In the studio with artist, photographer and instructor Robert Louis Caldwell

I am very happy to announce that my painting "Ginter Mausoleum (Morning Dove)" has been selected as part of the 2012 Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit . Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit 2012 Ohio Valley Art League Henderson Fine Arts Center Henderson, Kentucky October 13 - November 26, 2012 “Ginter Mausoleum (Mourning Dove) ” Oil on board 16 x 8 My painting “Ginter Mausoleum (Morning Dove)” will be one of 81 works on exhibit during  the 2012 Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit held at the Henderson Fine Arts Center in Henderson, Kentucky. The Ohio Valley Art League (OVAL) was founded in September 1991 to promote the visual arts in Henderson, Kentucky and the Tri-State. OVAL organized the first Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit in 1994 with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources as the co-sponsor. This biennial exhibit attracts top wildlife artists from across the nation and is now considered one ...

Presenting... "Striped Horse  (Zebra) " "Striped Horse  (Zebra) " Graphite Pencil on Arches 300# watercolor paper 6 x 10 This drawing is the second one I created in preparation for my  Africa 2012  trip, the first one was  “Serendipity (African Elephant).”  I have been spending many hours studying the most likely animals that I will encounter and of course Zebras are among that list. As I get closer to my departure I am having apprehensions about my travels, for those of you who do not know I have a healthy fear of flying. As my anxiety rises I like to look back at quotes I have written down over the years and the one that helps me moving forward at this junction is one from Mark Twain. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~Mark Twain

Presenting... "Weighted (Carolina Wren) " "Weighted (Carolina Wren)" Oil on 1/2 Maple Panel 18 x 24 You may find yourself asking, “What is that bird perched on?”  This painting was inspired by my travels to Oklahoma, particularly my 2010 visit to Tulsa when a friend of mine took me out into the fields looking for pumpjacks. Ever since my first visit to Oklahoma I have wanted to somehow incorporate a pumpjack into a painting. Now you may be asking what is a pumpjack? A pumpjack is the overground drive for a reciprocating piston pump in an oil well. It is used to mechanically lift liquid out of the a well and is very common in oil rich areas like Oklahoma. The prime mover, commonly an electric motor, of the pumpjack runs a set of pulleys to the transmission which drives a pair of cranks, generally with counterweights on them to assist the motor in lifting the heavy string of rods. The cranks raise and lower one end of an I-beam which is free to move o...

Like a bad smell that just won't go away... WIP: "Weighted (Carolina Wren)" Detail image, Oil, 18 x 24 The current painting on my easel is the same one that has been off and on it since April. I don’t usually have a negative “emotional” response to my paintings but with this one I do.  Don’t get me wrong I love all the pieces I create and my favorite piece is always the one that I am currently working on. Normally when I look at a piece that I have created it conjures up a piece of music that I listened to frequently while working on the piece but more often than not it will bring the story back that I was listening to  when I see the painting or drawing. The painting in question is the painting that I started back in March and used as my demo piece at my gallery exhibit. Not many people know it but I was very sick while in Oklahoma this year and I did my best to hide it and move forward with the opening and demo. It’s funny how you will work extremely hard for ...

Presenting... “Serendipity (African Elephant) " Graphite pencil on watercolor paper 7 x 10 Fresh off the drafting table and inspired by my recent studies of African Elephants coupled with a few incidents of serendipity that have happened recently I present my newest drawing “Serendipity (African Elephant) .” You can see from my last posting, “60 gallons of water a day!” that I have been studying Elephants preparing myself for my upcoming trip to Africa and from the posting before that, “Serendipity and the 3 Princes,” I wrote about my recent encounters with serendipity. It was these two events that inspired me to draw my newest drawing and title it “Serendipity.” In my previous post, “Serendipity and the 3 Princes,” I wrote that I hope to find three young bull elephants while in Africa and compose a painting based on this story. Until then this drawing will have fill that desire. “Serendipity (African Elephant)” will be on exhibit at the upcoming group show with t...

Africa 2012 Journal/Sketchbook Entry: 7/19/2012 "The first animal on my list to study is the Elephant! This is one of my favorite mammals and it is such a magnificent animal." Africa 2012 sketchbook/journal entry 7/19/2012 In the hopes of being completely prepared for Africa I am working on studying a list of mammals and birds that I will most likely see while in Tarangire Park, Tanzania, Africa. Many of you may think that birds are my favorite animals and although they do hold a special interest to me alas they are not my favorite. Elephants, now that is a beautiful animal! They are the largest land mammal with males weighing up to 13,200 lbs standing 11’ tall and ears that can be 6.5’ x 5’, just incredible! They can drink up to 60 gallons of water a day, 26 gallons at once. They have an ambling walk and move from 3.7 miles per hour to 8 miles per hour and when charging up to 25 miles per hour, that is amazing. Stay out of their way! This is all incredible but I...