Visit to Hagerman – I’ve been talking about visiting this park for years and I finally made it today. It is so close to home it was really a short easy ride but the landscape was just beautiful.

I felt like God was showing me all the greatest designs of nature with a light that changed through the day always bringing me another amazing view of the spring landscape. I have not had this feeling of peace and simultaneous excitement standing behind a camera in quite a long while.

First of all, the greens were so rich and the storm that wrestled with the sky all day made the most amazing light and shadows that changed as quickly as I could shoot. I haven’t had this feeling of excitement watching birds in a long time too.

I found a field of rich green grass that held large pockets of mallards, pintails, buffelheads and even a few dowitchers. I was able to sit on the side of the road and just enjoy the wildlife without feeling I was in anyones’ way and yet I didn’t feel like I was so remote as to feel vulnerable.

There were flocks of song sparrows, meadowlarks and the largest group of cedar waxwings I’ve seen in a while. There were cardinals, crows, herons and egrets and I noticed a flock of white pelicans that surveyed the sky in the midst of a darkening storm.

I stopped by the visitor center and the people there were not only proud of their park but they were able to tell me where a large flock of waterfowl were. I got a magnet, a beautiful magnet at that-hand painted I believe.

I got to walk on the Meadow Pond Trail but I wasn’t up for the full 5 mile walk, I did get to see the first pond. I was completely alone except for two couples that I saw along the way. It was one of those amazing moments where you are emersed in wildlife, the sounds of frogs on the roadsides and cardinals calling along the fence rows.

The trail is actually a very old train track so it’s wide and quite easy to walk, on either side there is water both from the pond and from standing water from recent rains. Along the way I was able to photograph red admiral and sulphur butterflies. All of the yellow wildflowers were alive with the sound of honey bees and I forgot how much I missed that sound.

I will definitely get back to Hagerman for another adventure and believe it will probably be a regular place for me to go to get away and enjoy nature. I would highly recommend this place both for its close proximity and for the beautiful, natural place it offers, I will be back for spring migration.

Spectacle of creativity – The other side of a creative block is like coming up for breath after not realizing you’ve been holding your breath for weeks. It’s the sudden feeling of being able to see beyond obvious detail, beyond what is mundane and ordinary.

It’s like a veil lifting off of the eyes and suddenly you can see colors and values more brilliantly. Today I picked up paintings that have sat unfinished for months and suddenly as if the composition reveals itself like a puzzle giving up its secrets.

After this state of elation and excitem
ent where everything seems possible, there is a sudden rush of ideas. Words are written, more sketches are made, all in memory, underpaintings seem clear and concise with a glimpse of what will soon be a finished work.

And than just as sudden as it begins, the overwhelming state of details as every stroke competes to be next. This is why I tend to work on many paintings at once because if one blacks outs with too much detail I can start or get involved in another. It’s like chasing the last bit of sun in a sunset as the colors lose details as the darkness overwhelms the landscape.

Surprise and elation are quickly replaced with that familiar feeling of doubt, as if any of the creative explosion meant anything or accomplished anything at all.

After this amazing state is the feeling of leaving that moment. It’s like leaving an old friend after missing their company so much it hurts. This is the feeling the creative thrives on, why some go mad, why some struggle with addiction and depression.

There is no greater place or feeling than that moment when creation seems to make sense. One small glimpse at an amazing and cruel gift, we as artists are lucky to borrow even if for just a short time.

Ride in the Country – I drove through the country this morning as the electric hour gave up all its treasures. The light was amazing, I equate it to a great paintbrush that streams through the landscape contrasting shadows with a rich and exquisite light.

I didn’t have my camera, but the positive side of this is sometimes you see more and capture more without it. In a quest to be discerning about what you shoot you often loose sight and smell of the obvious-the fragrance that surrounds you and the intricacies that are often lost striving for perfection.

A male mallard decided it was time to cross the road and wouldn’t budge for the threat of a car passing. A bluebird found its spot on a fence and serenaded me. I could smell wisteria and honeysuckle.

The remnants of the lake shined like a great expanse of white light as the sun rose higher into the pale morning sky. There is a silence, the cool blues of the lake become soft and transparent like a gas floating above the landscape.

In a little less than a half hour, the light and colors change from brilliant blues and greens to pale yellows and shimmering golds. The shadows reach across the landscape only to be softened and faded out as the sun dominates the horizon.

These are the moments we miss-those bits of perfection that are given so freely to us everyday and yet it is so easy to pass them indifferently. We are always in such a hurry, not one sunrise is a given and yet we take most for granted.

It is why artists paint, why sculptors sculpt, it is the intangible feeling of perfection and majesty that we seek. How quickly and sadly we miss this spectacle that will never be duplicated, so enjoy each day with a passion-suck the marrow out of every day, out of every breath, live as if this was your last sunrise…oh and probably bring a camera, just in case.

Lemon tree blooming – I planted a lemon seed…thirteen years ago plus. My wife at the time said you can’t grow lemons in Texas-see previous article-You can’t grow lemons in Texas! That article was in 2014, I think it is very strange that last spring I made a statement that I would not expect lemons from this tree as I had only noticed one flower in the life of the plant-green leaves never finding their true purpose.

In a time when I have recently truly begun finding my niche in the creative spectrum; websites, writing and the world of social media-the leaves of the lemon tree finally have found their purpose.

Not just one single flower, twelve bold white blooms, just as I was putting the tree out for its spring debut. It is 2015 and something deep inside the plant has just suddenly decided it was time to bloom.

