Buddy is on his wayBuddy the Wayward Wolverine will be back again in 2014. A new adventure with Buddy will be out this year. Watch for him! Buddy the Wayward Wolverine is available at Red Tail Publishing.
Happy Thanksgiving!
To show my appreciation for all of you out there, I made you a turkey. Enjoy, it’s a guilt free turkey with zero calories, it’s vegan and it won’t give you gas. Thank you all for stopping by.
On a side note I managed to loosen up my painting a bit with this turkey. After the attempt with the bluebird post I had to take drastic measures. The secret technique I devised involved a bottle of Petite Sarah and while watching Dancing With the Stars. Please don’t tell anyone. No self-respecting Forester Artist should be caught doing such a thing. However, it did loosen up my brush!
No turkeys were harmed in the making of this post. Sorry, I can’t say the same for dinner.
This gallery contains 16 photos.
The subject of this week’s Forestry Friday is Ponderosa pine. It is a tree that I deal with in my job everyday. I been involved in the harvesting and planting of millions of these trees. Ponderosa pine is one of … Continue reading
This gallery contains 7 photos.
I felt like painting something different the other night, but then it went all wrong. I picked this bluebird, from Bird On A Wire, not because the subject matter was different, but because I want to play with a different … Continue reading
Replay the Fun
The Backdoor Artist and I joined Mark Mitchell of
Make Your Splashes, Make Your Marks
You’re Invited to replay the Free Q&A
Mark Mitchell, illustrator extraordinaire and proprietor of Make Your Marks, Make Your Splashes Illustration Course Interviewed Mary Livingston, The Backdoor Artist, and me Thursday, June 20, 2013.
Tiger Lily
The Tiger Lily is one of my favorite wild flowers. It is a late bloomer in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and it prefers riparian zones. When it blooms I am compelled to pick a batch to bring home to my honey. In fact, it is the one I like to bring her the most. That is why I picked this flower to paint. Now Mary can have them all year. I sketched this painting a number of years ago. It is based on a picture I took a long time ago and have since lost. Without the original photo I had to wing it. I hope Mary likes it. I think it is the last watercolor that I had started, but not completed. It is now time to move on to new works.
My wounded paw.
That’s my hand with the bandage. If you are thinking that some emotionally motivated gesticulating by the digit wrapped in gauze was the cause for the bandage, then I’m going to disappoint you. No, Mary did not do me bodily harm, nor was it the result of some road rage incident. I had a cyst and bone spur removed. I know, considering which finger it was, I could have come up with a whopper of a story. You are welcome to speculate wildly if you don’t believe me. Now I have two WIP. One is the watercolor in the photo and the other is my hand. It looks pretty swollen in the picture. Fortunately, I am right-handed so progress continues.
Those aren’t my tears from the procedure. I’m a big boy and only cry during tragic dog movies. I took these pictures during the rain storm last week. It helped bring an end to the fires that were burning here.
Manzanita flowers in the rain.
That night after my surgery, when we went to bed it started raining again. It was hot in the house so I opened the window to let the cool air in. My hand ached and it kept me awake. The lightning flashed in the distance and the thunder rumbled through the sky. The sound of the rain falling outside was so peaceful that I finally drifted off.
Battle Creek Meadows
This rain has been a relief and has delayed our oncoming drought. Soon it will be dry again.
In the clouds.
Just the girls and I.
Tim, Teka and Blitz.
Meet Buddy, The Wayward Wolverine
Buddy The Wayward Wolverine is based on the real life lone wolverine living in California. Nobody knows how he got here. He is related to the wolverines of the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. This is the fantastical tale of Buddy’s journey. Written by Maryᴀ Livingston, The Backdoor Artist, and Amanda Shufelberger, the main Buddy biologist. Illustrated by yours truly the Forester Artist.
We will be at a book signing at the Whole Earth and Watershed Festival, in Redding, California at City Hall on Saturday, April 27th from 10am to 4pm. Come down to the Red Tail Publishing booth if you are in the area.
Buddy The Wayward Wolverine is also available at REDTAIL.COM.
This painting for me is more than a picture of a beautiful rooster pheasant. It is me trying to express the essence of something in my life that is significant.
This painting has been on the board a long time. It is destined for my office. Oddly, I’ve never hung any of my art in my office. I guess it is about time.
Blitz joyfully returns with a bird.
