It's been a cold winter

This is my catfish tank... iced over and buried in snow. Yes, we had snow in Elgin and three days of cold that did not get above freezing. But eventually the sun came out and everything thawed out and my catfish survived. They are pretty hardy. Now if they can survive the Texas heat this spring. Hopefully, they'll be eaten before the summer and I'll replace them with Tilapia.

I have also managed to keep my tomato plants alive. I try to start seedlings in January in zip lock bags over our wood burning stove. Germination happens fast. Then I put them in cups and move them to the greenhouse. Normally I don't heat the greenhouse but this winter has been so cold I taped a piece of clear plastic over my shelf that the seedlings sit on and put four clip on lights underneath the shelf. I have a thermometer that reads the temp in the greenhouse and an extention that reads the temp under the plastic tent. The coldest it got under the tent was 34 degrees F so everything has survived so far. Another month and I will set these little babies out in the garden.

These are the plants growing aquaponically in my greenhouse. They are doing really well and I noticed today that my first head is forming on a broccoli plant. Pretty soon we will have some veggies to harvast, kale, lettuce, chard and broccoli. I even have a tomato plant that I took a cutting of and stuck in the gravel. It rooted and has been growing and I have a tiny bud on it. Maybe I'll get some early tomatos.

Aquaponics: i'm up and running

I got half of my grow beds up and running. The timer is working filling the grow beds every 1-1/2 hours and draining back into my two ump tanks. I have a couple of leaks I am trying to figure out how to fix without having to drain everything but they are not too big.

I planted some cuttings from our tomato and basil that were in my test beds. I also have planted lettuce, kale, broccoli and swiss chard seeds.

Aquaponics Update

I haven't been painting this week. Since I go back to work part time next Tuesday, I was really wanting to get my aquaponics system up and running before I go back to work. So I have been working on it full time this week. I am making progress.

I finished burying my bathtub/sump tank.

I decided to move the fish tank out side as I think I will have less problems keeping it hot. I painted all my barrels to retard algae growth and laid them out and got the drains plumbed.

I have just about finished installing the overflows. It is a pipe within a pipe.

I made a trip to get a truck load of gravel and tomorrow hope to wash it and fill up the grow beds. Then I have to plumb the supply water, and overflow from the fish tank back to the sump tank and I should be ready to add plants and fish.

Aquaponics

I am finally starting my aquaponics system. I have had a very small test system going for several months in a couple of 18 gallon totes hooked up to my goldfish pond with a flood and drain on a timer. I have pretty good success having grown some really nice basil, a bit of tomato, green beans and radishes. It was good enough for my lovely wife to give me the go ahead for a full blown system.

I have an old barn and I turned part of it into a green house replacing some of the tin with clear poly panels, It already had the south wall full of windows so I think there will be plenty of light. I have purchased a 300 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank for the fish tank for $220.00 which will sit on the floor in the corner. My sister-in-law scored 8-55 gallon white barrels for free that she gave me. We sawed these in halve horizontally with a skill saw. I plan to bolt these together and sit them on the floor in a row on each side of the greenhouse. I can get in about 12 or 13 half barrels.

Outside the greenhouse I am burying an old bathtub I got for free from a friend. This will be the sump tank and the lowest point in the system.

The greenhouse has a pretty step slope poured into the slab ( the previous owners used it for a kennel, it even has a drain. :) So the ST will have a pump in it, which will be on a timer and fill up the FT. The water will drain by gravity into the grow beds then drain by gravity back into the ST.

I have been working on finishing up the green house and plumbing up the barrels and burying the bath tub.

I drilled a 3/4" hole out of the bung on the barrels as it already has threads for a 3/4 adapter. I glued a 1" coupler on the inside using gutter cement. I will use 1" inner pipe with a 2" outer pipe for the stand pipe and overflow. The drains for the growbeds will step down from 1" to 3/4" PVC.

The supply from the FT will be 1/2" PVC.

