After Midnight (Scary or Dreamy?)

Borghese Garden After Midnight 1

16 x 20 

 This time of year seems filled with stories that take place "after midnight" so I thought I'd highlight a painting of mine with that name.  Interesting, it is about a time that I have intensely fond memories- no horror over here!

I've done quite a bit of traveling over my life, so I didn't expect my time in Rome, Italy to be much different than other places I have visited.  There were, of course, a few things that I had really looked forward to seeing, but I was quite unprepared for how much I fell in love with the city.  For the first few months, the project I was working on took up most of the day and I could only really go out in the evening.  My oldest son and I would ride our bikes around at night, after I got home from work.  Invariably, we would find ourselves in the Borghese gardens.  It was winter and the sky was usually overcast, silhoetting the trees against the misty night sky.

Are there places you have visited that leave you with an indelible memories?  I can't wait to go back to Rome!

-Tyler

Unshakeable Dependability (unlike my newsletter?!)

"Stalwarts"

48 x 36

 I apologize for the delay in the newsletter this week.  I am currently on my way to work on a project in the Philippines and the logistics have been complicated.  Ironically, I had already decided on writing about this piece before I left and the obstacles that I need to power through currently have me trying to channel the energy of these two beauties.

I've recently been commissioned to do a new version of this piece and I've been thinking about the inspiration of the original.  In a neighborhood park that I used to often visit with my children, I noticed two mature pine trees that were green amidst the surrounding snow of winter.  They had obviously been there for generations, and displayed the power to resist and endure.  Loyal and reliable are those two trees- it brings me peace just to look at them.

I'll be posting the progress of the new commission on social media.  I'd love for your to follow along on the journey and let me know your thoughts as the new piece comes together.

Are Fall and Winter my favorite times of year?

 

This time of year, as the days get shorter and the mornings are colder, I am reminded how much I dislike fall and winter.  That may be surprising since the bulk of my paintings seem to portray that time of year.  Maybe it is the search to find beauty in the midst of despair?

As I was visiting the historic skyscraper that was the only realized high rise of Frank Lloyd Wright in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, I saw this couple of starlings stopping on their migration in an oak tree.  The tree was almost totally bare of leaves so the silhouettes were particularly noticeable.  

What about you?  What is your favorite time of year?  How do you find ways to enjoy those parts of the year that may not initially bring you joy?

-Tyler