The Man of Steel

The Man of Steel| 5"x7" | oil on hardboard

"Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!"

On our recent trip to Tennessee, we were on I-24 between St. Louis and Nashville when we saw a billboard inviting us to Metropolis, Illinois, "Hometown of Superman - Exit now and see the giant statue of Superman". Well, how can a family on a road trip vacation pass up an opportunity as tempting as that? It was the perfect Clark Griswold moment, so we took the exit and followed the signs to the quaint town square in downtown Metropolis. What a great place. Quintessential small town America and the perfect home for "truth, justice and the American way".


Jack and Joe pose in front of Superman in downtown Metropolis

We got out of the car, took a bunch of pictures and quickly dashed into the souvenir store. Unfortunately, we were on a tight schedule, so we didn't have as much time to roam around as we'd like but it was great fun none the less. Then on to Nashville, faster than a speeding bullet...

The painting is from an unconventional angle, but I do like how it gives you a childlike perspective of this bigger than life super-hero.

Available for $125

Yellow Street Gallery

Yellow Street Gallery| 5"x7" | oil on hardboard

This is a painting that is based on a photo taken by a wonderful photographer friend of mine. His name is Tom Becker and he is quite humble and modest about his great work. Tom and his wife Allyson took a trip to Mexico and that's where I believe this scene was composed. I liked the composition and light. The brightly colored yellow wall, the graffiti painting and the figure on the right (which is Allyson by the way).

Graffiti art has taken its place in the big time art world these days and is now considered "legitimate" art by many. I won't weigh in on my thoughts about that, but will say that in this painting, the doorway creates a frame of sorts and makes it a walk by gallery on this sunny South-of-the-border street.

Inquire about purchasing

Pink Tulips

Pink Tulips| 24"x30" | oil on hardboard

I recently posted a tulip painting and mentioned the local Orange City Tulip Festival. This coming weekend the festival will take place and as of today, the tulips are looking great. Barring a windy day or two, things should look great.

I grew up going to the festival and it is a celebration of Dutch heritage and a place to celebrate community. Seeing old friends, watching parades and eating the great food is all part of the fun.

This is a larger tulip painting that I did a number of years ago. If you happen to attend the festival this weekend, this painting and the earlier blog tulip will both be on display at the Tulip Town Bulb Company. Breng ons een bezoek.

A Little Faith

A Little Faith| 5"x7" | oil on hardboard

This painting started out as another in my short series of birds. Prior to this you've seen a cardinal and a bluejay. It changed direction a bit when I was inspired by artist David Arms, who does imagery similar to this.

I hope you like it.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. - Hebrews 11:1

Inquire about purchasing

The Time is Ripe

The Time is Ripe| 5"x7" | oil on hardboard

Fruit is the classic still life subject I suppose. Artists and art students have been painting and drawing these for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years and they still are ap-peel-ing to look at (sorry, I couldn't resist).

I think part of the reason why is that they are simple shapes, yet they are still challenging to capture on canvas. To create the illusion of the third dimension is always a thrill for me, no matter what the subject is.

I should eat more fruit. I try to take a piece along to work each day, but as you can see by the condition of the banana in the painting, our fruit is not always eaten in a timely manner.

Inquire about purchasing

Spring Chicks

Spring Chicks| 5"x7" | oil on hardboard

I started this painting prior to our vacation, with the intent of posting it for Easter. I ran out of time so I finished it this weekend.

I have childhood memories of going to Jim's Feed Store here in Maurice to see the chicks when the shipment arrived in the spring. Fast forward 40 years and I find myself driving my son and his friends down to the local farm supply store to buy chicks.

JBC (Joe, Branson & Caleb) Poultry Farm is what they've dubbed themselves and they certainly have an entrepreneurial spirit. They started off their poultry hobby with 9 full-grown chickens that didn't lay too many eggs, and now they own 100+ chicks that are growing rapidly and no longer look anything like these cute chicks in the painting.

I think we'll still be waiting a while to see the farm fresh eggs from these beauties.

Inquire about purchasing

Tennessee Road Trip

Hopefully there are a few of you who noticed that I didn't post a painting this week. Our family took an old fashioned family road trip vacation down to Tennessee this past week. We really had a great time and it was so much fun to see the sites, culture and people down south. We were primarily in Nashville and Memphis and they are two very different cities. I'm wondering if all of us Yankees should start calling each other "darlin" and "hon". Southern hospitality was very nice to experience, and I have to say that the food was wonderful too.

I've downloaded my photos and it looks like I limited myself to only 402 shots. I could have shot a bunch more, but I showed some restraint mostly due to the fact that I didn't have enough memory cards for my camera. My wife and boys always are patient with me while I'm shooting photos of everything in sight, no matter how odd it may seem to most people. They have grown accustom to my ways. Below you'll find 4 of the 402 pictures. There could be some paintings coming out of our trip. Y'all stay tuned...

Cardinals game in St. Louis on our way to Nashville

The Grand Ole Opry

Memphis BBQ at Rendevous

On the steps of Graceland

Mom's Bread

Mom's Bread | oil on canvas

It was my Mom's birthday a couple of weeks ago, and I had intended to post this at that time, but of course it slipped my mind. So I thought I'd share it this week instead. This is a large portrait I did of her. Click on the photo to get a little closer look.

I featured Mom's cake on my very first blog painting back in September of last year. As I mentioned at that time, she loves spending time in her kitchen and homemade bread is one of her specialties. In the painting she's holding my favorite bread that she bakes. It's an oatmeal bread that is unbelievably wonderful....just like Mom.

Chapel of Love

Chapel of Love I | 5"x7" | oil on hardboard

Chapel of Love II| 5"x7" | oil on hardboard

This is a small commission for a friend. She is giving it as a wedding gift to a couple who were recently wed in this lovely church in upstate New York. The church sits on a the edge of a lake.

I painted the more detailed version first, and then decided to do a version that was a little more loose and painterly. There are things I like about each version. I'd be curious to know which version you prefer, and why.

Sunlit Tulip

Sunlit Tulip| 5"x7" | oil on hardboard

Spring is here. Whew–it was a long, cold and snowy winter here in Iowa so we're all ready for spring. I was just outside and saw that our tulips are just beginning to emerge from the dirt.

I dug through my photos from last spring and found some I shot in Orange City. My good friends, Brett and Nora Mulder, are the owners of the Tulip Town Bulb Company and their gardens last year were in glorious bloom with every variety of tulip under the sun. I took a lot of photos there.

Brett could tell you exactly what variety this is, but I'll just say it is the red/yellow kind.

Inquire about purchasing