Anniversary...a Touchstone of Recovery


15 yrs without mindaltering substances today...thankful for life today and all the people in it, even those with which I don't see eye to eye...only though a program of Recovery has it been possible.

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What Has Worked;

Hut for a Blue Tractor and a Red Grass-Cutter

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     Many of these farm structures that I live around out here in Central Virginia near Lovingston are made from wood that has been recycled from earlier farm buildings.   I am almost certain that a lot if it may just go back to the early days of European settlers locating here in Schuyler.   One can just take a quick look and even without carbon-dating one can see that the wood is old and weathered by the elements.   It is very heavy older hardwood that these folks used in making their farm structures.   One can also see how the buildings were shaped for the needs of the farm at a time and then torn down but not discarded but reused again for another purpose..   The sizes of the buildings are small.   They may house one farm implement or two but they are not like those northern Atlantic barns that have lofts and large areas for animals, these buildings are built to suite a single purpose and generally aren'...
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Ending for a While; But I'll Be Back!!

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Many paintings have been posted this past year of 2016 as I completed them, but that time has come to a new vista, I am putting away the oils for a while so I can concentrate on my other job of working with students with various degrees of disabilities. Or what's better known in the trade as my 'day job' that's the one that pays the bills and is meaningful in other ways as well. But I'll be back with more as the time get closer to some Holiday times when I am here all by myself with plenty of spare time to use for art. I will be drawing in the meantime and don't fret I will be back, just not right away. In the meantime here is a photo of my path to my river down below my home, a place of solitude and thanks for all the good the God of my Understanding has allowed me to participate in.
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The Barn on the Holland Farm

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    This building had been painted earlier, just not from this angle.   I took a top downward look in this composition in oil.    I liked the perspective of the fence running downhill and swooping around into the back of the barn.   I was thinking that I had made an error in judgement when I painted the one side of the barn in shadow, but after working moreso I saw that it seemed to work since the shade is marked with details of the wooden doors, and other details worked out in blues and dark browns.   As they say, getting some distance by letting it sit for a while without me looking at it allowed me to really see that what I had done was ok in fact it worked pretty well.       I feel that this canvas is successful, but its one that a person needs to take a good look at what one is seeing before deciding if it works as a work of art or not.   You don't want to just gloss over it with a quick ...
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Kidd's Store

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Kid's Store is a spot in the vase farmland just east of Scottsville. Its a small country=store that serves the farmers and those who live in the central Virginia area. The owners aren't comfortable with sharing their bathrooms with those who end up there when headed to Scottsville from Fork Union. Perhaps one ought not to be looking for such accommodations but the store does have snacks. That's what its there for after all, people ought to take care of themselves before traveling anyway so.... Its a cool looking place, and as far as snacks they have it made in the shade. And its good for gasoline too.
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Moving to Schuyler Soon

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I haven't had the time to do much lately I must confess, I've either been sick with the flue or dealing with the move to a new house. The house is the good part, south of town about thirty miles, far enough away to be remote yet close enough to still make use of the cultural benefits of the city. It's a wish I had long ago when I lived in this part of the world but I didn't have the knowledge, resources or skills to live in the country. Then I moved into the little city that Charlottesville is and have stayed for many years but now it's time to move back. And now I have the ability to be successful in the world of the Walton's hometown. I hope they welcome me. I will be on my best behavior.
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