Storm at Sea

My wife loves this one because you can see the rain coming down from the clouds. She loves to hear it rain and when she cannot hear it – she looks at this painting and imagines it is raining.

Presque Isle

Presque Isle County is in the lower peninsular in Michigan.  Its name was given by the early French settlers.  The word “presque” means almost.  That word describes the peninsula that is surrounded by Lake Huron on the east, Grand Lake on the west with very narrow strips of land that connect it to the mainland at both north and south ends.  In other words, it is “almost an island.”

There are two lighthouses on this peninsula – Old Presque Isle lighthouse built in 1840 and New Presque Isle lighthouse built in 1870. The 1870 Lighthouse is the tallest light on the Great Lakes that the public may climb.

A beautiful spot where you can watch both sunrise and sunset over Lake Huron.

This beautiful place inspired this painting of the “new” lighthouse of 1870.

Texas Sunset

During my career in the United States Air Force, I was stationed in Texas several times.

  • Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
  • Brooks Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
  • Goodfellow Air Force Base, San Angelo, Texas

There’s nothing more beautiful than a Texas sky. Watching the sun set over the wide open spaces was alway a great way to end the day.

Memories of those sunsets inspired my painting.

While I now live in Michigan I have several family members who call Texas their home. One of my granddaughters there now has this painting. She said she displays it in the hallway leading to her main bedroom where she sees it as she begins and ends her day.

Beginning Again

When I was young and in the United States Air Force, I began painting.

However, as my family grew and so did my responsibilities, I gave up painting thinking I would return to it when I retired from the United States Air Force. Upon retirement, I went to college and became a missionary/pastor. That left me little time for painting.

Upon my second retirement, I began painting again. My wife had never seen my paintings from earlier in my life so when I started my first painting, she was watching carefully to see just how good I was. 🙂

This is my first attempt after many years to paint a landscape. She loved it and for many years we kept it displayed in our home.

Recently I gave it to my son. As I approach my 85th birthday, I have begun giving some of my paintings to children, grandchildren and friends. There are a few my wife says I cannot give away as she loves them. But, I got her approval to pass this one.

Hope you enjoy it! I call it “The Edge of the Stream.”

Along the Stream

My wife loves white birch trees. In our home in Illinois we had several birch trees in our back yard. After moving to Michigan she misses our white birch trees. Actually there are lots of white birch trees here, but in our back yard we have evergreen trees.

So I painted her a set of paintings of white birtch trees. She was a happy camper.

At a recent art show, I sold the paintings. One visitor at the art show came by, stopped and said how much she loved the paintings. She wanted to know if they were for sale. Looking at my wife in hesitation, she smiled and said “yes they are.”

She was glad someone else loved the paintings as much as she did and she informed me I could just paint her another set of white birch trees.

Guess what I will be doing now?

The Morning After

Two years ago I painted a scene of the three crosses on Calvary with the city of Jersualem in the distance. My church has made bookmarks with this painting. Several have offered to buy it, but for right now it hangs in my living room where my wife and I enjoy it.

The three crosses were empty the day after Jesus was crucified and I see the bright sun shining on the crosses reminding us that Jesus is the light of the world.