Well since you are reading this column, then we know you have electricity, or at least a battery-powered mobile internet connection, and more than likely you’re not incarcerated. Ergo, you are a person in the world and you see faces all the time.

So to continue our discussion, let’s start with these two images of one man’s face. Can you identify him? Probably he looks kind of familiar to you but you can’t quite dredge up his name. I could tell you his name - Armin Shimerman, and quite likely that brings a thought to some of you. But if I press a few keys on my computer I’ll locate another picture of him to show you …

…well now, that makes all the difference in the world or should I say space, doesn’t it. This is the face of Quark. It is also the face of actor Armin Shimerman after he’s placed himself in the hands of a make-up artist who was employed by the producers of the television series: Deep Space 9.

I  showed you this face so you would all take note of the fact that all of our faces are the results of either the gene pool of our parents and all of their ancestors, or have been enhanced by the work of a skilled surgeon, or like Quark, assembled by the creative imaginations of artists  and technicians of many different kinds.

Braids and Bows by Carrie Ballantyne

Today we will look at a sub-category of the art world called portraits. Just so you can see some more faces. The beauty of these faces is that were created by an artist. Our first artist is Carrie Ballantyne, who grew up in the Los Angeles area. Carrie has said, ” I never tire of the human face, there is nothing more fascinating, for this artist. And the people of the West still intrigue me the most.”

Shantel by Carrie Ballantyne

Her mediums have been graphite pencil, charcoal, and conte crayon. Or she’s used colored pencils on sanded pastel paper.

Colleen by Carrie Ballantyne

Recently, she taken up oil painting. But whatever she’s used the result are so very special.  And one more (below) before we move on to another artist.

Shantel of Shoshone by Carrie Ballantyne

Our next artist is Ann Hanson who was born in Bremerton, Washington, which is about an hour by Ferry across Puget Sound from Seattle. Ann grew up in rural Wyoming.  She’s been working as an artist since 1986. She has said of her work, “The people and scenes I paint are my friends, family and neighbors doing what they do every day. The ‘Wild West’ may be a thing of the past, but cowboys are alive and well here.”

Hombre by Ann Hanson

Fittingly, the first of her works which we shall show you is this cowboy. The painting is called Hombre. You can almost feel the stubble of his beard, and you can see the wear and tear of some of the leather. It is a great piece.

Fiddler by Ann Hanson

The next one is called Fiddler. I’ll bet you can image her right foot tapping, and you can see in your mind’s eye, some sawdust on the floor.

Jennifer by Ann Hanson

Brown Eyes Blue by Ann Hanson

And the last two by Hanson are Jennifer (the blond above top) and Brown Eyes Blue below that one. Hanson’s portraits are rich in color as well as detail. For example, in each of the above, half of the subjects’ faces are in the shadow. And in Jennifer, we can see plenty of dirt and dust from the trails on Jen’s hat.

Kevin Red Star

How about a change of pace? Do you like this portrait by Kevin Red-Star (above). Though it is completely different in style than any of the works on this page, it is no less powerful.

PowWow Singer by James Bama

We now offer two by James Bama who last graced our pages back around Thanksgiving in 2008. Above is PowWow Singer and Below is Young Plains Indian. Note how the paintings are without a background which serves to make the images even more dramatic.

Young Plains Indian by James Bama

Eagle Hawk by M.C.Poulsen

Artist M.C.Poulsen is also noted for the strength and ruggedness of his portraits. He grew up in Wyoming and the open spaces taught him much about life and how it is often harsh. His portraits are reflective of his own trials and the determination it took to get through them. EagleHawk is above. Kindred Spirits is below, as is Mystic Warrior.

Kindred Spirits by M.C.Poulsen

Mystic Warrior by M.C.Poulsen

Don’t Fence Me in by Krystii Melaine

Our last artist in this discussion is Krystii Melaine. Her works aren’t really about faces, Maybe I should rephrase that to say – not really about just faces. In the four Melaine works shown here, each is about a man and a horse.

Appaloosa Horse by Krystii Melaine

Often a man and a horse are inseparable partners. And they just seem to go to together.

