

Sometimes you wake up just plain ready to get to work. After a FULL day, yesterday, of mowing, deck staining, power-washing, etc., I couldn't wait to sit down at this table and paint a turkey! I got everything laid out, cranked the country music up and started slingin' the acrylic. I even knew just what I wanted to paint. I've worked my whole life hoping to retire. If I retired tomorrow, I'd do exactly what I did today!!!

Two Steppin'

This has got to be the most beautiful day of 2009 so far! If I can stay inside and complete a painting on a day like this, I'm relatively sure I could handle bamboo under the fingernails and water-boarding simultaneously! However... the painting is complete and I've got two dogs laying outside staring at the front door waiting for me to go to the pond and watch them catch frogs. Believe it or not ... it's one of my favorite things to do. I'm teaching them catch-and-release.(doesn't always work!)

Golden Glow

This has been the most dreary, rainy, drab, miserable day we have had in awhile. I can't help but think about all the nesting turkeys when it rains like this. The more it rained, the more light I tried to stick in this painting. My painting room got so dark at one point today, I had to rig up extra lighting to work. Got to look at the bright side on days like this... it's Friday!!!

Comrades

Today I decided to take the cold painting from yesterday and slap a little spring to it. I used the same layout of the gobblers exactly . It amazes me the difference a background makes. Yesterday's painting makes me want to put on gloves and a stocking cap. Todays painting makes me want to put on the tick repellent!

Last Snow

Yesterday's painting was very green and summer-like... so today's is not. I just slowly got into the mood to do Merriams as I worked on the birds. I'd bought a new color of blue and was wanting to try it out. When I put two gobblers in a painting, I don't like to add alot of background. It gets too busy fast. The last thing I want in my turkey art is fast busificity!

Filtered Rays

Summer is officially here since turkey season is over. Painting inside this time of the year is hard with the beautiful, warm days. Yesterday was a perfect example. I actually sat down to paint and the next thing I knew I was trimming branches, cleaning eave troughs and mowing. Even though I love to paint, it is my work. I did worry a little, while I did the yard work, that I should be painting. Even though I didn't add artwork to the world yesterday, the sun still came up this morning....(and when it did, I hurried down here and got my butt to painting, 'cause now I'm one behind!!!)

Greenin' Up

My turkey season has come and gone and it was a really good one. There were close encounters with some tough toms, hours of watching spring charge in and lots of fun with my hunting buddy, young Donnie Stuver. There are no dead turkeys at the end of our stories, but cold beer and "sammiches" at Tall Paul's sure helped us lick our wounds! Donnie is very patient hunting with an artist. He will wait for me to take a closer look at a flower or an interesting clump of moss. He even listens as I point out all the yellow on a Yellow-rumped warbler. If you take your time, really look closely and the light is just right... You can almost watch his eyes glass over! Here's to next year.

Springtime '09

Today begins the third week of Missouri's turkey season. Although there are no dead turkeys in any of my new stories, I have some really good new stories. My calling is better than ever. I called in today's subject and got thirty photos of him. My hunting buddy, young Donnie Stuver, and I have worked some very tough toms. We called in the hens of two very henned-up gobblers. One tom came to within 15 feet of my ear and gobbled twice. That was cool! Donnie got a fifteen yard bow shot. The broadhead he shoots is designed for a head shot only. He missed by a nanomillimeter. Hey, we still had a blast, it's hunting. While hunting with brother John and two of his business partners I found out 40 years of hunting experience is not enough insulation to prevent STUPID. Long, embarassing story short, I moved when I should have stayed put, costing one of the partners his FIRST bird. Ever seen that commercial, Wanna get away?

Bluebells

It's a beautiful day out and it has been really hard to finish this painting. I'll bet I've walked outside a dozen times or more. To tell the truth this could be the last one before turkey season. I can sure use a recharging of my turkey creative battery. I can't wait to get out there and watch spring zoom in on us. It's been almost seven years since I've painted full-time. I've always had something else to worry about as I sat in the timber turkey hunting. Not this year!!!

Big Timber Echo

This day started cloudy,cold and depressing. I had a hard time figuring out what to paint. Youngest son, Daniel, texted from college that he blew an exam. The painting was just not taking off. Debbie came home at noon worried about everything. I even went out to make sure the dog was alive. Then...the sun came out! It is simply amazing what the warm rays of sunshine can fix. I started putting some lipstick on this pig and like that chef on TV says, BAM, got myself a silk purse. I can just hear this old boy gobble and that puts me in a great mood. Now I'll have to see if I can put some sunshine in Daniel and Debbie's day!

