While working the herd is no longer a part of my life, will always be part of who I am. I'm grateful my children get to experience this and make their own memories of horses, leather, moving cattle, watching baby calves learn to walk, and all of the responsibility and rewards that go along with it. There is definitely something very romantic about the cowboy way.
Tree Line
Sometimes when I paint I struggle and fuss and play with color, brushes and technique and still seem to have a hard time getting it right. Other time, like today, magic just seems to happen. The right brush chooses the right color and it seems to simply paint itself. Always fun to paint on these days!
Renewal
Spring has always been my favorite time of year. It is when the world begins to wake up and start over. I love having the opportunity to wake up and start over. There are so many renewal opportunities build in to our existence. We have the opportunity to start fresh every single day. Our culture gives us a weekend so that we can start fresh at the beginning of each week. In my religion I practice spiritual renewal each week.
As an artist I get to start new whenever I want. All I have to do is open my sketchbook and find a blank sheet, just waiting for me to fill it with whatever inspires me. I have a supply of blank canvases anxious for the first stroke of the brush. And I have a stock pile of old canvases willing to be painted over and made new again.
I think it's significant that before I can see the new blossoms in the springtime a lot of work has gone on below the surface. A seed had to soften and sprout and send out its roots. Those roots had to take hold and gain enough nourishment to send a sprout out through the soil and into the sunlight. And the sprout had to grow and develop a blossom.
I so appreciate the opportunities I have to start anew. And yet, if I don't prepare myself for those opportunities how can I expect my efforts truly blossom?