Fall Gold by Krystii Melaine

Krystii grew up in Victoria, Australia. Her passion for her art and for life is undeniable. Her works are rich in color and detail, and are full of the vibrancy of the moment.

Storm Front by Krystii Melaine

Well, it’s time to close the topic down. I’ll leave you with this famous image -

That’s Bogie with his co-star in Casablanca, Ingrid Bergman. His words, “Here’s looking at you kid…”

You carve out and clear a swath of land from the forest – back breaking work to say the least – then you struggle to put up a house, capture and save water, and grow a few meager crops. It’s an ongoing battle to keep out rodents, stay warm in the winter, and if you need to go shopping for supplies,  it’s next to impossible, as there’s no nearby shops. Besides that, as I said, you’ve got to worry about those troublesome neighbors on the warpath.

Such is life in upstate New York. In 1757.

Your neighbors are the Redcoats otherwise know as the British who set up a Fort William Henry just south of Lake George. A short two day walk from here. This fort was under the leadership of a Colonel Monro.

Twenty six miles away, at the north end of the lake was Fort Carillon under the leadership of Marquis de Montcalm. This was home to the French troops aka the Bluecoats, your other neighbors.

You see, the French and British were fighting over this part of the North American Colonies. Amidst all this lived still other neighbors who were some tribes of Native Americans, The Delaware, the Ottawas, the Hurons, and the Mohicans. Some of whom aligned with French, some with the British, and some with the settlers, or as they were known at the time, the Colonials.

We now are aware that this period was known as the Seven Years War in European history books, and was called The French and Indian War in American History books. James Fenimore Cooper wrote a novel, published in 1826, about this period called The Last of the Mohicans. While it has remained a standard in American Lit courses, it is more famous for been made into a movie numerous times.

The most recent was the Michael Mann production released in 1992 (cover above) . The stars were Daniel Day Lewis as Hawkeye, and Madeleine Stowe as Cora Munro, with Russell Means as Chingachgook, and Eric Schweig as Uncas.

The movie’s tagline was, The First American Hero. While this film was a real guy’s movie – you know, fast and ferocious action,

rugged outdoors locations,

romance,

as well as passionately heroic figures,

it is also one of a handful of films, where a man born of one race, whether through circumstances created by his own choice, or by events not of his choosing, takes a side, or makes a journey, to join with members of another race.

Nearly at the end of the movie Chingachgook makes a statement:

Chingachgook: The frontier moves with the sun and pushes the Red Man of these wilderness forests in front of it until one day there will be nowhere left. Then our race will be no more, or be not us.
Hawkeye: That is my father’s sadness talking.
Chingachgook: No, it is true. The frontier place is for people like my white son and his woman and their children. And one day there will be no more frontier. And men like you will go too, like the Mohicans. And new people will come, work, struggle. Some will make their life. But once, we were here. 

Hawkeye was the white son adopted by Chingachgook, and lived his life with his Indian family. While all lives are a form of journey, this one was far different than most. And for Nathaniel/Hawkeye his life was far nobler than most.

Another such character was Lt. Nathan Algren played by Tom Cruise, in Edward Zwick’s The Last Samurai (2003). The movie is set in the late 1870′s. Author, photographer, and journalist Simon Graham narrates:

They say Japan was made by a sword. They say the old gods dipped a coral blade into the ocean, and when they pulled it out four perfect drops fell back into the sea, and those drops became the islands of Japan.

Algren was an army officer who was still haunted and struggling over atrocities he and his men committed against Indians in the wars to push the American frontier further and further west. His life has fallen into disrepair.

To atone and to ‘get away from it all’ he is hired by a Japanese businessman, Omura, to come to Japan, and train the Emperor’s troops to quell the last of the Samurai led by Katsumoto,

played by Ken Watanabe.

Of course, Algren is captured by the Samurai and over time, his wounds heal, he learns their ways, and ultimately fights with them against the very troops that he had trained. He too has made a journey to a destination that he had not considered only a short time before.

Of course there is a woman, Taka,

played by the mesmerizing Koyuki,

who will eventually take an interest in Algren.

