Primping

I have the most beautiful female cardinals in the woods behind my house. The orange accents on the beak and tail remind me of the bright lipstick that Taylor Swift always wears. This morning I got to watch a young one primping on the branch of the willow tree at the edge of my yard. It was really special to watch all the different moves she had as she fluffed and primped. I got my camera and snapped several photos. See what you think!

Definitely Poetry in Motion!!

 

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

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Inspiration Unchecked

Inspiration lies within and must get out

Not something one can help it is always there

Expression occurs in many ways

Some on planted buildings others on rolling trains

A work of unbridled inspiration

That under great pressure forms art

Of rich beauty appreciated by some

Unique and expressive it tells the world

Look Look I am here I have something to say

I matter

 

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday Visitors

A new swallowtail came by today. It is different from the one I had a couple of weeks ago. That one had a chunk out of its wingtip. It was interesting to watch as it flitted from flower to flower. The sun was washing out some of the yellow in its wings but they are still beautiful.

Along with the swallowtail were a little flock of finches that stopped to eat at my feeder.

The bumble bee has been steadily working on the Cosmos flowers in my garden.

 

 

 

 

Words

Words Last Forever

Some words are remembered forever

Tattooed on our mind

Words of resolve…”We the People…”

Words backed by commitment sacrifice and death

Words connect to the heart

“I Love you” spoken for the first time

Remembered forever in our mind

“It was the best of times It was the worst of times”

Introductions to stories we will never forget

Words of compassion for the loss of a loved one

Create a bond that remains to the end

“Four score and seven years ago…”

Lincoln’s address at Gettysburg

Honored those who died in that bloody conflict

Words never spoken are also remembered

Parents who never said “I love you”

Regrets for a lifetime once they have passed

Words of degradation and meant to hurt

Embedded like splinters in the brain

Chronic irritations that never go away

But can be forgiven

The importance of our words is

A great responsibility that changes lives

What kind of words do you impart

Words of hurt or words of hope

Make the world a better place

With words that build encourage and help

Bring people together

Words of healing and forgiveness

Bringing life and light to all

Fall Iris Blooming

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

 

Letters From Trenton

Can you imagine the stories that were told after General George Washington defeated the British at the Battle of Trenton?  His small band of revolutionary soldiers crossed the icy Deleware River on that cold Christmas eve to catch the British off guard. There was no public media back then. Just the town crier. They did have a post office of sorts and mailed letters told the stories.

I find that personal mail in an envelope with a stamp on it far outweighs any social media communications. Our Grandchildren and their children will probably look at our cursive writing like we do Old English writing of our great grandparents.

This is a project I worked on this week. The theme of the stamp art above evolved from the photo in the middle which also happens to have a set of stamps embedded in the picture. An interesting thing I discovered is that other countries like to create stamps that have special events, US  Presidents, or British kings on them.  The two big stamps on this one are like that. On this one I tried to include many famous US people from the past. I have three more of the patriotic theme stamps in this set that I hope to work on in the coming weeks. The set of four large stamps sets were stuck together and slightly damaged, so they could not be sold as prime condition. I soaked them in a pan of water and a little dish soap and they came apart without too much difficulty.

Stamp Art: Dwight L. Roth

Clay

Sometimes it takes a lifetime to shape us into the person we need to become. In the marriage relationship both partners at times want to shape the other person into their idea of what works for them. It usually does not work. We bump and grind until the rough edges are worn away. Some don’t make it. Those who do find that over time and with interaction a polishing effect takes away some of the harshness of demanding their own way. This poems attempts to illustrate that evolution.

My Own Piece of Clay

From the day we are born

Our crying screams

Change everyone’s lives

Shape everyone’s dreams

Demanding care for our wants and needs

Life is a struggle between two lumps of clay

Shaping each other in their own way

Shaping them into their own image

What a shock to find how fragilely we slip

Our crumbling creations in tightly held grip

Crushed by selfish lack of understanding

Fragile Egos like dust in the grinder

We are really hard rocks in a tumbler

Rolling and tossing against one another

Bumping and grinding smoothing and shaping

Letting the chips fall

Finally after a lifetime of interaction

The gems we have become hold our attraction

Full of beauty, our own true shining colors

Jewels for the crown of our creator

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(Adapted from a song by Marvin Gay)

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

 

 

Back to Basics

Did you ever have a painting that was OK but just did not feel right. That was the case with this painting of downtown Waxhaw, NC. I painted this one about six months ago. Something in the original picture was not working for me, so I put it back on the easel and began revising. I enlarged and added more color to the Crape Myrtles and lightened up the hedge and center trees.  I pushed the center trees back toward the water tower. The foreground grass and hedge gave me a hard time. They were just not coming out right. Then I began to think back to my many views of Bob Ross and the way he did his paintings. It needed some black. When I began to apply some of those basic fundamentals things began to come together.

