Artistic Release

19 years ago TODAY… I married my soul-mate. In fact, we were married at Muddy Creek Falls, Maryland (depicted here), on the flat rock in the foreground.

 I love ya Tami!

Bernie

A “shout out” to all the mom’s out there! Where would we be without you?

Happy Mother’s Day!

Olivia designed this card…

For Mother’s Day I wanted to paint a special series as a tribute to mom’s everywhere. It was my goal to capture that priceless bond shared by a mother and her child… the special intimacy and unconditional love which is hard to put into words and on canvas. Moms know what I’m trying to say. I chose to cover three master artists for this series whose works, with my own flair, conveyed the mood I was looking for. I call this my “Mother and Child” series. You can see the originals and  larger versions of these paintings if you click on the titles below. Thank you moms!

Mother and Child #1 after Bernardino Luini

Mother and Child #2 after Pablo Picasso

Mother and Child #3 after Gustav Klimt

May God Bless each and every one of you…

Bernie

Last week I took my grandson (Christian, 7) and my youngest daughter (Olivia, 5) to three different family cemeteries where they placed flags on the graves of their grandfathers who were veterans… a Civil War vet, WWI vet, and a WWII vet. You can hardly drive a mile in rural southern US without seeing these family cemeteries. There are nine on the five mile long Kellum Loop Road where I grew up.

I painted these two 6″x8″ (plein air) oils on two separate days at the Kellum Family Cemetery about a month ago. The fall color was in it’s prime for this area. On the day I took the kids I shared several family stories with them and explained  how they each lined up in the family lineage. In fact, on two separate lines I was able to get their picture with their grandparents of five generations back for Christian and four for Olivia. Here they are pictured at the graves of  their veteran ancestors.

Lewis Everette Humphrey, Company K, 61st North Carolina Infantry, CSA, War Between the States. Old Humphrey Family Cemetery, Thomas Humphrey Road, Onslow County, NC.

Raymond Lee Humphrey, 167th Regiment, 42nd US Infantry (Rainbow) Division, WWI. Kellum Family Cemetery, Kellum Loop Road, Onslow County, NC.

Joseph Robert Humphrey, 32nd Regiment, 7th US Infantry Division, WWII. Humphrey Family Cemetery, Clayton Humphrey Road, Onslow County, NC.

I always enjoy walking through cemetries… they are peaceful places to me. The Kellum Cemetery is always a stroll down memory lane for me… I see the graves of many people I knew, respected, and loved. The two different days I stood in the cemetery to paint these works I felt as if I was spending time with friends and family, especially my granddaddy and granny (Raymond and Lessie Humphrey) who I miss dearly. Granddaddy was a proud WWI vet who is the inspiration for our placing the flags every Veterans Day… he always referred to it as Armistice day… most times I still find myself calling it that. My children have been placing these flags since they were little… hopefully they will carry on the tradition. I have confidence they will.

Kellum Family Cemetery #1… 6″x8″ Oil on canvasboard, en plein aire, October 2006.

The painting below shows four graves in the foreground of children (ages 3 to 10) from one family who all died in January and February 1873 of an illness unknown to me. I can’t begin to imagine what that must have been like for the parents… they had one child survive who was two years old at the time… he was my great-great grandfather. Makes you think about how fragile (and valuable) life is…

Kellum Family Cemetery #2… 8″x6″ Oil on canvasboard, en plein aire, October 2006.

In memory of the children of Isaac and Rachel Kellum… Isaac (born February 8, 1863 ~ died January 1873), Daniel (born February 14, 1867 ~ died January 1873), Ezekel (born August 14, 1868 ~ died February 1873), and George (born April 4, 1870 ~ died February 1873). Isaac and Rachel lost two other children at an early age who are buried there as well… Merenda (born November 10, 1858 ~ died December 1863) and Eli (born August 30, 1875 ~ died September 30, 1875). Joseph ( my great-great grandfather) was the only child who survived to reach adulthood (born October 15, 1871 ~ died October 10, 1941). He married Lydia Ramsey and many descendants came from this union… including me, my daughter, and grandson who had a great memory visit with them that cool November day.

 “We shall not cease from exploration, and at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and to know the place for the first time.” ~ TS Elliott

 ”Muddy Creek Falls”… 8″x6″ Oil on canvasboard, painted from a personal photograph, 2006.

Another special spot on earth for me is Swallow Falls State Park in Garrett County, Maryland. As a child I remember going there when we visited Uncle Larry and Aunt June and found myself enchanted by the place with it’s three waterfalls, rushing waters, and meandering paths. It held the same sentiment for Tami as she grew up in Garrett County. It only seemed natural that our “love at first site” romance would “tie the knot” at the park and we did so at the foot of Muddy Creek Falls (the highest falls in Maryland). In fact, we stood on the flat rock at the bottom of the painting with Paster Ray Ursin, Best Woman, Pam Rosage, and Maid of Honor, Joy McCain and exchanged our vows while approximately 40 friends and family looked on. The TS Eliott quote at the top of the page was chosen by us and read at the ceremony… that was almost 20 years ago…

The enchanted spot still holds a special place in our hearts which is now extended to the hearts of our children…

 Bernie

 Weeping Willow… 5″x7″ Oil on canvasboard, October 2006.

