This exhibition entitled “Inspirations from Nature: Heat, Drought, Rain Prayer” is part of an ongoing series of paintings (entitled “the drought series)” that I have been working on over the course of a decade or more. Since I was a small child, clouds and weather have captivated my attention. I reflect upon family car journeys, especially in the late afternoon or after a rain, when cloud formations gathered to create poodles and lions, snowmen and faces of old men. Long evening car trips returning home from family visits, the ebony-blue sky filled with twinkling stars as they filled my mind with wonderment. It was delightful to crick the neck and press my face against the cold car window to better view The Big and Little Dippers (Ursa Major and Minor) or maybe the bow of the Hunter (Orion).

Living in Southern California and exploring throughout the southwest, I have enjoyed many opportunities to observe and experience the marvelous components of weather’s might – extreme heat, extreme cold, lack of precipitation, an over abundance of precipitation, wildfires, debris flows, flooding, erosion, ocean surge, microbursts – the list goes on and on. In our current era we seem to be hotter in the summer and colder in the winter. Our weather almost appears to be talking to us, giving us glimpses and urgings to reflect upon the role we play in preserving our beautiful world wherever we may live.

Nature provides infinite inspiration for an artist for it manifests itself in unexpected sunsets filtered through smoke or clouds, ominous wind swept downpours settling on plowed dry dirt, microbursts dumping water on an ocean, and rolling hills once emerald green turned golden brown by an early hot summer. Each season is independent, no years are the same.

Frustrated and impatient with our enduring dryness and accompanying concerns that successive droughts continue to deliver, I began to create “The Drought Series”. My ongoing response to the drought is to observe climate change not only for its harshness but also the elements of beauty, strength and drama it creates. I was compelled to paint what I saw and felt.

The forty-six pieces in this exhibit are offered as a type of prayer, as a homage to God for what is, and a prayer to God for what is to come, all in optimistic hope for future generations.

We live in a wonderful world at a wonderful time.

God bless our beautiful earth.

Thank you for taking the time to view this exhibit.