I put the rather large awkward pot out on the patio and was sad that no one could share my excitement. Thirteen years, watching, neutering this plant and finally the possibility of fruit

..a purpose.

I have since watched them burst with a fragrance sweet like honeysuckle but no lemons as of yet. It’s the possibility, the chance at lemons that to me is quite excitement and hopeful.

So who cares about a bunch of flowers that may never even be replaced with fruit. This is my whole purpose for this series of writing, besides my love and interest for nature it is the idea of possibilities, the thought of finding purpose in that which often is seen as impossible or at least unlikely.

To me this is a great metaphor of life, never give up on the possibility, it is possibility that creates opportunity. Never stop thinking of what you can do and start actively ignoring that little thought in the back of your mind…”you can’t”, “you won’t”, “you shouldn’t.”

The voice in the back of your mind is the voice of reason, of logic and
although important aspects of ones’ life have nothing to do with truly succeeding at the impossible.

A bumble bee shouldn’t fly, if science, reason and logic pertained to its structure and makeup it would be sequestered to the ground. That same bumble bee might pollinate the flowers on the thirteen year old lemon tree and finally disprove that voice of logic and reason, “You can’t grow lemons in Texas.”

https://artbygordon.blogspot.com/2015/04/

Phone Photography: I was at Lake Texoma yesterday and I captured the standard Texas image I guess, the states’ harbinger of spring; the blue bonnet. I used the only photographic device I had, my phone, my ancient dinosaur phone. The answer to the question of what’s so great about not so great photography, perhaps the freedom from expectation and the enjoyment of playing with an image.

While my son and my family all have Iphones, I have an ancient phone which once it becomes retro, a word I’ve learned recently that no one uses, I will be the talk of the town.

The bad news is, don’t expect anything wonderful, as far as photography, from a device with all the greatest expectation may be able to deliver a decent snapshot.

With the use of computer manipulation the snapshot becomes a piece of art. I guess art is limited only by its expectations. There is something enjoyable to enjoy the act of photography without any fear or expectation and than to play with the image to create something that captures not only the moment but even perhaps shows something cliché in a new perspective. I will let the viewer be the judge.

View from a kayak – This will probably be my next painting. I am working on getting back to the simplicity and beauty of water and how light reacts on its surface and even more important through its depths. It’s been a long time since we have kayaked and today we broke a streak.

Unfortunately, didn’t break the streak of being skunked. Smallmouth bass are sitting on the bottom laughing at the hapless fishermen as we speak. But this post is not about fishing or painting-it’s about being out there.

It was truly an amazing day. The sky was brilliant blue, the redbuds and bradford pear competing to be noticed. We didn’t even rush to get the kayaks out, there was plenty of time to just enjoy being there.

We threw crank baits and tubes, slabs and even some topwater and the fish wouldn’t budge. In fact we didn’t mark many fish on the fish finder. We paddled, we paddled and paddled some more and even though the 54° water filled the back of my boat and we fought the wind for several hours nothing mattered than the feeling of being emerged in the beautiful scenery.

I remembered what I didn’t like about kayaking, the stiff legs, awkward tangling of lines but more than this I realized what I missed. First, my son and nephew enjoying themselves, my brother and I throwing jokes and thoughts back and forth.

I remembered what I have been missing in painting the brilliance of water, the smells and the colors of spring stirred memories. In some areas the rocks and pristine blue-green water looked like how I envision Greece and its rocky white cliffs against the Aegean.

The exploration of another two miles of the lake makes me realize just how many more open areas and hidden bits of paradise that are just waiting to be discovered. By car or by kayak I am excited about starting the journey to bring words and pix from all the faraway places, even those that aren’t so far away.

So much to learn, so little time. I have worked feverishly to learn as much as I can and use the marketing tools that are more easily available and affordable than ever. My thought is before showing your art; build an audience to show to.

I have learned that you can’t fake social media. It’s not something you can throw out a like or two, connect a little, stay outside the crowd and give a comment now and than.

Why Social Media?

The point of social media is to connect, really connect with people, customers and friends who may know other customers and other friends. It replaces the coffee shop where every one goes and tries to be social and ends up isolated behind a laptop.

If you spam, you will be rewarded with a big slap down from the powers that be. Spam is more than just sending out stuff that no one needs, it’s trying to build connections based on your needs and not whom you are connecting with.

Engagement

Likes are very common but comments and interaction, that’s a very different thing. How do you resonate with a group of strangers and make them friends instead of strangers. You connect with honesty, you show them that what they are doing is important to you and you share and share more.

If you think your doing yourself a favor connecting with multiple tweeters, this is where spam has an open door. Your numbers of followers will grow quickly but so will your spam files.

Connect with genuine like-minded people with some of the same interests as you. Choose your followers and whom you follow wisely, all tweet followers are not the same.

Results

Shares and plus 1s have replaced the likes and the random follower now and than. You can then learn more about the people you connect with.  I have been invited to join more groups and have had some wonderful conversation back and forth.

I have also learned the idea of SEO optimization-you better get the words out you are there and the only way is tag, tag and tag some more with words that are proven that people are searching for. Ask yourself why other artists dominate the Google search and learn from them.

I have just updated my website-something that has needed to be done for quite a while. It was created in wordpress and I am enjoying not only the increased functionality of available development tools but also I am being able to streamline all of my social media avenues through the site.

Building a Brand

This is all about building a brand. Build something that connects all of your media, improve how the Internet finds you and make sure when some one does find you; you are available to connect, yes truly connect. Next blog post, positives and negatives of building a store and what exactly that entails. Please stay tuned.

For other Articles about this subject

Social media-no substitute