A marvelous movie, this was again a story of a white man who not only made a long journey halfway across the world, but who also made an inner journey within himself by adopting the ways of another race. It was more than a journey; rather it was  a transformation and a cleansing of his soul. The Last Samurai, made in 2003,  in many ways reflects a similar story in a 1990 movie called Dances With Wolves.

This movie starred Kevin Costner, who also directed the movie. ‘Dances With Wolves’ walked away with 7 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Costner plays Lt. John Dunbar who asks for a posting to the western frontier following the Civil War. He is sent to remote outpost which is deserted. Only it’s not.

He ‘befriends’ a wolf, who lingers around hoping for some food scraps. Dunbar calls this wolf Two-socks. Then he meets the local Sioux Indian tribe, who instead of being belligerent and bellicose, are instead curious about this solitary soldier.

The friendship blossoms and Dunbar is accepted by the tribe.

The Indian chief who befriends Dunbar is called Kicking Bird, and is played by Graham Greene.

He meets a white woman who was raised by the tribe since childhood. She is called Stands With A Fist and is played by Mary McDonnell in an Oscar nominated role. Of course, love blossoms.

Stands With a Fist: [translating for Kicking Bird] He thanks Dances with Wolves for coming.
John Dunbar: Who is Dances with Wolves?
Stands With a Fist: It is the name all the people are calling you now.

So this is the third film in which a white man makes a journey overland and at the same across an inner frontier, and learns the ways of another people.

Of course movies can be slanted in a particular direction, or influenced by the writer’s and director’s backgrounds and feelings. The characters of Hawkeye, Algren, and Dunbar all made journeys toward brighter destinations both inwardly as well as physically.

Stay

The same is true in the world of art. Often we can see and feel a particular direction or destination which is significant in an artist’s works.

Red Colt

Artist B.C. Nowlin also makes such a journey through his paintings. It is my pleasure to share these with you.

Days

His works are filled with emotion, mystery, and spirituality.

Sometime

His use of vibrant colors is extraordinary as his painting are both intense and dramatic.

Tomorrow

Nowlin’s roots in the southwest of America, along with his first hand relationship with Native American history, no doubt are a powerful influence on his work.

Spirit Man

His paintings most often do not define the locations or destinations in specific terms.

You Too

His abstractions make us use our imaginations and intellectual capabilities to get to that place which is universal in the minds of all humans.

Three

As the tagline from Dances With Wolves says, Inside everyone is a frontier waiting to be discovered. Take note of how Nowlin’s art seems to portray people on their way to something or someplace. The paintings are a mirror of the decisions we make on the journeys through our own lives. But these painting are far more eloquent than mere words. Happy trails to you and thanks for reading.

Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the highway
Lookin’ for adventure
And whatever comes our way

40 years later, Steppenwolf’s classic Born to Be Wild, still comes to mind as the anthem of Easy Rider. Powerful music and a powerful film, thank you Mr. Hopper. So Dennis Hopper went from being a rather unconventional actor to being a sought-after, fair-haired, wunderkind. Ka-ching! But success is quite hard to sustain, and Hopper went from being an A-List actor/director to someone whose work and personal life headed downhill. He became someone who might be found at a rehab center during the aftermath following Easy Rider’s release and rise.

Fast forward to 1979 and Hopper resurrects himself and his career. He takes a role of a pot-smoking photo-journalist in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. Was he acting or was he just living his dream? After this, Hopper also directed Out of the Blue which garnered critical acclaim.

As Hopper’s reclamation of both his personal life and his career gathered speed, we too can again fast forward – this time to 1988, when Hopper was given the directorial reins for a controversial film about a pair of cops, one an experienced veteran, and the other, his rookie partner. They patrol the streets of East L.A. Their job – to attempt to keep gang violence under control.

This film was called Colors – the gangs were the Bloods and the Crips, and the colors were red and blue. Robert Duvall played the aging cop,  and the mercurial Sean Penn played the gung-ho rookie. You may recall this memorable story told by Duvall as Hodges to the restless for action Penn, as McGavin:

Bob Hodges: [to his new partner] There’s two bulls standing on top of a mountain. The younger one says to the older one: “Hey pop, let’s say we run down there and fuck one of them cows”. The older one says: “No son. Lets walk down and fuck ‘em all”.

