"Katchina's Lament" (2008)
Oil on canvas

The People came up out of the earth assisted by the Katchina, who still play an active role in pueblo survival. The Katchina represent spirits, some of whom were ancestors, who are able to put a "butcher's thumb" on the scales of our existence. When the Spanish arrived in the 17th century they brought with them Christianity, and did their very best to surpress the native religion... harshly. Over the centuries the Pueblos have become outwardly "Christian" while quietly retaining the Katchina cults. $400






"Sunrise" (2008)
Oil on canvas

The influence of oriental art on my painting are pretty clear. "Sunrise" hung in our breakfast area, until I traded it for a year's service from a young personal chef. So, if you visit Corazon this year before the lad goes off to complete his college education, you might 'eat' a portion of this painting.






"Joesph" (2008)
Oil on Canvas
The color on this image is a bit washed out. The original is more vibrant, and maybe later I'll post a better photo.


Joseph with his colorful coat is exiled from his father's land, empty and desolate to most objective witnesses. Leaving that 'paradise', Joseph enters a new astounding world of sophistication, color and luxury. After a time, his mind wanders back to his youth. In this painting, can you tell whether he is facing Egypt, or the fields of his father?

$200





"Badlands" (2008)
Oil on canvas

This painting hangs just inside the doorway of Corazon, and Natalie probabaly will give me a hard time if I go to sell it. However, everything is for sale... well, just about everything. Say, $300 for a pretty little landscape that is pretty conventional?

As you can see, the sky is the main character in the play. As children we imagined we saw clouds forming into horses galloping in a fantasy land, or an Indian's profile, or a clown juggling candlesticks. The sky still remains one of the most interesting things I see everyday, and few places can equal New Mexico for really, really great skies.



"Cerillos" (2007)
Oil on canvas

This one is deceptively simple: land and sky. It sold almost before the paint was dry. Maybe I should paint more like this one. What do you think?









During the past week, I laid out the work plan for 2009 to David who is in charge of the Corazon grounds. Once we get the debris of winter bagged and dragged, we hope to get an early start planting this year. Last year the farm got planted too late and we never got any etible corn, but tons of pumpkins. Hopefully, the farm will produce better this year. The real focus will be on the upper level... in the English and Contemplation gardens. We want to plant several new honeysuckle vines to completely cover the walkway, and many more annual flowers for color. I'd like to upgrade the gravel walkways through both gardens, but that might not happen this year. I'm trying to conserve my limited funds to use in late July/August for kitchen renovations. We want to replace the counters, but must also replace the cooktop and sinks at the same time. The counters alone will run thousands, and in these uncertain times we may opt to scale back. At the very least I'm hoping to replace the kitchen windows with modern double panes... probably around $2K. Given the fiscal constraints, I'm trying to do as much of the labor as possible myself. Day before yesterday, I raked up all the pine needles, cleaned and got the water off the pool cover, and topped off the pool. Then I raked and generally cleaned up the lower level in preparation for planting this years farm. I just poop out too quickly. I'm still recovering, though there's more to be done. The lads didn't show yesterday to bag and dump the debris... not uncommon here for workers to be on a schedule that bears little resemblence to that time concept in the rest of the country.

No new stories written since "Sound O'pipes", but I'm working on a little thing with the working title, "Door to Darkness". Maybe I'll get it written this week. Tomorrow we'll share a Birthday dinner with our neighbors, both of whom also have birthdays this week. I never would have believed that I would live this long... Oh well.

I don't know how to add active links here, so if you're interested you'll just have to copy the site address here and paste it into your browser window. In addition to the short stories at Writing.com I have a flicker site where examples of my photographs and paintings can be seen. It is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/75778940@N00/