“Light in the Storm” 18" x 24"

“Light in the Storm” was inspired in part by the many miles I logged in while driving in the panhandle of Texas - where the distance to get to the nearest town or city was measured in hours , plus that far again to return. Whether it was driving for me to finish college in Canyon, driving to a teaching job in the ‘next’ town, going to the doctor/hospital in Amarillo, driving to the team’s sporting/music event in Borger or Dumas (I drove a school bus as a volleyball/basketball coach), going on a family camping trip in Palo Duro Canyon, visiting family or just to going shopping in Lubbock, the constant, seemingly flat landscape of the panhandle plains can jist blur together as it speeds by with the passing horizon.

However…if you just take a minute to slow down or stop - and look closer…(my kids will testify to my science teacher ways), there is so much more there than just an expanse of restless grass in these endless pastures. Besides the wheat grass and buffalo grass you will find number of types of wildflowers like winecups, Indian blankets, prairie verbena and more; types of vines, yucca, sage and bear grass; prickly pear, barrel, and chin cacti,: cottonwood and scraggly mesquite trees to name a few. Notice the barbed wire fence cutting a boundary with textured and weathered fence posts, plus the dappled play of sunlight over the ground between the shadows of passing clouds. It is beautiful to behold. If you look closely, you can see I tried to represent this with the tiny careful details.

The sky part of the painting portrays the rather ominous but unique hail-producing storm cloud. This storm was late afternoon and caught just the right angle of the sun’s rays to refract a brilliant blue color through the icy hail and rain. I tried to show the dynamics of the billowing and churning dark clouds. The hail usually happens suddenly and unexpectedly with a vengeance, like the bottom of the cloud just opened up and let it drop. Most of the hail stones are about marble size, but I have seen some much larger.

During this time period I seemed to have a penchant for painting storms, probably coinciding with the turbulence I was experiencing in my own life, the dark dynamic storm system that blows through, the forceful precipitation, followed by the peaceful play of light, the solace and the refreshing growth. It just all depends on how you look at it, right? I choose to focus on the light, solace and growth.