Colorful words, indeed and significant to the story as we later found out. Speaking of colors, and of another well known actor, who worked for many years as an A-Lister without his career reaching the pinnacle of an Oscar winning performance; let’s now look at Paul Newman in The Color of Money.

Yes, we are back to colors again. Newman worked with Tom Cruise in this 1986 Martin Scorcese film about a pool hustler and his protege. Newman’s Fast Eddie Felson had last been seen on screen in the 1961 classic movie, The Hustler.

If you want to use the term sequel, you wouldn’t be all wrong. But 25 years did pass before any one could buy a ticket for this so-called sequel. Newman had been nominated for an Oscar in 1962 for his role in The Hustler, but he didn’t win that year. Nor did he win for any of his other noteworthy screen roles. But he did win for The Color of Money.

So we have a few common threads here. Movies, about color(s), with the word Color(s) in the title, and with longtime film actors getting some substantial attention for their work many years into their careers. If not quite the stuff that makes for miracles, then at least we can say that they were heading in the right direction.

Shifting gears but not really changing direction, let’s now look at a pair of artists. These two artists, Jeff Ham (above) and John Nieto (below), are known for the distinctive use of bold colors. But that’s kind of a very mild understatement as you can see by examining their artwork.

Ham has stated that he loves to paint animals, people, and landscapes. He’s not concerned about backgrounds or settings, and his chief goal is to impact the viewer by making everything he paints into an iconic image by his use of raw, bright, and explosive colors. We will start out with a look at some his dynamic animal portraits.

Coyote

Horse

Laughing Coyote

Ham has said, “I do my best to translate emotion and feelings into color and communicate my individual interpretation of each subject. My goal is to capture spontaneity.

Dylan

Nelson

Lennon

As an artist I am learning to express myself in an honest and straightforward manner.”

Sidne

The Stones

Orange Sidne

Note how Ham uses his striking colors in gradients or as abstractions which propel the model or subjects to the fore. Also note how the raw reds impact you.

Nieto’s work is similar in his subjects and his use of striking colors. But Nieto’s works are far more linear Rather than merge or grade his colors, he prefers the clear division which creates a different style but with no less of an impact. But he has not completely gone away from gradients and/or the slow merging of his colors. Its just not his first choice.

Blue Wolf

Coyote Self Portrait

Powerful Medicine

His works have been called dramatic compositions, which through the use of broad strokes and brilliant colors with a halo of a contrasting color surrounding his subjects – have made for unmistakeably modern images.

Garcia

Einstein

Berry

Nieto has said, “…if I am painting a person,  I am painting much more than that. My art is the result of an emotional involvement with my subject matter rather than a cerebral one. I’m in a trance when I paint. It’s like being a drummer — you don’t look at the drums, you just know intuitively where they are.”

Archer 1

Navajo

Prayer for the Return of the Buffalo

His works are truly great, but to get a true measure of the man, I must relate one more thing about Nieto which will tie together this article. In 2002, John Nieto suffered a massive stroke. He was nearly comatose for two and half years. In July of 2005, he was admitted to a Dallas, Texas hospital for congestive heart failure. The treatment of his heart failure also helped to bring about a miraculous recovery which also cured all of his stroke symptoms. Literally, within days, John Nieto was painting again. Some of the works on this page are from after his recovery. His journey from death’s doorway to his current place in the world of Art is indeed a miracle, or at least is a legend for the ages, as is his art.

So Newman, who passed away last fall,  and Hopper…

who is still with us, as are Ham and Nieto – all have color in their stories. We don’t really need to differentiate between the past and the present, do we? Since none of us live in a world restricted to simple blacks and whites, I am more than happy to share these marvelous stories and remarkably colorful images with you.

Long ago Mankind found a way to travel across the seas or what ever body of water they found themselves at. Back then it might have a simple straw boat, or maybe a complex straw boat, like the one below. Or maybe it was

a dugout tree trunk, or a rudimentary raft. Then came boats with oarsmen, sailing craft, steam boats, then motorized vessels, and even boats that could travel below the sea’s surface. Today we have supertankers, nuclear powered submarines, ships so big they are called floating hotels, as well as naval ships that can launch weaponry to attack enemy strongholds on land while hundreds of miles away from any shore.

