Squint More: 2011

Monday, October 10, 2011

Cain's Land completed 9/27/11

There were plenty of scenes to paint on this wonderful spread of land. I remember the clear day that it was and the hospitality of the owners ... they gave personal tours of the 600 acres that boarder the Duck River and of the newly restored house built originally in the mid 1800s. It's a 16"x12" Oil on masonite.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Docked Blue completed 9/8/11

I liked the colors and perspective on this scene. Will be needing to buy more blue paint now. This one is 14"x11" Oil on masonite.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Brass and Orange completed 8/1/11

A simple still life of a brass bowl and a couple of oranges. I painted this one from life. I had to raise it up more near eye level using my wife's stool. So ... she calls me at work, "where's my stool?". Good thing she asked ... because she would have NEVER found it under that drapery! It's only 8"x6" in size. Oil on linen

Friday, July 22, 2011

Silos in the Morning completed 7/21/11

This is a typical scene that you would find here around Springfield, Tn. I enjoyed painting the light spilling across, the overlapping of the shapes and masses, and the cool colors in the shadow side of things. 14"x11" Oil on linen

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Two Lemons completed 6/18/11

Just a small still-life painting from life. Enjoyed working with the warm colors on this one. 10"x8" Oil on masonite

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Carter Property completed 6/7/11

This is a plein-air painting of the Carter House property in Franklin, Tn. The red building has many bullet holes it from the historic Battle of Franklin during the Civil War. It will be for sale at the Carnton Chestnut art show next month. 14"x11" Oil on linen

Friday, May 27, 2011

Sam's in Hillsboro Village completed 5/24/11

Except for the runner ... this one was completed plein-air at the first paintout that Local Color Art Gallery in Nashville, TN has offered. There were about 38 artists participating. I had a great time! 10"x8" Oil on linen

Friday, May 13, 2011

Behind Lisa's Gallery completed 5/13/11

This one was about 75% completed during Kevin Menck's plein-air workshop at Leiper's Creek Gallery. It's just a field out behind the gallery. Kevin's work is very nice ... you should Google him sometime. 10"x8" Oil on masonite

Friday, April 29, 2011

Carter House Gable completed 4/28/11

Built in 1830 ... the Carter House was caught in the middle of the bloody Civil War Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864. It was painted as a plein-air piece ... but the perspective was fine tuned considerable back in the studio. This one will be for sale in July of this year at a Chestnut Group show. 10"x8" Oil on linen

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Campbell Spring completed 4/13/11

This spring begins at the base of this tree ... makes me wonder which came first. Also, it reminds me of a well-known Bible verse ... "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season ... " Psalm 1:3a 14"x11" Oil on linen

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Carnton Plantation completed 3/22/2011

This property has a great historical significance. I don't think I've ever painted a subject that has stirred my emotions more. It's probably because we had a great tour guide. It will be for sale at a show in mid July of this year. 14"x11" Oil on linen

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Cummins Falls completed 2/7/2011

Here's the main water fall at Cummins. It's now for sale online to benefit the property where the falls are. The price is $490.00 framed and ready to hang. 11"x14" Oil on linen

Stepping Down completed 2/2/2011

This is a painting of Cummins Falls ... just above the falls. It sold at a show at Belle Meade Plantation in Nashville, TN for $300 just a few days ago. 10"x8" Oil on linen

Monday, January 24, 2011

Old Cowboy Painting completed 1985

I painted this one about twenty-six years ago. It was hidden away in a closet ... actually, I had forgotten all about it. 20"x16" oil on masonite.

Heaven ... Will You Be There?

We don’t know when God will allow us to take our last breath. And for all you know, you may not wake up tomorrow morning. Christ could come back in 5 minutes! Now that would be an awesome thing if you know that you will spend forever in heaven, but it is a devastating thought if you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your savior, and besides heaven, hell is the only option left. Either you are saved or you aren’t. There is no in between, and it doesn’t matter if you were a “good person”.

Romans 3:10 says “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”, and Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”. Now, you may say that you have never sinned. Lying is sin, and I am sure you can remember a time when you have lied. Or maybe you have committed a so-called bigger sin. You may not have murdered someone, but Proverbs 23:7a says “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he...”. Have you thought about it or about any sin? Yes, you have. Romans 5:12 tells us where sin came from. It says “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned;”. This is talking about when Adam sinned back in Genesis by disobeying God when he ate the forbidden fruit.

Now, there is some bad news and some good news. Romans 6:23a tells us the bad news and it says “For the wages of sin is death;...”, and this means that our payment that we earn when we sin is death (hell). But, the good news is that the last part of that verse says (Romans 6:23b) “...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”. Isn’t that awesome? Christ will give us eternal life in heaven! You may think, why and how would he give us this awesome gift.

Romans 5:8 says “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” He gave us this gift because he loved us so much, even while we were sinners, and he was able to do that because he died for us. But like all gifts, it isn’t enough for someone to want to give you something. You must take it, and claim it. And anyone can accept it, no matter what your past contains. Romans 10:13 says “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Notice the word “whosoever”. It means anyone! Romans 10:9-10 tells us exactly what we must do to accept this gift. It says “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God that hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” 1 John 5:11-12 also talks about salvation. It says “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”.

God is very loving, but do not be fooled. God is serious. If you do not accept salvation, you will be condemmed to hell forever. John 3:36 says “He that believeth on the Son hath life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”.

You might say, ‘Well, who is Jesus that He can do or offer such a thing as eternal life?’ I love to teach this truth! Jesus is the creator of all things! You are probably thinking that there’s no way that that could be true ... I used to think the same way. However, the Bible is VERY clear that Jesus is the creator. Study the first chapter of John. The verse that I like to show is Colossians 1:16 ... it says, “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him”. The God who created all things died for us ... to pay the penalty of all our sin. Past sins, present sins, and future sins ... you’ll not be in heaven some day if you’ll not believe that He died for you and ask him to save you. Please do so today!