Pheasant season ended a few weeks ago. It is a time when our dogs get to live their bliss, as Mary is so fond of putting it, living-bliss. I’ve re-blogged her post, because it is also about the dogs doing what they are born to do. They are working dogs and hunting is their work. They are happiest when they are working. What they do is written in their DNA.
Teka can’t wait for her turn. She stakes out my truck.
I suppose the same is true for me. If I was plopped down in the American West 200 years ago I think I would have been perfectly happy. Engaging in hunting with dogs, friends and family keeps me connected to my roots and more primitive self.
Teka was born to hunt birds.
Teka delivers a pheasant to her person, Doug.
Dogs are pack animals and pheasant hunting helps them live their pack experience. The difference is that we are now their pack, but the satisfaction to them is the same.
Teka relishes bringing the bird to Doug and receiving his appreciation.
If I didn’t have bird dogs I probably wouldn’t bird hunt. The pleasure they bring to it is what makes it complete. These dogs have such heart in what they do. Hunting without them would be like dancing alone.
Blitz on a water retrieve.
Procuring food is such a basic human activity. By acquiring food myself, I appreciate the meal much more. To spend the time hunting and experiencing the joy of success with my partners makes me think about what our hunter gatherer ancestors did on a daily basis. Then to have to go through the process of cleaning and preparing this food, it puts me very in touch with the reality of what was given.
Blitz is happiest while doing her work.
When I hold the pheasant in my hand that I just killed and Blitz just fetched, I experience a blend of feelings. There is joy in the success and satisfaction of providing this meal to my family. There is appreciation for the beauty and for what this creature lost, it’s life. That leaves me with some sadness, but it is the reality of life. It causes me to not take meat in the grocery store for granted.
Blitz has a lively pheasant.
The time out in the field away from the day to day activities is a welcome break to go enjoy a more primal experience. There are things all around to be noticed that add to the richness of this time spent.
Canadian Geese hiding in the grass.
This time means so much when spent with family.
My oldest son, Chris with his girl Nellie. This will be her last pheasant season.
My sons and Nellie.
This is also a time for me to remember my old loyal hunting partners from years past. The ones that gave me so many fond memories. Last year was Hawk’s last season only we didn’t know it at the time. He should have had many more pheasants to retrieve. We miss him very much. Mary posted about him a while back, Her Papa’s Eyes.
Hawk during his last pheasant season. An old hunting partner remembered.
The Misery Whip.
Here it is, the final painting. I hope you like it.
Now that I finally have time to catch my breath, here is what happened since my last post. I left work and rushed home. I had about 20 or 30 minutes of painting left to do. When I finished the painting, we had about an hour and 5 minutes before we had to be at the dinner auction. I cut the mat and framed it. With that complete, we got ourselves ready and ran out the door. We arrived at the dinner, and presented the painting to the master of ceremonies so he could put it on display. After an excellent prime rib dinner the auction began.
This auction is a fund-raiser for the Education Fund of the Sierra Cascade Logging Conference. The money goes for forestry education for local students. The money supports Education Day for local 4th graders to tour the conference, that is where Mary gave her presentation, https://theforesterartist.com/2013/02/08/the-misery-whip-home-stretch/ . They also support the local college logging sports team, scholarships and a Spring woods tour, among other things.
Now back to the auction. The painting was item 30 out of 50. Not a bad place to be. If it is too early, some folks are holding back, keeping their powder dry, so to speak. Too late in the evening and many bidders start to leave. The bidding seemed to be going pretty high during the early portion of the auction. I was encouraged. Finally, The Misery Whip was up. Bidding started at $200. The bidding was short and frantic. Then, “SOLD” to the high bidder for $900. I was very happy to see my effort contribute to bringing in so much to the charity fund. I could not see who the bidder was.
Mary runs our booth at the conference, so on top of everything else we had been preparing for the conference and getting product ready. As a result Mary and I were exhausted and were planning to go home after the painting was auctioned, but I had a ticket for a drawing at the end. Since, we did not want to stay that late, I took the ticket to a friend from work who would be there for the drawing. He was sitting in the area of the high bidder, so I asked him who it was. He said “it was me”! He told me when he saw it on display he was determined to buy it and it was his way of owning a piece of me. I was flattered and humbled. Thank you Ted. I’m really glad he got it.
After weeks of getting to bed after mid-night, last night Mary and I were in bed by 7pm and slept for 12 hours. The truck is unloaded. Now it is time to fall back and regroup. All in all, I would say it was a very successful conference.
THE FORESTER ARTIST 