“For flowers that bloom about our feet,
Father, we thank Thee.
For tender grass so fresh, so sweet,
Father, we thank Thee.
For the song of bird and hum of bee,
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Prints available – click image for info
“The Amen of nature is always a flower.” -Oliver Wendell Holmes
I’m a step ahead of Spring, I know. I’m extra-impatient this year, so I’ve been working on florals. Lots and lots of pale pastel florals. Layering a flower photo with textures is like slapping the finishing touch on a wet canvas. I suppose there’s a thin line that separates a painter/artist from a photographer/artist. Judging from some of the comments my artist friends make, we also share the same brain. Creativity feeds on creativity. The more we work at it, the more we crave the next challenge.
Today it’s a simple pink coneflower in soft, dreamy light. Enjoy.
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Digitally painted photograph
I love to discover new trails, especially when they lead through woods. The day after Thanksgiving, I stopped at a local park along the river, just to check out the colors. A deep bed of leaves provided a crunch under each step. I was underwhelmed with the lack of light–the sky was overcast and I could smell rain in the distance–so I focused on the treetops, with their last clinging leaves and slight touch of color. A breeze was picking up and I knew change was coming. I would have to hurry.
As is usually the case, I tromped around with my Canon DSLR and a headful of thoughts. It’s impossible to capture the beauty of nature without thinking of the one who created it all. This day, my thoughts turned to how change is inevitable. It’s part of life.
Seasons pass. Flowers eventually wither. Loved ones die while somewhere else, a newborn is making his way into the world with a squeal. Arriving is synchronized with leaving, like a finely tuned clock.
I can’t say I love change, but I’m learning to see beauty in it. There’s an irony in it all–finding stability in change.
For me, stability comes by anchoring myself to what I know for sure: God never changes. His love is unwavering, and his grace bottomless. Nothing can contain it. Seasons shift, but he is unshifting. He meets me at every crossroad in every circumstance.
These treetops are now bare, their branches stretched out in the long wait for new Spring leaf-buds. Sure am glad I stopped long enough to follow that trail.
Towering trees along the Willamette River
Set of 4 Chain Link art prints – click image for details
Chris Tomlin is one of my favorite musicians. This set of prints reminds me of this song.
“Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)”
“The daisy’s for simplicity and unaffected air.” ~Robert Burns
Like generations of a family, this fine art print of orange-red gerberas showcases various stages of one of my favorite flowers.
“Some see nature all ridicule and deformity… and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.” ~William Blake
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The unfurling of a fern is a beautiful thing to observe…