Once I get everything plumbed I will go fetch some pea gravel for the grow medium. I will mix in some of the gravel from my existing grow beds which should help it cycle quicker, no?

I may just start with a bunch of gold fish or make a trip to a local fish farm for some channel cats.

BIG HALF PRICE ART SALE

To celebrate my retirement I am having a big party and art sale on Saturday, 18 September 2010. If you can't come to the party and still want to take part in the art sale here is a link to the price list.

If you live out of town I'd be happy to ship a painting but you would be responsible for the shipping and handling costs.

If you would like to buy something let me know or show up to the party.

A couple of pieces won't be at the party because they are in the Diocese of Austin Fine Arts Council exhibit which opens next Thursday, 16 September 2010. The two pieces are Marian Garden and Joyful Mystery #4: The Presentation.

Also note that two paintings just got accepted in an exhibit in Philadelphia and will be traveling for October and November but are still for sale. Those two paintings are The Rich Fool and Knock, Knock. They'll still be on display for the party but will be leaving soon after. This is the exhibit that Sister Wendy juried.

Retirement

I am retiring from the University of Texas as of September 30 2010. I will take the month of October off then return to work at the same place, doing the same job 19 hours a week. My plan is to get up at roughly the same time, 5:00 am, have my contemplative time then work around the house for a couple of hours and then paint for several hours. Around 11:30am get cleaned, up eat lunch and head off to work from 1:00 to 5:00 pm.

I am really excited to be able to paint every day for several hours. I currently get about 3 hours per week of painting and finish around 10 paintings a year. I should be able to get five times as many paintings done in a year, painting every day. And I think the work will be better and I will gain some momentum. This is the realization of a dream and I am very grateful for the HRC's willingness to let me come back and work part time.

I am having a big retirement party and 50% off art sale on September 18 at 6:30 at our little place in the country. Everybody is invited. If you don't know how to get there shoot me an email.

Exhibition Opportunity

As you know a previous exhibition I had entered put on by The Foundation for Sacred Arts was canceled. By the way, they sent me a refund check for the entry fee, THAT BOUNCED! What's up with this organization?

Anyway, yesterday I got a flyer in the mail and a personal email about another exhibition of Sacred art put on by St. Vincent Gallery in Pennsylvania. So I am entering the work I did for the above failed exhibit plus a couple of other pieces. And the most exciting thing for me is the juror is Sister Wendy Beckett. I am a huge fan of hers and think she will be a great Juror. If you want to enter, the deadline for postmarked entries is Monday.

Always trust in Divine Providence. When one door closes, another opens, although sometimes its a trap door. ha ha.

New Painting: Guilty as Charged

I finished a new painting, "Guilty as Charged", a commission for a friend of mine. This friend commissions one painting a year. The paintings are a spiritual biography of his life, some are past, some are present and some are future. How can you paint the future, you may ask. This friend of my has a prophetic gift, that's how. This is painting number six. The plan is to do 14 all together. It is a fun but challenging project to attempt to but into visual form what is essentially an invisible reality, but to my mind that is what all sacred painting is about.

I think it would be fun to have an exhibit of all 14 paintings once they are complete. Let see that would be in 2019 and I will be 66 years old. Stay tuned!

By the way, the painting is 24"x18" and is oil on canvas.

Art Exhibit Canceled: bummer

I finally got a letter from The Foundation for Sacred Artsin which they let me know that they regrettably canceled the art exhibit I had entered back at the beginning of May. The reason in the letter stated it was for circumstances beyond their control. I emailed the foundation and in their reply they admitted that the circumstances beyond their control was the fact that they did not get enough high quality entries to fill out their exhibit. My guess is that there just aren't that many artist up to the task of doing a work of art based on the Nicene or Apostles creed. I mean, how many of those paintings can you think of off the top of you head that you have seen in the past. Kind of an abstract notion.

