Walking the Plank

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to walk the plank on a pirate ship with my hands tied behind my back. But it actually sounds fun to walk the plank if I could just dive off into the ocean, swim for a bit, and then get back on board the boat. These planks, however, have nothing to do with pirate ships. They are planking on a pier near a boat ramp on a lake. They are weather worn and even a bit mossy in places. They are however, sturdy enough to keep the boaters, fishermen, and sightseers afloat as they walk out on the water and gaze across water. 

I've still got some work to do on them, but they are coming along nicely.

The Hawaiian Chieftan

The Chieftain comes into our port in Garibaldi every year. She is a fun vessel with a great purpose. You can read more about her here. She is involved in "educational cruises and ambassadorial visits along the west coast." I haven't been aboard her yet, but every time I see her I want to join the crew and live the life of a pirate for a while. I want to climb the rigging and sit in the crow's nest keeping a lookout for other ships and hopefully whales and dolphins. I would gladly swab the deck in trade for a bunk, and even more gladly cook in the galley. Of course, I also think I'm 18 when I have my little fantasies. Nevertheless, she does set me dreaming. Perhaps I've seen Peter Pan or Pirates of the Caribbean too many times. Or maybe I need to watch them again tonight.

Mast and Boom

I love the quote "When you can't change the direction of the wind, adjust your sails" (H. Jackson Brown Jr.). But in order to adjust your sails you have to have a mast, and in this cast a boom. Without our skeletons, our muscles and skin would be lumps on the floor. It is the push and pull of the muscles against and around our bones that give us shape and movement. And our skin acts as the protective covering over it all. Our boat also has an unseen skeleton that braces all of the boards that make up the hull of the boat. Additionally, however, the mast and boom are skeletons that hold the sails. With that spine firmly in place the sails control the wind and allow the master sailor to guide her home, even in the worst of storms. 

I'm working on strengthening my own physical spine and nervous system so that I don't experience as much pain in my body. Additionally, I can work to strengthen my mental, emotional, and spiritual spines so that when the storms of life assail, I will have the strength to simply adjust my sails and return home.

Balusters by the Dozen

I was able to do a little woodworking today. It wasn't too many years ago that my dad got a lathe. We made plans for me to go help him and together we'd make balusters for the banister in my house. We never quite found the time to do it, and now the house has been sold, I've moved, and my dad's health doesn't allow for those kinds of activities anymore. I wish I could have made that memory with him. I am grateful, however, for the memories I do have. Without him I definitely wouldn't be who or where I am today. 

Digging the Rigging

One of the obvious challenges of this piece is going to be the rigging. I got a decent start on it today. I dare say I will be able to paint rope by the time I finish this painting. And in painting all of these details, I have the opportunity to seriously study what is there and ponder the complexity of it all. My admiration for sailors increases with every painting session.

Ropin' and Ridin'

I grew up on a farm in the dry arid desert of west central Utah. Ropin' and ridin' is what we did every spring when we moved the cattle from the winter feed lots to the summer grazing range. I never tired of being in the saddle with all the ups and downs and swaying to and fro. It occurred to me the other day that sailors are ocean cowboys. The have to know how to tie a good not, throw it clean, and catch it solid. The swaying to and fro may be from a boat instead of the back of a horse, but keeping one's footing is still the key. One rides a range of endless grass while the other rides the watery range. But grit, courage, hard work and strong ethics still make the man.

The Channel

Living on the coast has introduced me to so many new adventures and ways of life. The ocean has always called to me, but I finally have the opportunity to learn more about the lives that thrive in this environment. Part of that has been learning about boats, ships, fishing, crabbing, sailing, rowing, all things ocean craft. So here we have a channel - a shelf that will hold the deadeye, deadeye strop, and chain plate. How fun is it just to say all that? 

Blocking In

Sometimes when I approach a painting I work one area at a time, finishing some details before moving on to the next area. While I did do some detail work in the background trees, I am mostly blocking in all of the basic shapes before I move forward on this piece. There will be a lot of detail work and getting the background correct is paramount. I don't want to put hours into detail work to find that I messed up a major shape. So for this piece, I'm working large to small, fine tuning as I go.