Originally I was painting from a photo I took. It rarely works. I was trying to paint to exactly like the photo and it did not work.  You must paint the picture not the photograph. The painting will let you know what works. If it is not exactly like the photo it does not matter. This is the end result. I feel much better with this one.

Dwight L. Roth

Irma’s Wrath

Irma’s Wrath

Wonder what ran through her mind

As Irma rumbled west from Africa

Temperature rising as she remembered

All the ways man takes no thought for tomorrow

Wasting precious resources fighting for more

Cutting down the rainforest that cooled a continent

Ravaging the land in search of precious Gold

Nature’s fury became Irma’s wrath

Barreling across hot waters in the Atlantic

Running like a firewalker across hot coals

Building up steam as she thought of all the trees

Raging at the thought of a throw-away society

Living beyond its means always expecting more

Irma thought of the houses built on the sand

Knowing she could whip them away in an instant

With the tail of a giant dragon spewing water-fire

Reaching islands’ land fall she ripped up trees thinking

Some men think they are God in control of their lives

I’ll show them what pawns they are as they run for their lives

Queen Irma the Terrible rode the back of Cuba

Like a bronco buster on an unbroken horse

An eight-second ride with an exponent of five-hundred

Chasing Floridians on interstates like the running of the bulls

Snorting Irma raging on their tails as they fled

Switching up from an end run to go right up the middle

Stripping the coast bare like a ravaged whore

Leaving nothing but scars and devastation left for dead

Having her way she moved north running out of steam

Switching plays once again as she drives to the left

Leaving only heavy breathing and tears of remorse

Is there any forgiveness for Irma?

Perhaps temporary insanity!

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Picture: Clipartbest.com

A Classic Pair

A Classic Pair

Shiny Model A preserved for the future

Spoke wheels and wide whitewalls

Green the color of money

Costing more to restore

Than the eight hundred dollars

It cost when new many years ago

I’ve heard we are only as old as we think

Well preserved just like his car he smiles

With a beauty like that he must be quite young

Remembering days gone by

With a sweet lady riding beside him

Motor purring just like his

Days at auto shows nights of cruising

Proud to show off both the lady and the car

Riding together behind the marching bands

Christmas Thanksgiving and Fourth of July

What stories they both could tell

But then again some are better left unsaid

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Classic Pair Photos: Stacey Strawn

*This poem is totally fiction and not intended to depict anyone in particular

 

Wake up to Flowers

How do you display large format art? This has been a challenge for me. I love painting large canvases. They make a wonderful statement when completed. The size along with the picture makes one have to stop and take notice. It is hard to walk by a big painting and not see it. I found there are a few ways that can work. I have put some in the local cultural arts center to hang for a month or two. Recently I was able to hang some 4’x5′ canvases in an old stairwell in Waxhaw, where people go up and down daily to work. The painting shown her is hanging above my bed. It serves as my headboard and more. Each morning it is a joy to open my eyes and see the beautiful mountain and the flowers along the river. Be creative and you can come up with interesting ways to display your big canvases.

Wake up to Flowers

What do you do with a painting so huge

That an average space just won’t do

You might put it in a closet out of sight

But hiding a painting that’s just not right

How about on the ceiling nice and high

Where people could enjoy it as they walk by

We would have a lot of stiff-necked people

And most would probably ignore it

Maybe hang it outside like a giant mural

Where the sun could devour make the paint curl

Not such a good idea

Perhaps we need a better media

Where do you hang a painting so huge

With an answer for you I have two

Hang them in the stairwell in a building down town

So everyone can enjoy them as they go up and down

I have one hanging high above my bed

And each morning when I raise from the dead

I’m in the mountains along a bubbling stream

Lying in a bed of flowers just above my dreams

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Mountain Scene Acrylic Painting: Dwight L. Roth