"Lives on the line where dreams are found and lost
I'll be there on time and I'll pay the cost
For wanting things that can only be found
In the darkness on the edge of town"

~Bruce Springsteen from "There's A Darkness On The Edge Of Town" 1977

How do we plumb our own depths with unflinching courage? How do we face our deepest, darkest fears? Can we go into that void and return? If we cross a line somewhere, is there any way back? What doors close behind us? Which new ones will open? Can a bad man find redemption? 

Where am I going with all of this? Again, the message is finding purpose and inspiration, but also facing our fears. Heady topics that can make us want to look the other way.

I have been fortunate to have faced death. I have also witnessed people I love face death. It changes you quickly, in the blink of an eye. Before you can take a breath. Before you have time to think about what has happened.
 
Where could there possibly be an uplifting message here? These situations in our life force us to focus on what is really important. We are humbled beyond belief, and yet, transformed by this gift we call life. I have found that I see life so much more as a gift. I look back at courage we all seem to find at those moments and the prayers we pray when we are standing at the edge of our own existance.

Just a few memories that have stuck with me. I'm sure you have your own.

Before he succumbed to Pancreatic Cancer. My own father was able to let go of his fears and it was amazing to watch. One day we were fixing his camper up in the Spring. He stirred up a hornet's nest by accident. I ran back out of the way while he stood calmly, admiring the savage beauty that swirled around him. He didn't even flinch and was not stung even once. 

Before my grandmother died at the age of 93, we would have long conversations about the people that she loved and missed. Most of whom she had outlived, including her 5 children. She still spoke so lovingly of her husband, my grandfather, as if he had just stepped out to run errands. He had died in 1943.

Cassie René Bernall was martyred at the age of 17 at the Columbing High School massacre. With a gun pointed in her face, she was taunted and asked if she still believed in God to which she bravely responded "Yes, I do". Cassie was from my church.

In the middle of a serious car accident that destroyed my car and turned the engine into a deadly projectile, I found the courage to pray to God for protection. I was able to walk away from it. Airbags? There were none and I was not wearing a seatbelt.

The list goes on, but my point is brief. We are all here for a reason. You and I are not perfect and, yes, life can be a rocky road sometimes. Face each day, each situation with courage and push back against your fear. I believe that God is everywhere (even in our darkest moments) and with us every step of the way. Giving new life to your courage and faith.

Inspiration? Sometimes it comes from above. 

This time of year I like to celebrate my Irish heritage. My Great Grandfather, Alexander Anderson took a chance in the late 1870's and journeyed to America. He had heard of a place with rich soil that was very green and hilly, like Ireland. It was a place called Iowa. At first, he worked for another farmer, until he had enough money to send for his young bride, Mary Agnes Kerr. Together, they made a pretty good living in America. They eventually owned 3 farms and raised seven children. They also sent money to dear friends, allowing more to settle in our great country. They found opportunity, worked hard and prospered. Their many descendents continue to live and prosper. 

Often, I have thought what a gift it would be if we could meet our ancestors! I am lucky enough to have been given a couple of Alex's dearest possessions. An old tea kettle (for his daily tea) and an old piece of bog that he brought across the ocean with him so that he had a piece of Ireland with him ALWAYS. Alex and Mary rest in peace on a wind blown, Iowa hilltop in an old cemetary near Ida Grove, Iowa. Their work is done, but ours is not. 

My ancestors are another place I look to for inspiration. Their stories, their struggles and how they used their time on Earth. To Alex and Mary, a thousand thank you's. May we meet one day, on God's golden shore.  -Darby 

Ernest Hemingway, A Letter from Cuba (1934)

• "All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you; the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse, and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was. If you can get so that you can give that to people, then you are a writer."

Hemingway was talking about writing, but the description strikes me as a truth about the creative process. I often like to think of Art as being "truer" or "better than the real thing". When I escape to that place inside the right brain that allows me to see true beauty, I think to myself, "I have got to capture that visual experience". It is a humbling and spiritual experience. A gift from God himself.

My hope is always that the "experience" that I had, felt, savored or felt strong emotions for will somehow bridge the gap between myself (the artist) and the viewer (you) as I create a work of Art.

We often pass through our day to day lives without remembering that everything in front of us is truly, truly ALIVE. If ever there was a person who blurred the lines between Art and Life, it was Hemingway. Be it Picasso or Van Gogh or F. Scott Fitzgerald or Hemingway or a Kurt Cobain (and on and on) we often view these creative beings as a visionary or a tortured soul. Living with one foot in both worlds, never quite able to pull the two together during their own lifetime. Myth becomes legend and we love a good legend, don't we? 

It all makes for a good story, but they would never be remembered if they didn't have the creative goods to stand out in their own time. Or the ability to deliver the "goods".

If you enjoy kicking these ideas around, like me, drop me a line and let me know what you think. -Darby    

Seeking inspiration, wherever you can find it, is a must for an artist. Especially when economic times are such as they are. Few people realize or appreciate how many hours can be involved in the creative process. In my case, I like to overload my mind with ideas for paintings and let the ideas fight it out, lol. Eventually, after the final fight, a winner emerges all the stronger for having survived the whole ordeal. Being an artist can seem 99.5% mental sometimes.

Why the photo? I find inspiration from our 26th President, Teddy Roosevelt. In brief, a somewhat frail child who overcame the odds to become a powerful force of a man, soldier and politician. He encouraged his fellow man to seize the day, to stand up and fight and not to take no for an answer if it means giving up on your dreams. Of course, that means hard work, perserverence, more hard work, obscurity, perhaps, and faith. Most of all, I like his quote that says, "Do what you can, with what you have, right now!" 

Today is the start of a new year. As you rethink your life and your reason for existance, be complete. Set your sights, write down your goals, break them up into achievable steps, take aim and fire your gun! You may miss. The gun may misfire. Your target may move. Many things can happen! Keep your composure like Teddy would. Reload and take aim again. This safari is not over unless you say it is, my friends.

It is -10 degrees here, today. Am I going to go outdoors and paint? No. That's not my thing. But I will probably drive some backroads, take some pictures on this sunny day, seeking inspiration along the way.

Peace out,
-Darby

It has been a blessed year here in the Midwest. Despite the snow, freezing temperatures and limited time to work on my art, I am nevertheless, very thankful. The good thing about getting older as an artist is that I see things that never used to register with me. I can sense all of the good ingredients to making a painting, when I see nature before my eyes. I can imagine the season, time of day, color keys, weather and other concerns that could work together to take an idea from just okay to "wow". I like to surprise the viewer and pick locations and color schemes that wouldn't be the first idea that would come to mind when painting, say, a set of buildings in the snow.

The idea for this scene came to me a while ago, through a photograph that I took near my hometown of Cushing, Iowa. A simple set of farm buildings set against the afterglow of a winter sunset. I keep every photo and I have taken thousands. It has helped to train my "painter's eye" over the years. These days, a computer and photo manipulating software help me to save time and narrow down what I like about the scene. I crop the scene down to where I want it. I take out details that I find, detract from my goal. I magnify the special set of colors that I remember seeing on that day. They actually occurred a few minutes before I took the photo for reference. Also, I have found that photography does a poor job of capturing moments the way that I see them. I will discuss that more in future postings. If you compare the photo to the final version, you will notice one of the main elements in successful paintings; simplify, simplify, simplify! 

I hope you enjoy the holiday season, my friends, stop and take a look around at the beauty all around us this Christmas season. 

Peace, -Darby