Sea travel or crossing water is here to stay – be it a daily ferry commute, or a lengthy sea cruise as a vacation. Others earn their livelihood at sea; be it fishing, or transporting cargo. Pleasure boats have gotten bigger and faster. People race sail boats for honor, prestige, and glory. Boats are used in the commission of crimes, or to capture criminals,

like when Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, as undercover vice-cops used a fast boat as part of a mission to bust a drug lord in the Miami Vice movie,  or simply just to have a day on the water and get away from it all. And let’s not forget that all countries with a sea coast possess a navy that contains warships. Probably not like those picture below, more likely a tad newer.

We take the sea for granted although we are not unaware of it’s dangers. Storms,

shoals, and sea scavengers also known as pirates who lay waiting in safe harbors before venturing out to sea what the tide has brought them, or to take forcibly from those who have crossed their path.

Yet we embrace the sea. People will continue to challenge the sea while others, standing on whatever shore or coast, know that somewhere out there, beyond the horizon, on another shore, someone much like themselves is standing on a beach, or a dock, or a jetty, with the same thoughts.

The seas and waterways across the world are so much a part of our daily lives that we have included them as parts of our leisure time, even when we are nowhere near any body of water. Today there are many examples from the world of art, books and movies about the seafaring life. Even music can be related to the life at or near the sea. A prime example of this is the so-called ‘Surfin’ music. This music was born and grew in Southern California, where surfing (above and below) is a way of life for some.

Over a period of a few years, The Beach Boys song writer Brian Wilson, along with musician Van Dyke Parks, and a couple of others, wrote a song called Sail On Sailor. It was first recorded in 1972, though some say it was 1971 and was then released as a single in 1973. Though it did not achieve much success as a single, it still has its place in the annals of music as well as being a part of this column. From the lyrics:

I sailed an ocean, unsettled ocean
Through restful waters and deep commotion
Often frightened, unenlightened
Sail on, sail on, sailor

With those lyrics as our cue, we’ll look at some examples of being on the water. Some will be pure exhilaration. But not all of them will be pleasant or have happy endings. For many, their lives ended while at sea and their finally resting place was not a plot in a cemetery but somewhere on the bottom of a vast ocean.

American artist Winslow Homer (1836-1910) painted working men at sea as well as seaside vistas. His works are usually darker, and in some way foreboding, possibly due to his method of scale and size. While fully realistic his works are not noted for their detail. Check out Breezing Up (above top), Watching the Breakers (above), and The Herring Net (below). All of these convey both Homer’s fascination with the sea as well as its strength and power.

And speaking of fishing, Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss starred in one of the most famous movies about what could happen when you are at sea. Of course we are referencing Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975)

from the Peter Benchley novel of the same name. Who will ever forget what Scheider as Police Chief Martin Brody said after seeing what they were going to do battle with:

You’re going to need a bigger boat.

Just as memorable if not more so was the chilling and unforgettable monologue by Robert Shaw as Quint as he remembered and spoke of what happened to the U.S.S. Indianapolis on June 29th, 1945. His conclusion: -

I’ll never put on a life-jacket again. So, eleven hundred men went in the water; 316 men come out and the sharks took the rest…

In case you were thinking, those guys were looking for the shark, fishing isn’t all that risky, how about The Perfect Storm (2000)

which starred George Clooney as Captain Billy Tyne

and Mark Wahlberg as Bobby Shatford. These guys went looking for fish. They needed a monster catch.

Instead they ran into a monster storm. They failed to heed the weather warnings.  Back in Gloucester, old-time sailor Quentin, after hearing where they were heading for said:

The Flemish Cap? Went there once…’62. Lots of fish…and lots of weather…

Not all sea captains meet the fate of Clooney’s Billy Tyne. We’ve discussed Captain Bligh from Mutiny on the Bounty in another article some time ago, so we will give him a pass this time. Sea captains are a hardy lot. They must be full of courage and they must know how to handle their men. Some are adored by their crews and revered while others are simply hated and reviled. Let’s start with a very recent Captain who was so favorably accepted by the movie going public, that he was given two sequels to the original movie.

