2009 Christmas card

This year's Christmas card was inspired by a little rainbow shirt that Laura wore when she was 2 years old. This summer, when Laura and Nigel were visiting we dug through a box of old clothes and found the little shirt. He loved it and wore it the entire time he was here.

May your days be merry and joyfully colored, and your new year filled with rainbows of hope,

New Orleans Alley

We are headed once again in November to the American Academy of Implant Dentistry annual meeting. This year the venue is in New Orleans, and I have done a painting for the AAID Research Foundation auction. Last year my painting raised $1500, and I hope this one does as well this year. "New Orleans Alley" is 24" X 36" watercolor on canvass.

walking with Papa.

We visited Laura, John and Nigel in Toronto in July and had a blast at the Toronto Zoo and a neighborhood park. This month, Laura and Nigel came for a 10 day visit. We got to play together every day, and by then Nigel was taking several steps and trying to run.

This is a painting of me walking with him just as he is walking with help; not yet putting 2 steps together on his own. He is holding my finger and walking where ever I go. It was such a special experience that I had to share it through this 24"x36" watercolor on canvass. I have found it to resonate with anyone who has grandchildren. We have big smiles on our faces.

Zambia

Zambia is the hotbed of AIDS in Africa. Almost 4 out of 5 children born there have aids or will contract it from a close relative.

These images come from photos taken by a medical mission team this summer to the Mapepi area in Zambia and beg the question, "What now?"

Esther Rush 2009

Esther is a good friend who is a wonderful example of Jesus' ministry; Luke 4:18. She is offering a cup of cool water to quench the suffering of people who have made poor choices.

2 paintings of good friends

John Hite's daughter, Lori, passed away peacefully in her sleep last week.  I was honored to lead the music for her memorial service.  John and Suzie are very special friends, and one of my reactions to their loss, and our desire for healing is to do a painting of John with his usual very thoughtful and serene expression.

Mike Sasseen has been a very special friend and mentor to our son Joe, for 15+ years.  His journey includes recovery from many addictions, as well as PTSD from Viet Nam experiences.  He relates to all kinds of people who suffer from brokenness, and easily shares his love for and dependence on Jesus Christ.  Right now he is leading a recovery network and promoting his new book.

Gary Gibson

This is a 14x18 painting of my friend, Gary Gibson.  We decided to trade paintings of each other.  He's doing a charcoal; I am giving him a watercolor.

He has just completed a year term as president of the Memphis-Germantown Art League.

Good job, Gary!

Dangerous Prayers

We have been challenged to pray dangerous prayers.  I did this painting in 2005 titled "Dangerous Prayers" as a reaction to the authentic faith tensions.

What is your reaction?

Delta Pecans 1954

This old white 2 story house represents where Tammie's mom and dad started their family.  He was a cotton farmer and she graduated from Jr. College.  Tammie, Diana, Bill and Rob came along, filling the house with laughter, love, and living well.  One of their favorite things to do was to pick up pecans in the fall of the year.  Pecans are very plentiful in the Mississippi Delta community of Indianola, and it is common to see small family pecan sale stands popping up as the trees shed their abundant nuts.

Lee Brown

Lee Brown has had a rough life with over 20 years being homeless in Memphis.  Tammie's blog has more about Lee.  He came over for dinner Tuesday night to share our Christmas meal with Tammie's family.  I have had a painting of Lee on my mind for sometime, but only today did I come up with the expression I have been looking for.

Catch of the Day

The Brown Trout spawning run on the Little Red River in Arkansas is Legendary!  For 15 years it was the place to be for large trout in October.  Sadly, the redds have been trampled by eager fishermen such that the trout do not return as they once did.  This painting of John Candy and Ronnie Parker holding their treasure from the river is a memory of what once was.

Justin & Erin

Justin Lewis has been Keith Fussell's counseling intern this year.  He recently asked me to do a painting of him and his wife, Erin to surprise her for a Christmas gift.  I had a wonderful time painting her great smile.  No wonder he is smiling too.  I hope you enjoy the visual as much as I have.

Lost Marvels

The Harding University Leadership and many other friends and family are gathering November 15th in Huntsville, Alabama to honor my dad. They are presenting him with the "Lifetime Achievement Award," and we are so excited. It is a surprise, so don't tell him.
I have put together a slide show (Quick Time Movie) as well as this painting for the event to help celebrate his life will lived, his laughter and his love. Mom came across the following thought that gives me pause:

Days pass and the years vanish and we walk sightless
among miracles.
Lord, fill our eyes with seeing and our minds with knowing.
Let there be moments when your Presence, like lightning,
illumines the darkness in which we walk.
Help us to see, wherever we gaze, that the bush burns,
unconsumed.
And we, clay touched by God, will reach out for holiness,
and exclaim in wonder,
"How filled with awe is this place and we did not know it.

