At my church today there was a lot of conversation about quiet time and I have to say that quiet time is one of the best things about being an ar

tist…the peace and quiet of painting or simply looking at painting subjects. My favorite grandson, Mason, (the only one) took me duck hunting the other morning. We were in the duck blind way before sunrise and quietly set out the decoys and hunkered down in our shelter on the muddy bank of the duck pond. The sun slowly opened it’s eyes on the horizon and bit by bit light fell over our pond and the ducks started coming in. My painting  “Flat Bottom Jon” was inspired by this outing.  

 

 

 

Mason told me that the duck blind was made out of “C-Cane” and when the sun came up I could see that he was talking about CARIZZO CANE!!  That’s the terrible invasive species I told you about in my last post. Susan Kibbe of STPRA explained to me how this cane plant is literally taking over areas along rivers and other water sources in Texas. The photo you see here was taken in Washington County, Texas!  If you see it in your area, check out www.tsswcb.texas.gov for information on getting rid of it.  

 

 

Take a few seconds to listen to the short video here. You will actually be able to hear a Whooping Crane. It was really exciting to see this big guy (Endangered Species) near Riviera, Texas last week. He was very much at home with the Geese and Sandhill Cranes. What an amazing thing to witness! 

 

I’ve been painting bird hunters and bird dogs, deer, quail and landscapes and also finishing some commission pieces for clients.  I’ll post some photos later, but right now they are secrets!