Curiosity or Truly Sadness?

           Curiosity or Truly Sadness?….

I was on my way home from work the other day and as usual I’m in the habit of taking a less traveled route home if one is available. Living where there is still plenty of country back roads, it’s not difficult to find a scenic or quiet road where nature is abundant and varied. On this particular road there are swampy overgrown areas with cattails and wild flowers right up to the edge of the blacktop. Normally a perfect habitat for small birds and in particular yellow goldfinch. As I was driving very slow observing the landscape I noticed a small yellow bird in the middle of the road. He just stood there and I had to slow down to a crawl in order not to hit him. I assumed it would fly away as I got close. It was obvious he wasn’t going to move. As I got even closer I noticed another object in the road. It was another goldfinch that had been run over. Sadly it was almost unrecognizable except for a few bright yellow feathers. I was truly touched by what I witnessed and felt I needed to share the thought that although we as humans feel we are the only creatures who feel pain, I wonder if that is accurate.              

   After this moment, I don’t think so.

   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Life no matter what size

the creature

 Is fragile

 Left behind to ponder, A small yellow bird lonely by it’s mate lying dead on the road

Curiosity or Sadness? 

Edging closer, it’s small delicate head sideways glancing

 left and right pecking at the feathers to answer for itself….

Am I alone

I frightened it, but only briefly

Finding a branch to perch, it cried a moving sound of loss

Still without flight for leaving would mean loneliness

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are we alone in our feelings of sadness at death?

Time Is Running Out For Our Children

I am not one to stand up and scream my view point to the world but I can no longer stand by silent and listen to the stupidity of the world leaders and their narrow minded viewpoints. It is not about choosing sides or about who has
more rights than who. There is more than enough blame to go around about whose at fault and who started it. Ironically the children suffer the most and it is the leaders of the world who are acting like children on a playground fighting over who broke an imagined rule to the game. Sadly it’s not a game anymore and people of all ages and nationalities are dying because of stubbornness. I understand these conflicts have been brewing for years and years and the roots of the problem are not so easy to detect but for God’s sake, any God, stop the violence against the children of the world!! I struggle to grasp the pure insanity of the politicians and officials in charge of making decisions to benefit a few and ignore the rest. Are they all so arrogant and selfish to not see they are destroying any chance of a peaceful existence for the children of the future. Time is running out for my children, your children and the children of the world. Stop The Stupidity, Stop The Ignorance, Stop The Arrogance, Stop The Insanity, Stop The Wars….

Hudson At Autumn’s Dusk

This was very early and naive attempt to create a painting like the masters of the Hudson River School. The truth being that unless I win the lottery, I would never own a real Hudson River painting. I thought I would make my own. Having grown up and lived along the Hudson at various times of my life, I used images from my memory and imagination to chose a viewpoint that I thought would capture the valley’s beauty. It reminds me of the Bear Mountain and Storm King Mountain area. I was in over my head attempting this but I had fun and I went forward and now I own a “real” Hudson River painting.

 

Turtle Boy

I call this piece Turtle Boy for obvious reasons. It is one of many small pieces made from found and manipulated objects. The driftwood was found along the banks of the Hudson River and it became the reason to create the sculpture.

Pigs On A Park Bench

Just having a little fun with the pigs. Once the shadowbox painting was completed it looked like it needed something else. My daughters said it was temporary…that was two years ago.

Block Island

This painting was inspired by a beautiful woman. Instead of capturing her beauty, which is way beyond my abilities, I tried to capture a brief moment that we shared together. As I was absorbed in the creating of the painting, I swear I could smell the salt air, the lightness and warmth of the breezes and I know I was remembering her. This is why I paint.

Sheltered

This painting is one of my favorites because it started out as something completely different. Instead of forcing it to where I intended, I let the strong sense of movement and emotion create the final piece. It didn’t have a name until now.

Monochrome Fog

Inspired by the early morning walks along the banks of the old Mohawk River in Schenectady, New York. After a cool evening, especially during the autumn months, the steam rises off the river and covers the low lying valley with a monochrome mist or fog. It’s very soothing and I hope to capture more of it’s effects in future works.

My Old Backyard

I lived in Key West for about 10 months in 1978 and loved every minute of it. Sorry I ever came back but I have some great memories of the people and the places. This was painted in 2001 and was inspired by the island calm.

Mr. Cole’s Morning View

A brief note on the titles of my paintings… They are not named from the actual places but are named because they remind me places I have visited. All of my paintings are from bits and pieces of old memories, inspiration and imagination. This painting when finished reminded me of the stunning valley views from North Lake in the Catskill Mountains. The morning mist and fog was still clinging to the tree branches as the heat of the day turned the cool mountain air into steam. Anyone who is familiar with the works of Thomas Cole and Fredric Church and have been lucky enough to view the stunning natural beauty of North Lake, the Catskill Mountain House cliffs or Kaaterskill Falls knows the beauty that has inspired artists for centuries.