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!