Anyway, needless to say I am disappointed that the two paintings I did expressly for this exhibit won't be going to Washington DC. On the other hand, I will put them in a local exhibit at some point.

Just goes to confirm in my mind that it hard to be an artist and harder to be a sacred artist in our day and time. As Mose Allison says, "I'm not complaining, just thinking out loud."

Creator of Heaven and Earth

Here is my latest painting: "Creator of Heaven and Earth". I have entered it in an exhibit (see post below) and am waiting to here back wether I got accepted or not.

The painting depicts the Trinity: Father Son and Holy Spirit as they are thinking up the six days of creation. Each day is within a circle. The first three days are about creating order by division: dividing light from darkness, the waters above from the waters below and dividing the land from the water. The next three days are about populating the previous three days divisions: the sun and the moon for the dark and the light, the birds for the sky and the fish for the waters and lastly animals and man for the land.

I'll let you know when I get the notice about the exhibit, which will be
Washington, D.C., by the way.

New Painting: Under Pontius Pilate

I have been working on a couple of paintings in hopes of finishing them in time for a competition. The exhibit is called "I Believe: The Creed in Art". You can find out more about it here. It is sponsored by The Foundation for Sacred Arts which I know nothing about except what is on their web page. Most of the artists they showcase have a very traditional, almost Renaissance kind of style, so they may not be too keen on my more primitive/medieval inspired style but I am desiring to enter the show anyway.

The painting above is based on the part of the creed "...he was crucified under Pontius Pilate. Pilate is shown washing his hands to the right side of Jesus. I have pictured him as a white suited, modern politician. His Admin. Assistant is helping him wash his hands of the whole affair. On the other side is the Blessed Virgin Mary and John. I have always been fascinated that the scriptures say the sky turned black during the crucifixion so I have it look like night.

I'll post the other painting I am working on for this exhibit when it is done. The deadline is May 1 so I am running out of time.

I Will Make All Things New

Happy Easter!

Maundy Thursday

An old painting of mine called "Judas Kiss" in honor of Maunday Thursday.

Diocese of Austin Sacred Art Gallery: Third Exhibit

If you haven't been to one of the exhibits at the Diocese of Austin's Sacred Art Gallery now is a good time to go. Their third exhibit just opened and will be up until August. I have one piece in the exhibit: "Portrait of You as the Good Samaritan" Check it out! Here is a link to the online exhibit.

The address is:

Pastoral Center at 6225 E. Hwy 290 Austin, TX

Beauchamp's Exhibit

I am going to have one painting in an exhibit at Beauchamp's, an art gallery in Topeka, Kansas (3113 SW Huntoon). The exhibit will begin on March 24th with the official opening on April 2. The show runs until May 4. The painting in the exhibit is Joyful Mystery #5: Jesus in the Temple.

For a bigger image go here.

Joyful Mystery #4: The Presentation

I finished this painting I have been working on-Joyful Mystery #4: The Presentation. It is the 5th one in the Rosary series I am doing. This completes the Joyful mysteries. I think I will start work on the Sorrowful Mysteries next.

This paintings show Joseph, Mary and Jesus fulfilling the requirements of the Jewish law for a women who has given birth to a first born son. Part purification ritual and also the buying back of the son. The law required a sacrifice, two doves if you couldn't afford the more expensive lamb. Joseph is holding the doves while Mary is handing Jesus to Simeon, an old man who has been waiting to see the Messiah. Upon seeing Jesus he says, what the church calls the Nunc Dimittis. Part of the Nunc Dimittis prophecies that a sword shall pierce Mary's heart. I show the sacred heart of Mary in stain glass behind the scene. We also see Anna, a widow who has served in the temple for many years. The feast of the presentation is celebrated on February 2nd and is also known as Candlemas. It is the day that all of the candles to be used in the coming year are blessed. So I have Anna carrying a candle.

Oddly, Candlemas somehow was transformed into Groundhog day in the United States.

Feast of the Baptism of Jesus

In honor of the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus I am posting an old painting I did of the subject.

