2024-04-09

Rufus Hunt : 2024-04

Rufus Hunt
09 April 2024
Acrylic on wood
7.75 x 24.25 in (19.7 x 61.6 cm)

The hunt will cover a lot of territory.


I found another well-priced frame but it had quite the unusual dimensions. I wanted to work on rock formations and people. So I prepped a piece of wood from an old dresser and kind of followed the motif of Buffalo County and Long Mount. I liked the very first sky with the streaked orange and blue, but I also wanted some dramatic clouds in there. I was pretty happy with the end result.

The gif covers six days - but I lost track of actual time spent painting.
Above right is the frame it was designed to fit. 

This was image in the frame when purposed. I was entertaining "Living Room" as the title.
It would have worked as the cowboy is in a pretty cool and very spacious living room.
However, I thought I'd go with something a little more pertinent to the gun.

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2024-04-07

Belle and Stars

I bought this for Christmas and K did a little rearrange - very cool.
Also, she put those tiny lights around a painting of mine (BRK) and they fit perfectly. 

I was tired of Belle's side window popping open during flight. The latch would vibrate itself until it could no longer hold. And, if in flight, it slams up pretty hard. I cut an insert from one piece of wood (for strength) and it fit like a glove. However, I neglected to foresee the extraction. I.e., it was too difficult to grab securely enough to pull it out. I just added a little eye screw and I think it's going to work very well.

A gif of the insertion and extraction.

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Bad Stairwell : 2024-04

Bad Stairwell
06 April 2024
Acrylic on canvas
11 x 14 in (27.9 x 35.6 cm)


The original concept is gone (didn't take a photo) which had several people climbing or on rocks. An earlier stage of this version had a body without the horns. While that may be accurate, I thought the horns would add a little extra intrigue. Also, the smoke wasn't billowing into and from the crevasse but it seemed a bit unrealistic to have an arbitrary barrier there. I still struggle with rocks from time to time and I'm not sure how I feel about these.

This was the frame intended for the canvas so black seemed to match nicely.

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2024-04-04

Keep Walking : 2024-04

Keep Walking
04 April 2024
Acrylic on board
9 x 11 in (22.9 x 27.9 cm)

It's easy to do but often some level of guilt creeps in.


I made a frame from left over edges and cut a board to fit. I played with some custom finish(es) on the frame. The end result (shown below) was something of a gold, bronze, black finish. I was more pleased than I thought I'd be. However, I still had a 9x11 board without a subject. I was reading a Smithsonian magazine which my brother gives as a gift (great gift, by the way) and came across some pictures from Sep-Oct 1941. They reminded me of the rather scary reality that humans can let almost anything become 'normal'. The though of 'just keep walking' or 'it's not my problem' really facilitates that normalness.

The gif covers about a day and a half.  The frame seems a good fit.

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2024-04-01

Pierced One : 2024-04

Pierced One
01 April 2024
Acrylic on hardboard
12.25 x 21 in (31.1 x 53.3 cm)

“They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”


This was an Easter tribute that I wanted to enter in a call for art, but didn't finish it in time. I was rather pleased with it and doing the Roman guard with no reference added to that pleasure. The quote is from John 19:37, but he is actually referencing back to Zechariah. Zechariah 12:10, to be exact. I also relearned this Easter that Psalms 22 predicts much of what happens on Good Friday. 

This gif covers three days - started after Good Friday and didn't finish until a day after Easter.

The hardboard was cut to fit this frame which was holding a copy of
With My Rabbit by Hélène LÉVEILLÉE. I didn't plan to use the mat, but
it looked better than I thought - if you're willing to lose some of the image.

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2024-03-30

2024-03 : Stones Will Cry

Stones Will Cry
30 March 2024
Acrylic on canvas
14 x 18 in (35.6 x 45.7 cm)

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Luke 19:40


This was another painting for a call far art called "ART ALOUD". It was Easter weekend so I wanted to paint something as a tribute to He who allows me to paint. This was a very frustrating painting. The gif below shows how much it transformed, but if it were actually filmed, you could better appreciate my frustration. The original canvas deserves some attention. It was a vase of daisies and was painted 49 years ago. That was pretty cool. There was a note on the back from Mozelle to her mother. It reminds me how a simple note can add a lot of history.

The gif took place in one morning.  Stones Will Cry in the frame in which it was purchased.

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2024-03-29

Crown of Thorns : 2024-03

Crown of Thorns
29 March 2024
Acrylic on hardboard
11 x 11 in (27.9 x 27.9 cm)

The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head.
They clothed him in a purple robe...
John 19:2


This was painted for a call for art titled "ART ALOUD". The intent was
to link art to something written. I was pleased to actually finish this on Good Friday.

This was the frame intended for the piece.

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2024-03-22

Lunar Jolt : 2024-03

Lunar Jolt
22 March 2024
Acrylic on canvas
16 x 20 in (40.6 x 50.8 cm)

Can you imagine seeing something like this?  A lunar eclipse is awesome enough, but this?


This was the final (at the time) painting I made for a call for art titled "TEMPEST". At the moment, this isn't really having an impact on the earth, but I would imagine it wouldn't take very long to start feeling the repercussions. I think seeing something like this would be incredible, but would probably be better in a simulation.

Gif showing some steps along the way - two days elapsed.


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Pikes Fury : 2024-03

Pikes Fury
22 March 2024
Acrylic on canvas
11 x 14 in (27.9 x 35.6 cm)


This was a third volcano - along with Discharge and Erupt for the call for art focusing on natural disasters. I'm not sure way I made three volcanos, but there was a sense of finding a better overall representation and bringing it closer to home. I see Pikes Peak all the time and since I'd been painting volcanoes, I thought, wouldn't it be quite the surprise if one beautiful morning, Pikes Peak started spewing ash and lava everywhere. I think I like it the best of the three.

A gif with some of the phases - about 2-3 days had passed.

I had two frames to fit this size.  Originally, it was in the frame on the left.
I think it looks pretty good in either frame.

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