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.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Autumn Anticipation

Considering I am distinctly anticipating our vacation in Colorado this month, mostly because of the possibilities of some good autumn colors, I thought I would start October off with some more photos of my mother’s paintings. This group will be the last ones that I have images of, and I won’t have others until I happen to visit my sister and have an opportunity to take photos of some more of them.

Coincidentally, some of these paintings are of autumn scenes as well. That should help to get me to REALLY anticipating our trip.

First, to the western theme and one of the more rare paintings that she did with figures in them, this is one that includes a cowboy on a horse. It is also blessed with a good vista as a background.

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Next is one that has the autumn colors in a portrait format instead of the more normal landscape type painting of mother’s. I would like to think that the trees are Aspens, again anticipating the Colorado trip, but I really think these are Birch trees. But, since I could be wrong, I’ll leave the possibility that they are odd Aspens.

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I think this next one was painted for an old friend who passed away before Mother, but I can’t be sure. I do know that he liked the sight of western windmills because he grew up in the Oklahoma Panhandle and windmills were a staple of the ranches of that time. Kenny was “Cowboy to the Core.” (I will have to explain that sometime in another post. That may give you something to anticipate.)

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Autumn colors once again are present in this next painting. If I remember correctly, this one was a smaller version of one that Mother had painted for Jo’s parents to put over their fireplace. I liked it so much that she painted a smaller “copy” for Jo and me. If nothing else, Mother was generous and accommodating.

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This next one is not necessarily a favorite of mine because it doesn’t seem to have quite the defined detail that a lot of Mother’s paintings had. If you recall an earlier post (if you have even read it), she used to “dab” her brush against the canvas to create the leaves on trees. That “dabbing” technique tended to put just a wee bit of a third dimension to her paintings.

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This next one is also a favorite, plus I think it is one that my online friend, Richard, might appreciate, considering that he is part Native American. And, since he and his wife have recently sold their home in Santa Fe, they will likely become nomadic like the subjects of this painting.

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Until I get the opportunity to photograph more of Mother’s paintings, any I show in the near future will have been done by others who were students of Mother, including Jo. Jo doesn’t seem to appreciate her paintings as much as I do, so those will probably be shown in the next posting about paintings.

Along the same theme of the American Indian culture, here is a photo I took at Mesa Verde near Cortex, Colorado.  We spent the whole day touring that park, so I got a lot of photos, all of which will not be able to be included in an upcoming review of a vacation.  I normally don’t like to get such photos with people in them, but considering the popularity of Mesa Verde, especially in good weather, they cannot be avoided.

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1 comment:

  1. You are correct Terry - that one is my favorite!! We are looking forward to spending time in Colorodo once we get onto the road. Our first summer will be spent in Nova Scotia and then into Old Quebec Canada.
    Some very nice paintings - I enjoy these paintings your mother was quite an artist!

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