Before and After

I never know when to quit,

but I should have never left this one alone for so long.

I thought it was okay looking, a little dull, but okay.

I think it is much better now.

A little brown and gold went a long way.

Almost looks like a different piece.

Glad I didn't let this one go so easy.

Now I have to hang it in the house somewhere.

I bet my wife can find a good spot.

The Band is All Together

Finally finished what should be all the pieces for above my piano

...but first the opening act,

My oldest daughter Cassidy's first painting on canvas.

My middle girl, Camryn, is working on one as well.

Both will hang in the play room.

Now that the horn section is complete, I put the whole band together.


Now for a solo for each musician,



And finally everyone is jamming together

I still need a lot of help with a camera,
my photo skills are majorly lacking

Working on the Horn Section

I felt like I needed a good horn section to round out the band above the piano.

As soon as these guys are done, I will create a collage of sorts on the wall above Carly D's favorite instrument in the house.

Still have a long way to go with these fellows.

Marsh People + Gator Hunting = One of the Coolest Days of My Life

I got to spend a day hunting alligators in Hackberry Louisiana.

Much love to the Lowery family for allowing me to join John on this expedition.

I have known John for five or six years, because we go to church together.

What I did not know was that he is a wild man when you get him in the marsh where he grew up.

We spent the morning boating through the marshes of Southwest Louisiana checking rotten chicken baited hooks for bid lizards, it was stinking awesome.

John has been doing this his whole life, and I can see why.

He had two tags left for the season, and he easily filled them this day.

I also got to learn a lot about the struggles that the people in Hackberry, and all of Cameron parish had after hurricanes Rita and Ike. John is a well of knowledge on that region. I guess you don't hear too much when its not New Orleans, just ask the people of Gulfport after Katrina.

We got two nice alligators.

The one I am holding in the first picture was 7 feet and 6 inches long.

The other was 8 feet and 1 inch long.

Thanks John for a really cool experience

Bluesman Complete

Alright, he is finally finished.

Signed, dated, and ready to hang.

Decided, with a little nudge from my smokin' hot wife, to paint the background red.

She is a wise woman, I am very pleased with that color choice.

Next up is a horn section for the band above the piano.

Bluesman Continued

I feel like I might have gone off the deep end on this one, but that is usually where I spend my time.

The photo is terrible. I need to do a little research and upgrade my camera skills.

At this point I have no camera skills.

Anyway,

I am still a long ways off from being happy with this.

I am trying to decide whether to stain the remaining wood, leave it light, or paint it a whole other color.

Leaning towards the stain, but who knows what this will turn into.

The photo at the bottom is another piece in the bedroom that is above the bed.

This one will hang on an opposite wall.

I think the two together will be kind of interesting.

A Work in Progress, In Progress

Started a new one this weekend for my bedroom retreat area.

My favorite subject, bass.

This one is similar to a piece over my piano.

I call these guys blues man, but my wife says this one needs a name, any ideas?

I started with a rough sketch on a 24 x 48 sheet of birch plywood backed with furring strips.

There is usually no long thought out plan when I paint, I just go with what feels right.

After adding a little detail I take a break.

I find that I do better work when I step away for a few minutes.

At this point I am just trying to lay down a base to give me direction.

Here he is with a little more detail.

I could go on forever, I never know when to quit.

I walk away again take a little break, and chase after Carly D, my baby girl, who is trying to eat a tube of paint.

This is where I am now.

Still needs a lot more detail, and I am struggling with what to do on the background.

I hardly ever start with a background.

I like to let whatever ends up on the painting dictate the background.

In this instance I want to match the bedroom, so definatley blues and golds.

Any ideas for a name for this cool daddy-o?

Now That's Some Expensive Meat

Got the estimate for the van today, $6,200. The guy said that he would probably find more once they started taking it apart. Now that is some expensive deer meat.

Sorry if you were grossed out by my last post, but life happens and sometimes it ain't pretty.

I will say thank you Darcie and Craig for teaching me some game cleaning skills, much appreciation goes your way.

I did get to sketch out a few canvases, and do a bow holder for baby girl this weekend. I'll post those later.

Now I'll show you what a deer can do to a Honda.

Even after all this drama

Life is good

Oh Deer, Poor Van

Well it seems that hunting season has started a little too early.

I nailed this little fella with a Japanese missile, aka Honda Odyssey.
The sad thing is the van is really messed up, had to be towed.

I just got it out of the shop for nailing another vehicle in a parking lot.

I am not looking forward to the headache of insurance, body shops, and rental cars.

The good news is, back strap baby!