King of the Hill

It's just one of those Mondays I fight to get through...cold,rainy and just plain depressing. I didn't have to worry about looking out the window too much today. I wanted to try the violet background again. I really like the look of misty timber it gives. Everything here is really getting green. All we need is some sunshine for more than one day in a row and spring will explode! Turkey season is one week from today!!!

Violet Haze

I've been going over photos,paintings, and turkey videos to get fresh ideas to add to this large number of paintings I'm attempting. In the NWTF 2008 annual report was a very small picture of a turkey stamp that just took my breath away. I took one of my similar poses and tried to capture that color and light. I'm really happy with today's painting. In regard to the painting that inspired this piece, it is probably the best turkey painting I've ever seen. The artist wasn't named, but I'll find out who painted it. I've collected many prints from other artists. You might be surprised to hear, I'm not my favorite artist!

Dogwood Dance

It's been hectic here with business, which is good news, but it slows down the painting. I got this one started yesterday and finished it just now. My son, Eric, pointed out I had not done any dogwoods yet. Most of the dogwoods grow south of us here, so I don't see any when I hunt.I do know that throngs of hunters consider them the harbinger of spring. I've got a hunting buddy in Tennessee (Dr. Hammond Cole) who probably is right now setting in the dogwoods getting ready to bang a turkey. It's sunny and sixty here. I'm heading outside!

Glory in the Grass

We had a great weekend with our boys and their women. We cooked steaks on an open fire. It doesn't get any better than that for me! I started today's painting with granddaughter Clara on my lap. I guess that would be better! I even let her hold my favorite brush. My favorite thing to do is create the look of light . Since it is Monday, I decided to do a fun painting so...the look of light it was. I'm still always looking to improve my turkeys. I did some subtle things that helped. I think only God can make the perfect turkey. I don't expect to compete with that. Look at how much practice He has had!

Giant Oak

In all my paintings, so far, the turkey is always a big element. Today I wanted to try to capture that they sometimes actually look pretty small in particular habitats. A scene like this is my dream hunt (warm sunshine, big trees,enough leaves to hear them walking, about eleven-thirty, big old struttin' gobbler). I think I just went on a mini turkey hunt! You can tell the season is getting closer! The sun is shining, both Eric and Daniel are coming home with their women(especially little Clara) and I'm done for the week. Life is good!

Past and Present

It was a beautiful day yesterday and I needed a day in the woods. My oldest brother John and I headed down to his wetlands farm of over four hundred acres. We walked everything that didn't have standing water. We jumped turkeys, ducks, pelicans and my favorite, a pileated woodpecker. I love to identify tracks of every kind and this farm has everything. We had not spent a day together like this in years. It was a perfect day! On the way back we drove past an old barn, so I decided right then to put a barn in today's painting. It only looked like I was goofing off all day. I was really hard at work!

Walkin' and Talkin'

I decided to do a gobbling bird today. After all, the best part of any turkey hunt is the gobble. As the sun comes up outside my window, I can see it's filtered brightness like in today's painting. Today the sun really made the bushes glow outside my window. Since those two gobblers visited my yard a few days ago, I find myself looking out the window more. To reach my goal of pre-season paintings, I may have to move to a room without windows!

Greener Pastures

It is Monday and absolutely beautiful out. Every day it gets greener and greener here. It is getting hard not to make excuses to go turkey scouting and skip the painting, but I am pure of heart and dedicated to a fault. It's hard to get self motivated sometimes, so I set goals and I have not yet reached my pre-season number of paintings. I'll keep painting until I reach my goal without fail. (or until I say, ehh that's close enough, I'm outa here!)

Sideline Suitor

Day by day it gets closer to turkey season here in Missouri. After yesterday's backyard visiting gobblers, I've been thinking about some of the exciting hunts I had east of the house in their stomping grounds. I had alot of success down there. I also spent many hours watching turkeys way out in the open field. I'd call and call thinking I could get the gobbler to leave his birds for one in the bush. A few times I got a quiet surprise! That's this painting.

Lovely Lady

I'd like to be able to write about this painting, but wait until you hear this! At about two thirty this afternoon while I was studying what to do next on my painting, I glanced out my window. At less than fifteen yards, there are two ,big adult gobblers. One is a hog. I go for the camera. The battery is dead. Now I've got to decide whether to enjoy watching them or go for batteries. There hasn't been a gobbler in this yard since we built the house twenty two years ago. I'm going to need proof. I got a dozen pictures before they wandered off. My heart rate dropped back down from two hundred. I finished the painting!