#237 Finally!

I've been confused all season long this year. Christmas day was a casual hike through the woods, and concluded with all of us sitting on the bare, dry hillside out back to soak in the sun and listen to the river roar by. It was delightful, but a bit disconcerting. So I guess I'm relieved that frigid temps and a totally unnecessary wind that is our first snow storm, has finally arrived.

Here in the city, the first snow always creates havoc. Only kids with sleds appreciate havoc. They thrive on it. I have found over the years that it's easier, and a lot safer, to watch the havoc from my window for as long as I can. In that time, I imagine how pretty it is when it snows in the mountains, and in that frame of mind, eventually make my way downstairs with shovel in hand to carve a gully out for my car and me.

Finally! • 8" X 8" acrylic framed to 12" X 12" • $250

#236 Children on Reindeer

I dreamed that my children on reindeer took flight, and sailed up and over a moon so bright, that I eventually, as should be, lost them by sight. They raced through great snowfields, skimmed rivers and streams, and galloped full speed to mountain top peaks. It was there that they paused and witnessed beneath, their world, at last completely at peace. And they heard for the first time their dear planet breathe, relieved that all wars had finally ceased.

To all you believers, and dreamers too, May The Force and sweet peace be always with you.

Children on Reindeer • 8" X 8" framed to 12" X 12"• $200

SOLD - Thoughts of Red and Green

It all began with thoughts of red and green. No wonder - the two colors are everywhere during the holiday season, especially here in Maine where the landscape is red and green these days.

But strangely, my mind took a detour from wrapping paper and holiday lights to a memory of Kay's old red barn knee deep in her lush fields up in the foothills of the western mountains. It then treckked east across the state to the Monhegan Island lighthouse that stands guard over the island in Muscongus Bay.  I couldn't choose between the two, these two ways of life, on opposite ends of the state, so I sketched both and discovered how similar they are.

I guess this is my red and green Maine holiday scene for the week. A bit different, but that's the way I see it.

Thoughts of Red and Green • 8" X 8" acrylic framed to 12" X 12" • $250/each

SOLD - Getting Her Festive On

I stood back, shook my head, and smiled at this painting. It would appear Mother Nature is getting her festive on, in my head!

Getting Her Festive On • 8" X 8" framed to 12" X 12" • $200

SOLD - Winter Sailing

So, how did we spend our Thanksgiving? Winter sailing with family and friends. If there are two sailors plunked together at any event, whether it be a wedding, birth or funeral, the talk will inevitably turn to sailing, much to the chagrin of any landlubbers present.

So this is a formal apology to those who were caught captive at the dinner table, and had to endure exhaustive discussions about new and busted equipment, true but slightly exaggerated seafaring triumphs and tribulations, and photos of so many summers past, filled with fear, fun and family. I think you could call that being thankful!

Winter Sailing • 8" X 8" acrylic framed to 12" X 12" • $200

SOLD - Flying Monkeys

Professor John Marzluff, who studies urban birds at the University of Washington's Aviation Conservation Lab, thinks crows are actually very small flying monkeys. "Neurally, mentally, cognitively, they're a flying monkey." He added that a crow's brain is the size of a human thumb, huge relative to its body. This enables them to solve complex problems pegging them on the intelligence scale with primates.  

Crows also recognize and remember individual faces. "They recognize individual people that are important to them, and when somebody does something dangerous, they mark that person, remember that person, as far as I can tell, for their life," Marzluff states. 
 
So... this means there are 30-some-odd-million flying monkeys circling around out there in this country at any given time. They have marked our faces as good or bad, depending on what kind of mood we all were in the day of our individual encounters. And finally, they never, ever, forget a face.

It suddenly occurs to me that I have never really come to terms with my fear of flying monkeys.

Flying Monkeys • 8" X 8" framed to 12" X 12" • $200

SOLD - Detective Mysteries

It's late fall. Darkness arrives too early. It's cold, and we we find ourselves with no choice but to withdraw to the safety of our homes where we can only imagine what lurks outside our windows, tapping in time to what we choose to believe, is the howling wind.

I head to the public library weekly this time of year, for about a month, search out a bunch of good detective mysteries, and jump in with both feet. I find that I can generally scare the hell out of myself in good form.

Detective Mysteries • 8" X 8" acrylic framed to 12" X 12"• $200