I have a friend who shares a fascination, adoration, and love for trees as much as I do… especially the Weeping Willow…. this one is for her… she knows who she is…. wink…

Bernie

Just wanted to send out a “hello” and “keep up the great job” to our brother-in law/uncle Chris and his pards who are in Afghanistan this very minute defending our freedom. Chris is pictured here with his Special Forces group… incognito of course… top secret stuff!

In all seriousness Chris… we love you, we miss you, and we pray for your safety and return home (to Mary, Maggie, and us) as soon as possible.

Bernie, Tami, Dylan, & Olivia

Chris… we’d love to hear any comments from you and your pards… submit in the line directly below this one in the “comments” link….

Here are a couple of paintings that I recently did near my homeplace in Kellum…

Joe’s Pond is a natural pond formed by the Wolf Swamp where I grew up. It’s named after the old timer, Joe Bullock, who owns the property. My brother and I would ride our bikes the one mile trek to the pond and fish almost everyday during the summer breaks from school when we were kids. Days when the biggest problems faced were seeing a cottonmouth or being stung on the foot by a honey bee… to which the latter was always cured by any one of a half dozen aunts in that mile who would rub snuff juice on the sting.

This one was done “en plein aire” at the pond in about 2 1/2 hours…

Joe’s Pond… 9″x12″ Oil on panel, plein air, September 10, 2006.

This is a rural eastern North Carolina scene just down the road from where I grew up. I pass it everyday while taking Livie to school. Old tobacco barns like this haven’t been used in years and are rapidly deteriorating and becoming a thing of the past just like the tobacco crops which have long been replaced with cotton and sod farms.

This one was painted (1 1/2 hours) in the studio form a photograph I took…

Country Lane at the Smith Homeplace… 6″x12″ Oil on panel, October 2006.

Close-ups…

Will return to Livie’s portrait soon… I promise…

Bernie

Today would have been Kristi’s 39th birthday… Every year the family places a tribute in the Daily News as a celebration of her birth and life. Each year a different family member is responsible for the text… this year the honors were Dylan’s.

Our Kristi

 Happy Birthday Kristi!!!!

How could we ever forget….

Let us also remember that God is STILL in control…

The family story has Oscar Lee as the first man to enlist in the military service during World War I from Garrett County, Maryland. Oscar (Pop to family) enlisted in the US Navy with two other friends pictured below… (Oscar on the left). Pop was my wife’s grandfather.

He was a true American hero continuing the legacy set by his forefathers… the “Fighting Lee’s”. His grandfather, Christopher Columbus (C.C.) rose from the rank of private to Captain of Company A, 7th West Virginia Infantry during the Civil War. His great-grandfather, Nicholas, enlisted at the age of 59 in the 3rd Maryland PHB and also fought during the War Between the States. His great-great grandfather, Dudley Lee, fought in the 6th Maryland of the Continental Line during the Revolution and settled in what is now present day Garrett County on a land grant awarded to him for his military service. His ancestors have continued the distinguished line… Oscar’s son, Harry, was KIA in the Korean War. Many of his grandson’s have served honorably in the military service of our country.

Oscar Lee was the recipient of the Navy Cross of Valor for service in World War I. The medal was presented by Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, for the president, on November 11, 1920, for services during the war as set forth in the following letter:

Lee, Oscar H.
Seaman Second Class, U.S. Navy
U.S.S. Wanderer
Date Of Action: April 17, 1918

Citation:
The Navy Cross is awarded to Seaman Second Class Oscar H. Lee, U.S. Navy, for extraordinary heroism as a member of the crew of boats sent out from the U.S.S. Wanderer to the rescue of men from the SS Florence H, which vessel, loaded with explosives, was burned in the harbor of Quiberon on the night of the 17th of April, 1918. Almost immediately after the outbreak of fire the water in the vicinity of Florence H was covered with burning powder boxes, many of which exploded, scattering flames throughout the wreckage. The crews of the Wanderer’s boats drove their boats into the burning mass without thought of danger to themselves and, assisted by boats from the other ships present in the harbor, succeeded in saving the lives of many men who, but for the help so promptly and heroically extended, must have perished in the wreckage.

Oscar Lee’s name is in the Hall of Fame in Washington for his naval activities, and his image is in bronze in the Maryland State Hall of Fame.

I have always been fascinated with the Oakland Railroad Station in my wife’s hometown of Oakland, Maryland. The station was built in 1884 on America’s oldest railroad… the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O). The station’s architect was Francis Baldwin, who designed many B&O stations. No two were alike, but he favored a Queen Anne style, described as made from a kit of medieval and classical parts…enriched , enporched, encolumned….An eclectic extravaganza of delight.” (From the Architecture Book by Norval White)

World War I era Navy recruiting poster…

I wanted to couple the beauty of this historic building with some family history by adding the figure dressed in a WWI US naval uniform (taken from the poster above) representing Tami’s grandfather, Oscar Lee (Pop). Surely Pop would have caught a train from this very station on his way to fight the Hun in 1917.

“Pop Goes to War”… 9″x12″ Oil on canvasboard, August 2006.

Close-ups…

Dedicated to the memory of Oscar Lee and his lovely wife, Anna Lee…