Of course this can be none other than Captain Jack Sparrow, of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Sparrow was played memorably by everyone’s favorite buccaneer Johnny Depp.

In a scene with the comely Elizabeth, Jack had this perfect description of what his ship and the life at sea meant to him,

Elizabeth: And you’ll be positively the most fearsome pirates in the Spanish Main.
Jack Sparrow: Not just the Spanish Main, luv. The entire ocean. The entire wo’ld. Wherever we want to go,we’ll go. That’s what a ship is, you know. It’s not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that’s what a ship needs but what a ship is… what the Black Pearl really is… is freedom.

Yes, freedom on the seas, and the freedom of the seas. Worth fighting for wouldn’t you say. In Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), Russell Crowe portrays Captain Jack Aubrey. This Jack, unlike Depp’s Jack was a naval commander in the British Royal Navy. But he too was adored by his men.

This movie was set during the Napoleonic Wars.  Crowe pushes his ship and his men to their limits in pursuit of a  powerful French warship around the horn of South America.

His rallying cry to his men:

England is under threat of invasion, and though we be on the far side of the world,this ship is our home. This ship *is* England.

On another ship, in another war, the good guys and the bad guys are not clearly defined.  The Caine Mutiny (1954) from the Herman Wouk novel is the story of a US Naval Captain who showed signs of mental instability that could jeopardize the ship. He is relieved of command by a subordinate officer who will then face a court martial for mutiny.

Captain Phillip Francis Queeg was played by Humprey Bogart. Queeg was part dictator, part captain, and part supreme egotist. Speaking to Lt. Stephen Maryk (the late Van Johnson) who would later take command, Queeg said:

Mr. Maryk, you may tell the crew for me that there are four ways of doing things aboard my ship: The right way, the wrong way, the Navy way, and my way. They do things my way, and we’ll get along.

Maybe Queeg was a megalomaniac. He also said:

Aboard my ship, excellent performance is standard, standard performance is sub-standard, and sub-standard performance is not permitted to exist – that, I warn you.

So the case went to a court martial. Maryk was defended by Lt. Barney Greenwald who was portrayed by  Jose Ferrar in a brilliant performance. Greenwald did his job. He torpedoed the hapless Queeg in the courtroom, and Maryk was acquitted. But Greenwald was not happy about getting his client off. In a powerful concluding scene at a party celebrating Maryk’s acquittal, Greenwald faces Lt  Tom Keefer who was played by Fred MacMurray

I wanna drink a toast to you, Mr. Keefer. From the beginning you hated the Navy. And then you thought up this whole idea and you managed to keep your skirts nice and starched and clean, even in the court martial. Steve Maryk will always be remembered as a mutineer.

But you, you’ll publish your novel, you’ll make a million bucks, you’ll marry a big movie star, and for the rest of your life you’ll live with your conscience, if you have any. Here’s to the real author of the Caine mutiny. Here’s to you, Mr. Keefer. [Splashes wine in Keefer's face] If you wanna do anything about it, I’ll be outside. I’m a lot drunker than you are – so it’ll be a fair fight.

But sometimes a story on the high seas is not about the navy, or history, or even a mindless predator like a shark. Sometimes  it is about the most dangerous of all species. Man.

Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman, and Billy Zane played the leads in Dead Calm (1989). This was, in no uncertain terms, a thriller on the high seas. Neill and Kidman play a married couple who sail off into the Pacific Ocean to try and forget about a tragic accident. In some dead calm waters, they come upon a mysterious yacht with Zane as the sole survivor. Of course they had no way of knowing that later they would have to fight for their lives

as the man who they helped, Hughie, was a homicidal maniac. This movie had a couple of memorable tag-lines:

High Seas – Deep Terror & In the middle of nowhere, there is nowhere to hide!

How about  one more – one more movie, one more famous ship, and one more Jack.

Can you guess what I am referring to?  I alluded to this way above in the 3rd paragraph when I mentioned ships so big they are called floating hotels. Yes, it can be no other then Titanic (1997) directed by James Cameron. To those of you who guessed Aquaman, I’m sorry  that is incorrect.

