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?