2008 Christmas Card image

I love playing with text and art and this year's Christmas card is an opportunity that is too good to pass up. We are celebrating little Nigel this year and I wanted to do something special that contrast mature strength and an infant's dependence. You may recognize Psalm 139; it is my favorite. Expect your card in the mail after Thanksgiving.

Back to Toronto

I am going to Toronto to get the Lance in the morning. This painting is a quick reaction to the beauty of Toronto's skyline as it merges with Lake Ontario and the endless possibilities for play.
It is a watercolor on canvass. I Hope Laura and John like it.

Back in Toronto

We are back in Toronto again this month for....you guessed it...We just had to get to see that Nigel again. I just happened to have a dental implant meeting too. The AAID Central District had a wonderful meeting! Our trip to Toronto was uneventful and the plane was flawless.

Huricane IKE was making the winds in Southern Canada and across the midwest 50+knots at the surface today. Our plane failed the mag check before departure this morning, so I parked it for repairs at Toronto City Centre Airport and Tammie and I came home on Delta.
We experienced many flight delays, and sat in the Cincinnati airport all day and evening because it closed just after our arrival due to the high winds. There was no sign of aircraft movement for over 8 hours.
Providence has a way of working things out. I am so thankful that we didn't fly the lance in these winds.

Little Nige is so cute!

Just one look

Think about how tempting it would be to take a peek at who is chasing your heels. If you look over and break your focus you risk loosing the race. Just before crossing the finish line take "Just one Look."

I am having fun playing with bright colors that show up really well on Bristol 4 Ply board.
I hope you like the painting, "Just one Look."

AAID Research Foundation Painting

Compare this painting to the one of the same subject that I did several years ago; also published on this blog.

One of my good friends, Dr. Larry Bush, who is also the Secretary of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, has asked me to do a painting to be auctioned off at the AAID Annual Meeting in San Diego in October. We talked about the subject and settled on this light house painting. He was inspired to select this subject based on his families travels in Maine as well as his affection for the rugged Maine coast line and the deep maritime history there. So, I have completed the painting today, and will have it framed and shipped to the Grand Hyatt Resort Hotel in San Diego for the auction. I hope it creates some interest and raises some funds for the AAID Research Foundation. It is an honor for me to participate at this level.

Beachbrella2

I wanted to experiment with brighter colors and a different color variety. When doing figures it is more powerful to connect them rather than make them not touch each other. Compare this painting to one I did of the same subject last year. Definitely not boring, and will be worth another shot in the next week or so. Fun!

Pulling Away

I finally had the time and creative energy at the same time today. Painting on 4-Ply Bristol is challenging, but the resulting vibrant colors are worth it. The dark horse is "Pulling Away" to win the race.

International Flying

Landing on the City Island Airport in Toronto was a rush! The FBO was very friendly and we cleared customs with a short phone call. Coming back into the US was not as easy, but the customs agent kept her gun in her holster.

John, Laura and Nigel Hacker-Wright make a sweet family. Laura is a good mommy. She is also looking forward to beginning her PhD in French work in the fall. John will be a full time daddy with a paid leave from U of Guelph, ON for a year. YEA!!
We had a great visit. See Tammie's blog for more Nigel pics.

Storm Chasers

We were living large as we drove to Tulsa, Oklahoma today and passed about a mile from this tornado. We hunkered down beneath an overpass, and I jumped out to photograph the storm just as it had passed overhead.
If fishermen are athletes, we must be storm chasers.

I'm In

I received notice today that I got into the Tennessee Watercolor Society exhibition. Cheng Khee Chee was the juror and noted that he followed his usual National Exhibition practice of selecting only one painting per artist. There were 233 paintings submitted and 50 chosen. "Let 'em Run," was my painting chosen. It will hang in Knoxville during June-July then travel to Cookeville for the month of August.

Psalms Recording

The art was originally a painting that I had discarded. I wrote words from the Psalms over the painting in maskoid, then sprayed different colors. When dry, I picked up the maskoid to reveal the words and phrases. After that, I tore out the images, words and phrases using different "tear" strokes to give a variety of edges. I laid down mat board in the shape of a cross and placed the torn pieces around it. Then I picked up the mat board revealing the wooden surface of the table and the rugged cross shape. I hope you like it.

This is art work for a CD cover. We are taking the music to the Pepperdine Lectures at the end of April. The exciting thing is that Lynn Anderson will be there with us to lead worship from the Psalms.