The Titanic only sailed once. Its maiden voyage was its last voyage. Though this is the story of an ill-fated ship,

it is also a classic love story between Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater.  The movie’s tag-line was:

A woman’s heart is a deep ocean of secrets

There is a wonderful exchange between Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jack, and Kate Winslet’s Rose which perfectly encapsulates their attraction:

Jack: Where to, Miss?
Rose: To the stars.

Later, in their last moments, there’s a memorable line by Rose, as she’s letting go of Jack’s hand as he has already perished,

I’ll never let go, Jack. I promise.

Since the movie begins with an elderly woman, who was a survivor of the Titanic, reminiscing, or should I say still struggling, years and years later, to come to terms with what occurred that fateful night,

we know what is going to happen over the next two plus hours of the movie. Her words are unforgettable, and a fitting way to close this article which I have chosen to call Three Jacks.

Fifteen-hundred people went into the sea, when Titanic sank from under us. There were twenty boats floating nearby… and only one came back. One. Six were saved from the water, myself included. Six… out of fifteen-hundred. Afterward, the seven-hundred people in the boats had nothing to do but wait… wait to die… wait to live… wait for an absolution… that would never come.

Thanks for reading.

They weren’t your standard version of a Hollywood couple. In fact, at the time of his death, they had lived in Connecticut for many years.

While many of you are very familiar with Mr. Newman’s work as an actor; Cool Hand Luke, The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and The Color Money are some of his best known films and readily come to mind. I think only some of you may recall that Joanne Woodward is an Oscar winner herself.

She won an Oscar for Best Performance by Actress in 1958 for her role in The Three Faces of Eve. This was the story of a 1950′s Georgia housewife who was brought to a local psychiatrist. Her symptoms – headaches and an occasional blackout. The 1950′s doctors hadn’t the same amount of knowledge and prescription drugs that today’s MD’s have, so that when three distinct and different personalities emerged from the same person, it was a newsworthy event.

It was also a spectacular role for an actress, and Ms Woodward walked off with the Oscar. She played a mousey housewife (Mrs. Eve White), a sultry and sexy seductress who called herself Eve Black, and a sensible modern woman who called herself Jane.

It was a dream role, and brought into focus not only mental disorders and illnesses, but made men think of how the women in their lives also played multiple roles like wife, best friend, and lover; all hopefully without acting.

My topic is not really this movie, or is it about mental illnesses like Multiple Personality Disorder. The reality is that everyone of us had a mother, every female was a daughter, and women fulfill the roles of friends and lovers all over the world. All of these are possible and are so no matter how brief the time frame was. Men tend to see women in a variety of ways such as a parental figure, a boss or an employee, a sexual partner, a rival, a friend, a daughter, or as a sister. Of course there are variations of all of the above, and the ageing process has a role in that.

But once you remove the trimmings created by environment, economics, and social order we can safely ‘categorize’ our loving partners into three main subsets: tradition has them as WIFE, MOTHER, & LOVER. In short if you marry a woman, you’ll end up with all three. Given that, it is no surprise to see that in ART, and more often than you might think, we can find the three faces of women, who obviously are not all named Eve, but are all descendants of the first Eve. I’d venture to say that it was no coincidence that the title role in Ms. Woodward’s Oscar performance was called Eve.

In art we see many examples of this. Album covers, pop art, or iconic stone idols are often portrayed in threes. This album cover (above) is from the Australian musical group Vespers Descent. And the album’s title? 3 Faces of Eve.

The next one is obviously light-hearted and is the work of Artist Sonya Paz. And the work below is from the Functionalartist, yet another version of The Three Faces of Eve.

The stone idol is The Three Faces of Shiva.

One more? How about this artful bed quilt. ?

I think there’s a pattern here. And if there’s not a pattern in the art world, we can at least agree that there’s a pattern within this article.

Chinese artist Yanqun Xue paints in the style of Classic Realism. His paintings are almost exclusively of women. Not surprisingly he has three categories for his works: Nudes, Girls, and Portraits. Expressed in other terms, those categories become clearer. Nudes are still Nudes. Girls are clothed but relaxed either by themselves or at play with other girls. And Portraits are formal where the women are looking their very best, and hope that this is how other see them.

