Seventeen

I woke last night to the sound of thunder.

And, it's still raining. While it's difficult to keep perspective on this, I do have to remind myself that we've basically been in a drought for the past three years. God's just decided to mount a late-inning rally in order to catch up. Bring it on, I guess.

According to the Weather Channel Girl (with her perfect weather curl), things should start to dry up tomorrow. Which is good, because if it doesn't, we'll soon be completely surrounded by monster toadstools.

As mentioned in the last post, the cancellation of the Greenway Arts Festival postponed my attempts to share with you my newest painting, entitled Seventeen. And, as promised in that same post, I'm sharing it now with you.

Seventeen is a 11 x 15 watercolor painting on Arches 140-pound paper. The painting features 17 brook trout in various spawning colors. The trout portrayed represent the eastern strain of the brookies, the Appalachian variety and one of their monster cousins from Labrador. I had a lot of fun with the color on this one, and while the details were numerous, the resulting work is one of my brightest-colored paintings yet. I hope you enjoy it.

The original painting is for sale for $1100 and I'm in the process of having limited-edition giclee prints made of it as well. The prints will be part of a series of only 100, with each being signed and numbered by me. If you're interested in purchasing the original or one of the prints, please contact me at dsharley12@yahoo.com.

I'm also working on a commissioned painting for a good friend of mine. Anthony caught a really nice rainbow trout during a recent trip to Montana. The fish -- which measured 24 inches long and a gloriously fat 5-inches in width -- made such an impact on Anthony that he asked me to paint it for him. These "catch and release" paintings are always fun for me to do, and if you're ever interested in having me paint one for you, please let me know.

Well, the rain's just stopped. If it dries up a little, I'll get outside and try to mow my mushrooms. There's a lot to do right now ... especially with autumn closing in.

Thinking 'bout building an ark

Over the past few days, Rutherford County has been pounded with rain -- so much so that the Stones River rose nearly 20 feet on Thursday evening. We've had more rain today and are scheduled to continue getting wet weather for the next few days. At various points yesterday, Murfreesboro's greenway system was completely submerged by the overflowing Stones -- including the section near the Thompson Lane trailhead, which was the intended site of the Greenway Arts Festival.

Sadly and reluctantly, the Festival's organizers decided that the only course of action was to cancel tomorrow's event. The ground has been completely saturated with rain, turning it to mush. And, even though the river has receded from its flood levels, it is prone to rise quickly with additional rainfall. Ultimately, the organizers made the right call.

There are no plans to reschedule.

I'm disappointed, but certainly understand the reasons behind the cancellation. While I won't get to reveal my newest painting (Seventeen) to the public in the way I had intended, I will post a copy of it here in the coming days.

This afternoon, a heavy thunderstorm dropped an additional inch of rain on Murfreesboro. As the storm moved on, the sun came out and the conditions became perfect for a rainbow. Well, we got one. Then another one. Double bows. Nice.

While I was snapping a few pictures of the rare site, one of the many hummingbirds who frequent our backyard perched on a branch from a crepe myrtle and took in the multi-colored glow. In between raindrops, I got a cool shot of the inquisitive female.

Greenway Arts Festival this Saturday!

On Saturday, Sept. 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., I'll participate in the 5th annual Greenway Arts Festival in Murfreesboro, Tenn. This cool little one-day event takes place on the Murfreesboro Greenway, located on the banks of the historic Stones River, near the trailhead at Thompson Lane.

Over 60 artists, crafts-people and musicians are scheduled to participate in the event, which normally draws a really good crowd of interested people … as well as a large contingent of those who happened upon the festival while exercising on the Greenway.

As in past years, I plan on showcasing many of my limited-edition giclee prints, but I’ll also have a variety of original paintings – including several which have never been seen by anyone other than me and Betsy.

I’ll also reveal for the first time my latest painting, entitled “Seventeen.” This intensely-colored portrait of 17 brook trout of various sizes, shapes and strains was several months in the making, as the detailed work required many, many hours of pure painting fun. I’m proud of the finished work, and look forward to seeing what everyone else thinks about it.

Please come by my booth – I’ve reserved two spaces this year – and say hi. I’d love to see you!

I’m also very hard at work on redesigning my Web site. Hopefully, I can put down the paint brush – and the fly-rod – long enough in the coming days to finally get it done.

Check out the Pulse

Jeez ... you set up a blog to communicate ... and I haven't been communicating at all. Sorry for the long wait between posts, but I have excuses.

I've been painting quite a bit, and as my friend-and-fellow-artist Alan Folger likes to say, "I've been doing some research." A lot of research, actually. The unseasonably-cool summer has been filled with fishing exploits -- some good, some not-so-good -- and I've probably spent more time on the water than I have in front of my watercolor palette.

The research has been productive however, as the fishing has inspired some new artwork, including a two-months-in-the-making brook trout painting that involves 17 fish in a 12 x 16 piece of work. The detail was considerable, but the small strokes and constant brush-cleaning were worth the tedious effort. I'm very happy with the painting and plan to reveal it soon ... most probably, at the upcoming Greenway Arts Festival in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

This festival is a one-day deal and it's one of my favorite events in which to participate. For one, it's a very relaxed, informal festival, set on the banks of the historic Stones River in the heart of the Civil War town of Murfreesboro. Secondly, it's held in my hometown, just a few miles from my house. The event is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Thompson Lane Trailhead on the city's fantastic greenway system. This year, I'm planning on showcasing -- and hopefully selling -- more original artwork than I've shown in the past. The limited-edition giclee prints will certainly be offered as well, but I've got some new original pieces that only Betsy and myself have seen. Please stop on by, visit my tent and the tents of the other artists and crafts people in attendance and make the most of this unique festival.

Recently, I was pleasantly surprised to be contacted by the Murfreesboro Pulse newspaper to be the subject of a feature article. Bill Swart, the author of the piece, did a really nice job with the article, titled The Art of Fishing (hey!). He even mentioned my truck, which instantly rocketed the article to my favorite of all time (I love my truck, almost as much as I love my wife, who Bill also mentioned ... but second in the series behind the truck). I'm very thankful for the opportunity to be featured by the Pulse, and I'm also happy to get to know Bill, who is beginning what is hopefully a long and successful career in journalism.