Why the title?

"Pioneers take the arrows"

Oh, wait. I should be upbeat and taking arrows doesn't sound like an upbeat thing to say.

So, let me amend that statement.

It was courage and vision that led the pioneers to leave behind a comfortable, settled life and trek West to begin a new life in a new place. Many of those from the East that went West found a strength within themselves that they didn't see while they were in their old life. Instead of being one of those that just kind of went along with the others in the old life, they became leaders and visionaries in their new lives.

The sentiments of that last paragraph come from a favorite author, Louis L'Amour, in many of his books. So, I can't really say that it is an original thought from me. However, what he said is truthful.

Welcome to being a pioneer. Look ahead and ignore the "barking dogs" that give you negative opinions and comments. Louis L'Amour also spoke of the barking dogs.

In some of his stories, it was usually a father or older man telling a young boy how it was that when the Westward bound Conestoga wagons rolled through towns, the dogs came out to bark at them. His character then told the young listener that the barking didn't stop the wagons from going on to their destinations.

Following the advice of the Louis L'Amour characters, may we all forge ahead with our plans, after carefully considering all consequences and leave the "barkers" behind.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Time for More Paintings

I was on one of the RV forums today, looking at an upgrade that someone had done with changing out the regular curtains for their RV for another, which looks to be a set of shades instead of curtains. They reminded me of the old timey shades that used to be in homes that rolled up on a roller at the top when retracted. In fact, I think these shades are very much like those old shades.

Anyway, in one of the photos that the original poster had put on the forum, they had a picture (or painting) on the wall of their coach. Seeing that painting/picture reminded me that I haven’t posted any pictures of Mother’s paintings in a while. So, I decided to take a break from The Truth Project and post some more pictures of paintings. Then, perhaps in a post this week, I’ll post some more of my photos.

Let’s start out with Richard’s nemesis, being a painting with critters in it. It is also a western theme. And yes, I “resemble” the critters.

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On the subject of “western” themes, the next painting takes us to the Pacific Northwest, being somewhere in Northern California, Oregon, or Washington.

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This next one is what I would refer to as an “earlier” painting because it doesn’t show the detail that Mother preferred in later works. Since the “mountain” in the painting doesn’t appear to be very tall, it could almost be located anywhere.

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If you have read earlier posts regarding Mother’s paintings, you know that she was not good with drawing figures of either animals or people. An early picture of a couple out gathering wood shows the figures with their coat’s collars pulled up in such a way as to not be able to see anything of their faces. This painting, like an earlier painting of a Conquistador is definitely a departure from her normal paintings.

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This one is a favorite because it is of a scene with fall colors. I even have a few photographs, which may or may not be shared here, with fall scenes.

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And, in a way to further nibble at Richard’s nemesis, here is another painting with critters. If the reader remembers earlier posts, Mother had to trace images of critters and people onto tracing paper, and then transfer them again by tracing onto her canvas. While it was not her favorite thing to do, she would see an element of an image (such as geese) and feel that a work in progress or one planned really needed that element that she couldn’t draw. Thus, she would spend quite a bit of time tracing two different times.

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Just to finish out the post, one of my photos taken at Natural Falls State Park in NE Oklahoma in 2008.  While this is NOT one of my favored photos, it is close to them, so I will share this with you.  Jo and I and our youngest son, Eric had taken a 2-day trip from OKC up to the Springdale, Arkansas area to look at a Mobile Suite model and then on south on one of the Arkansas highways to Mena.

Then, the second day, we drove across what is called the Talimena Drive, which is between Mena, Arkansas and Talihina, Oklahoma.  The road pretty much stays up in the higher elevations, so there were lots of places to stop and take photos.  Sadly, though, the second day’s lighting conditions weren’t so great.

So, while I won’t use this posting to talk about God and humanity, I will let his creation speak for him instead.

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1 comment:

  1. Nice paintings and a wonderful photo. Yes, I do not put critters in my paintings. Many years ago when I owned my own gallery in East Boothbay Maine, I would do a lot of commissions. I turned many a commission down because wanted their Fifi or Spot included in the scene. Not my cup of tea - animals that is!! I'm not much of an animal lover so as the saying goes "if you don't like what you're painting - you can't do a good job!"

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