The Owl’s Flight Chronicles
My Chronicles…the stories that danced with me through the creative process
…the thoughts that linger behind the images
Northern Lights
I remember seeing the dancing northern lights fairly often as a child growing up in North Dakota, but viewing them as an adult in Idaho hasn't happened as frequently. The times when we stood outside in the back yard to view the Idaho version of the auroras really...
Curios ~ On Being A Collector of Amazements
I fancy myself a collector of amazements. I am forever unearthing interesting objects to take home, or, at least photographing my non-portable finds. As you might expect, after several decades of adulthood, I've acquired an abundance of things! I have collections....
Sensory Perception
I fancy myself a collector of amazements. I am forever unearthing interesting objects to take home, or, at least photographing my non-portable finds. Inevitably, a lot of those amazing things end up in my paintings. I've now done several "Collection of Amazements"...
The Tale of Tansy (part 2)
Flash forward about six years. The fairy craze died down. My creative nature had moved onward to other subjects, but I would still paint a fairy or two a year, just for fun. (Most often in the spring when the new flowers and sunshine would inspire me to venture Into...
The Tale of Tansy (part 1)
I have forever been an ardent fan of the Faerie Realm. My first crush was on Disney's Tinkerbell, which quickly morphed into a full-blown love affair with the ethereal world, and its mythical creatures. Little girl ballerina-dreams would usually involve some form of...
The Catbird Seat
Definitely a play on words and creatures! An old expression that can sometimes still be heard describing Nascar drivers or baseball players (like a batter with three balls and no strikes on him). "The catbird seat" is an American English idiomatic phrase used to...
Hope (Lost and Found)
Hope... It is easy to lose, and sometimes very hard to find. The eyes will always show it. Our eyes reflect our history. The souvenirs we have collected on our life's journey are written in our miraculous eyes. They speak of how we have been to the raw, outer edges,...
The Grieving Tree
I once longed for... A refuge for the heart sore. A reclusive, private retreat from the ache of keeping your chin up when life is hard. I imagined... A mythical tree, one worthy of legend and half-remembered tales, all but forgotten now, except by just a few. Those...
The Grieving Tree
The gnarled tree has stood sentinel for generations, deep in the outer reaches of the Forest of Sorrows. It lives, never growing green, yet never dying or rotting away, next to a chill, bottomless, crystal pool of water salted by tears. The Grieving Tree can somehow...
The Return to the Virtual
Hello! It's been a awhile... After a hiatus of a few years, I've returned to dust off this blog and share some more scattered thoughts, special memories, and random insights into life and art. I've continued to write and paint often during my absence, but have been...
Within
Painting on the front porch during warm summer days is one of my "Most Favorite" things! This image is the result of a "just for fun" session on a hot summer day. I'd been finding little snail shells in the woods...left by birds, or fairies, as little treasures to be...
Braiding It Back Together
We all have those days! Those" not-so-great" sort of days that prompt you to call and vent to your best friend. It was one of those days, and a comment she'd made during that call that inspired this painting. She was wishing we could gather up and braid...
Rita’s Garden
I've been blessed with an amazing mother, and blessed yet again with my "other mother", my step-mom, Rita. She is a wonderful addition to our family, and is known for her love of gardening and her incredible potato salad! I'd been offering to paint Rita a special...
Winter Whimsy
This piece, depicting a father and his two young daughters enjoying a North Dakota winter evening will always have a tender place in my heart. It was commissioned by my friend and high school English teacher, Rick Hilber, for the cover of his book, "Down the Highway,...
Triplicity
A gathering of owls is officially called a parliament. Sometimes a group of owls is referred to as a brood, nest, looming or wisdom. These three owls seem to have been interrupted mid-conversation. They almost appear a bit guilty, as if they were caught plotting some...