Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Linthead with a brush

I acknowledge that I can paint.  I can dip the brush into the paint, be it craft paint in little plastic cups or oil on a palette, but I'm not sure I can *paint*...not yet.  I can visualize, and sometimes I can come close to what I see.  My favorite painting may well be the one I used for my header, the one admired by the Totalfeckineejit.  I painted it on a 6"x8" piece of plywood with craft paint from that chain store ol' Sam Walton foisted upon us.  I have since graduated to oil on canvas (farther down the page), but I love the early paintings, both for their style and for the time in my life they reflect.  I was recovering from acute depression, going back to school, becoming a teacher, trying to be a good husband, and trying to live, not just survive.  Some of the poems you have seen/will see also were born during this era...the Snowflake poem, for example.  I am proud of all of it.  It was part of my journey to become who I am today...a beautiful part, lived out in one of the more beautiful places on earth: the mountains of western North Carolina.  I found health and healing and hope in those mountains.  I miss them so very, very much.

The above is a stylized view of Mt. Pisgah, near Asheville.
The above was inspired by a trip to Cade's Cove.
The above was inspired by Lake Junaluska in winter.

Stylized depiction of a farm near Hickory, NC.
Oil on Canvas, Central Kentucky Barn (8"x10")

Oil on Canvas, Piedmont North Carolina Barn (8"x10")

Oil on Canvas, "Kentucky Twilight" (16"x20")
Oil on Canvas, "Marblehead Imaginings" (16"x20")
Oil on Canvas, "Carolina Dunes" (11"x14")

5 comments:

The Bug said...

I love your paintings dear heart. You know, there are some blank canvasses in the other room - perhaps you can squeeze painting in between writing your book, blogging, teaching...

Ann T. said...

Dear C.L.,
You do seem to have a particular vision going! It is one that is hard to maintain in this contemporary world. I would guard it vigilantly.

Mine is coming back . . . I am making room for it and then I will have to make infrastructure before I can get it right.
Ann T.

Sam Liu said...

Your painting are wonderful, the style and texture of the work is quite marvellous and very charming. I wish I was a wiz with a paintbrush, but alas, 'tis not to be :)

Jayne said...

What a wonderful outlet and gift you have there in those works of art. I especially love the ones of the dunes with the sea turtle. Keep painting from your heart.

Jim Swindle said...

I particularly like Lake Junaluska and the one of the Kentucky barn at twilight.