Falcon Tree

Friends;
There is only one other time in recent years that I have attempted what I like to call 'a ballad in oils'. Gratefully, the last one ('Amanda's Rainbow') was appreciated and now resides in the Little Log Church Museum of Yachats, Oregon. What brought me to do this one is similar in the sense of the unanticipated circumstances that led to being there, learning the story, physically and emotionally knowing it, and in the end – finding out even more.

The ballad of the Falcon Tree embodies many stories. These have to do with the losses of two dearly-loved mothers (including my own), the birth of a child, return of the umbilical cord to an embracing natural shelter, the writing of a poem, writings of a famous author and countless walks through this beautiful, little coastal valley taken by those sensitive to the spirituality of nature.

I've struggled with how to share all of those stories with you as I pass on the image of this painting, and decided that it is not possible. And perhaps some privacy in the most important of matters is worth honoring. But I will say that the whole experience has moved me deeply precisely because of the unplanned and unanticipated way that it all played out. I hope that you can enjoy a bit of that with this painting.

In a way, my Falcon Tree is also already in a museum – although in photograph version. This is something I learned this after I had begun the painting and after having read Steinbeck's book "Pastures of Heaven". I recommend that if you find yourself in Salinas someday, go to the Steinbeck Museum and visit his house. You might find the evidence that John Steinbeck loved the Falcon Tree as well, and recorded at least one visit there with a camera.

Be open to magic. It happens.

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