A few more from Jackson Hole!

Some pics from a quick trip to Jackson Hole!

This beautiful mother grizzly is known as No. 399. She is known for raising her cubs near the Jackson Lake area in Jackson Hole. Some think she raises them there because she knows it is more populated and thus less likely to have male grizzlies frequenting the area. The males are dangerous to cubs. I had a great evening and then the following morning of watching and photographing this awesome family of bears.

A few new paintings!

" The Wanderers Come Home "

" Looking For Spring "

" A Passing Visit "

Hi again, oh so neglected blog. Here are a few new paintings, two of which were inspired by our trip to Devon and Cornwall last summer. The sheep in the doorway belong to our neighbor down the road. We pass them often, and they like to stand in the doorway of the barn watching the passersby. But I think that about February, they are just looking out wondering when this darn cold weather is going to be done.

Our painting trip to Southwest England!

With spring showing intermittent signs of actually coming here in Midway, I keep thinking about our trip to Devon and Cornwall in England last year in late May/June. I thought I'd share a few of the studies I did on the trip. We found very reasonable cottages on farms and in villages where we stayed for a week at a time. It turned out to be our favorite trip ever, I think. It is so nice to take enough time in one place to get to know people and get a feel for the life there. The area called Dartmoor is a national park in Devon. It is covered with high wild moors and beautifully preserved villages tucked in the valleys. Nearly all the roads are single lane lined by rock walls and hedges. The farms are beautifully kept and the villages are ancient rock with many thatched roofs. Wild ponies and cows and sheep wander not only the moors but also the roads and village squares. We met many wonderful local people who took us in and showed us their farms and let me paint and photograph as I pleased. We spent one of the weeks on a farm on the Cornwall coast and attended the huge Royal Cornwall Agricultural Show for two or three days. All the horses and farm animals I could ever want to see. It was a dream for an artist that loves rural life. There is really something very special about the way the English love their history and their countryside and it's way of life. As I've always tried to convey in my art, just having the chance to be around farms and the rural lifestyle has a wonderful way of bringing peace and helping us appreciate our natural connection to nature and the earth. These places help us remember that our lives depend on what we grow in the fields and how we need a healthy vibrant countryside to have a healthy vibrant country. I hope to go back to Devon and Cornwall someday soon. There will definitely be more paintings coming of the people and countryside there.

Some recent paintings!

Smile!

"Follow Me" by Robert Duncan 2010

“A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside. ”

Dennis Waitley (born 1933);writer

"December in the Country"

This is a painting I finished recently. Last December Linda and I spent ten days or so just before Christmas in Vermont. Just as we arrived, a beautiful snow storm hit, turning Vermont into a storybook Country Christmas. We had the chance to stay with our friends, the Dunkle Family, near the beautiful village of Tunbridge. This painting looks down on the farm next to the Dunkles and their farm just in the backround. The whole scene struck me as an ideal scene of " December in the Country ", with all the attendant memories that many of us have of pulling our sled and gathering brothers, sisters and friends, along with the dogs and heading to the nearest hill to race down through the snow. Now we do it with lots of grandkids. Good times!

I've been painting Vermont quite a bit over the last few years and love having an excuse to spend time there. I've always felt that we can save the things we really love, for future generations if we really make our mind up to do whatever it takes and pay whatever price we have to, if it is worth it. And Vermont represents to me a place where people have tried to do that. They seem to have decided that small farms and small villages and the country lifestyle were worth holding onto, and worth passing on to generations to come. So they've paid the price of not having a Walmart in every nearby town and not taking the best offer from every developer that wanted to plant the newest Country Acres Subdivision. And I admire them for it. It is cold, hard place in the winter, but I have met some wonderful warm people there and I'm grateful for them and all those who work so hard to keep small farms and small towns alive.

Merry Christmas and thanks to all who support the arts! And thanks to the Dunkles for the wonderful hospitality last December.