Art Exhibit

I am having a small exhibit: 9 new paintings at Seton Cove Retreat Center. The paintings are in their reception are and in the meeting room. They are open m-f from 8-5. Here is their contact info:
Seton Cove
3708 Crawford Street
Austin, TX 78731-6308
(512) 451-0272

Map

and their web site: Seton Cove

The show is up now and will be on display through February.

New painting: Divine Mercy

A new painting based on the revelations of Saint Faustina concerning Divine Mercy. If you want to know more about Divine Mercy go Here.

What I read in 2009

It's that time of year again to look back and see what I read. Here is the list, not in any particular order:


1. Firestar by Michael Flynn
2. The Christian Philosophy Of St Thomas Aquinas by Gilson, Etienne
3. Andy Catlett: Early Travels (Port William) by Wendell Berry
4. Rain Gods: A Novel by James Lee Burke
5. Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford
6. Schoenstatt's instrument spirituality by Joseph Kentenich
7. The Alchemy of Paint: Art, Science and Secrets from the Middle Ages by Spike Bucklow
8. The Hunters: A Novel by James Salter
9. Hannah Coulter: A Novel (Port William) by Wendell berry
10. Relentless: A Novel by Dean Koontz
11. Hotel Du Lac by Anita Brookner
12. Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
13. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (Harper Perrennial Modern Classics) by Annie Dillard
14. Guide for the Perplexed by E. F. Schumacher
15. The Scarecrow Michael Connelly
16. How to Read a Book (A Touchstone book) by Mortimer Adler
17. The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer (Bantam Spectra Book) by Neal Stephenson
18. Fire in the City: Savonarola and the Struggle for the Soul of Renaissance Florence by Lauro Martines
19. Medici Money: Banking, Metaphysics, and Art in Fifteenth-Century Florence (Enterprise) by Tim Parks
20. Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture Ross King
21. The Beekeeper's Apprentice: Or On the Segregation of the Queen/A Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes (Mary Russell Novels) Laurie King
22. The Vindication of Tradition: The 1983 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities Jaroslav Pelikan
23. The Brass Verdict: A Novel Michael Connelly
24. Night and Day by Robert B. Parker
25. Dean's List by Jon Hassler
26. Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long by Eliot Coleman
27. Dead and Dying Angels (The Dos Cruces Trilogy) James Mangum
28. The Shack by William P. Young
29. Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) by Stephenie Meyer
30. Rough Weather by Robert B. Parker
31. How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine by John Jeavons
32. Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series) by Steve Solomon
33. What Happened at Vatican II by John O’Malley
34. Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish
35. Sepharad by Antonio Munoz Molina
36. Second Nature: A Gardener's Education by Michael Pollan
37. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
38. The Kitchen Madonna by Rumer Godden
39. The Seville Communion by Arturo Perez-Reverte
40. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.) by Barbara Kingsolver
41. Sister of Wisdom: St. Hildegard's Theology of the Feminine by Barbara Newman
42. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
43. A Rulebook for Arguments by Anthony Weston

I had a couple of themes going: I read several gardening books during the worst drought in my entire life. The reading was great but the weather discouraging. Maybe I'll give the serious garden another try this spring since we are have a ton of rain this winter.

Florence, Italy was another theme. I am hoping to go to Italy someday and began some basic history reading.

I indulged my guilty pleasure of crime fiction with my standard authors: Connelly, Parker and Burke.

I discovered the novels of Wendell Berry. Maybe the timing is just right but these books really resonate with me on a very deep level. I have checked out a bunch more to read over the holidays and am looking forward to it.

Re-read a couple of favorites: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and Brideshead Revisited, both terrific. Brideshead is in my shortlist of all time favorite books.

I also read two vampire books this year- my first ever and probably the last- although one should never say never. Not my cup of tea.

Overall a satisfying year of reading and again I give thanks for the library without which I would not be able to read near as much.