Ski Purgatory, Colorado

Joe and I took Cathy and Noah skiing last week in the South West Colorado Mountains. The weather was great for Spring Skiing. It was a pleasure to see Noah and Cathy improve so much and have a great time, as shown by Noah's big smile.

Powder skiing

Bob took this picture of his son Aaron skiing by him in the powder. We had the deepest and steepest snow at Whistler this year that I can remember. We will be telling stories about it for years to come!

Mongolian Stir Fry Grill

The coolest place to eat---The Mongolian Stir Fry Grill. Lots of great fresh food, and a fun atmosphere for lively conversations.

Whistler at night

We walked to eat at the MONGOLIAN STIR FRY GRILL last night. It was cold and snowing, but the lights were beautiful illuminated in the streets and reflecting off of the white snow. That is Amy Etheridge in the violet jacket, and John and I are walking on the right.

Ski Whistler, BC, Canada

My friends, John French, Bob and Aaron Etheridge and I are skiing Whistler/Blackcomb British Colombia this week. The snow is the best we have ever had here, and it is cold! This morning it was -10C, but warmed up to a blistering -4C this afternoon. I'm thankful for sunscreen.

Watercolor painting demonstration

The watercolor painting class I am teaching has met twice. I demonstrated this painting last Thursday as an example of positive and negative painting, as well as the layering techniques used most often in w/c painting. Hopefully, next week I can photograph some of the student's finished paintings.

Steamboat, Colorado Christmas

Tammie, Joe and I met Laura and John in Steamboat for Christmas this year. We decided not to buy any gifts, but to let our gift to each other be the trip and just being together. Joe and I got to ski some wonderful powder, Tammie exercised on the couch with a good book and hot tea while we skied. We had some time to visit with Laura and John, eat at some wonderful restaurants, and shop on Lincoln street. Laura made a wonderful Lasagna for us for Christmas eve dinner.

St. Jude 13.1

Back in July my Sister, Cathy, challenged me to run with her in the St. Jude half marathon on December 1. The day finally came and we ran the race together. We had a great time running the event, and did really well. We finished together with a time of 1:50. Yes, that's one hour and 50 minutes for 13.1 miles. I was 35/150 for my age group.

Winter Park Ride

This is the third painting I will use for the workshop I am doing in January. This is a simple example of direct-indirect painting with lots of stragegic lost and hard edges. It's a typical rainy winter scene in down town Memphis. The winter carriage ride is filled with mystery.

Tuscany

I am beginning a series of paintings to use in a watercolor workshop I have been asked to do in January. There will be students at all painting levels, so I'll be keeping the subjects rather simple. I'll also do snapshots of the paintings in progress. This is a view of the Tuscan hillside with a ripening vineyard in the foreground. Size: 10" x 30". Enjoy!

Blessed are the feet who bring good news

I have been looking for the right feet to use in a painting for a long time. Melody Green sent a snapshot of her son, Andrew, on the beach, with his blue jeans and little feet in the sand. It made me think of Isaiah 52:7-"How Beautiful on the Mountain are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, Your God Reigns."

Ponte Vecchio

We have finally slowed down long enough to get some paintng done. I have had this image of the famous bridge, Ponte Vecchio, in Florence, Italy on my mind since we were there 2 years ago. This is watercolor on canvass, like the San Gimiangiano with sunflowers paintng.

Tampa Trip

Tammie and I went to the DALI museum while in the Tampa/St. Pete area. This museum is devoted entirely to the preservation of Salvador Dali's art work. I learned sooo much about the man and what he was trying to say, about his values, and how hard he worked on each painting. This is an absolute must see for the artist inside each of us!
Tammie is the "anthromorphic drama chick emerging from the forest."

LA Trip

Tammmie and I are in LA this week and couldn't resist the temptation to the Disney experience. The experience was as expected with the bar set high on Quality. We had wonderful seafood and Banana's Foster at the Rainforest Cafe where there is a 2 month waiting list for seating after 7:00pm dining.
Our bag followed us to LA by 12 hours so our first item was finding fresh underwear. Fortunately the Cerritos Walmart was within walking distance. yea.


Millennium Dental has an arrangement with the Sheraton Cerritos, and they really pay close attention to our needs. Cerritos reminds me of how Bartlett is a city swallowed up by urban sprawl and is trying to maintain it's identity with strict commercial design codes.



Can you believe that Allen and Sarah Gillespie were at the Sheraton Cerritos Saturday night? We had a great visit with them and enjoyed talking about their future plans in California. Allen is excited about his work with Pepperdine University and how he can help more people participate in the University's mission. I can't believe they have been married for 6 years.