Nude 216

Nude 205

Since we all know what Nudes are, let’s begin with them. Actually I think these are the least interesting of his works. Even though the nude models all have wonderful bodies, none of the poses are dynamic, nor do we see much in the way of detail. It’s like he’s trading with us – I’ll paint them without clothing, and you can expect the least amount of detail.

Before The Painting

The Afternoon

As for Girls, we might also call them Traditional Girls. These women are not in modern dress. But don’t let that stop you.

The Music

The Earth No. 4

Please note the rich blues and deep red.

The Sound of Bamboo

I also call to your attention the sharp creases of the lady’s garment in The Sound of Bamboo.

The Dancer

The Folding Fan

Finally, notice how detailed the Portraits are – for example, the intricate lace patterns in The Dancer  and The Folding Fan . Or the delightfully patterned chaise lounge in Lili.

Lili

The wonderful design of Christine‘s dress along with the wood trim of the sofa and the curtains behind her.

Christine

A Lady In The Picture

I also like the elegance of a Lady in the Picture as well as the sophisticated silk dress that Linda wears along with the white chair that she is seated on.

Linda

These works of Art are indeed Yanqun Xue’s three style modes and are a wonderful tie-in to our theme of three faces. I guess you can see the skill and heart that went into creating these works. Bringing them to your attention is our pleasure. Thanks for visiting.

 Bitin’ Up

Chuck Wagon

Many of the Pilgrims shared their homesteads and livelihoods with North America’s First People – who we now call Native Americans. Whether it was the Indians who first decided that turkey made for a good dining experience, or the Pilgrims themselves, the tradition continues.

Crow Indian

Francis Setting Eagle

 Another traditional event on Thanksgiving is to watch the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys meet their respective opponents on the football field. Yes, football is a form of warfare, and seems contradictory to a day of thanks. But football and Thanksgiving has been a pair throughout my lifetime. While the Lions are normally the first game broadcast, they are most likely the game you will abandon to sit down for your Thanksgiving

 Heritage

Mountain Man

 A tradition here at Also on Video is to look at Art that can transport us to another time and another place. There’s not a whole lot of Pilgrims that have been captured on canvas, or if there are, I guess I’ve not found any that inspired me to do a column.

Pre-Columbian Indian with Atlatl

Little Star

But today, I am inspired. I’ve brought you a look at the wonderful  art of James Bama. This artist was born more than 80 years ago in New York in 1926. I guess art was in his blood as he had a successful 22 year career as a commercial artist. He did cover art for the Saturday Evening Post Magazine, Readers Digest, the New York Football Giants, and the Baseball and Football Hall of Fames. He also did most of the cover art for the Doc Savage paperback books.

 Mountain Man and his Fox

Ken Blackbird

But someone must have said to him, “Go west, young man.” And in 1968 he did.

Winter Trapping

Crow Indian Dancer

Bama has been considered by many to be the most ‘realistic‘ illustrator in the wide galaxy of artists. His work is both complex and straightforward. You are not going to say that you don’t understand this art. His powerful compositions, are at once simple for us to understand yet they offer us a living, breathing humanity in his each of his subjects.

Buck Norris at Cross Saber Ranch

Ceremonial Dance

Today, on Thanksgiving, as you give thanks for the food on your tables and the warmth of your families, let us remember the prospectors, trappers, and traders, the settlers, and the homesteaders, the miners, fisherman, farmers, and the men of the forests who trekked across the wilderness of America 100 and 200 years ago.

Ready To Rendezvous

Ready To Ride

Let us also not forget The First People who settled this land before us, and with who we now share this beautiful country.

Cowboy Named Annie

The Chief

Just look at the cowboys and cowgirls, the Indian chiefs, warriors, and elder statesmen, that make up James Bama’s subjects. While we watch our football on HDTV’s, or write columns like this on our computers, artists like James Bama create these magnificent visions by hand.

Pow-wow Dancer

The Pawnee

How fortunate we are to be able to see images like these, and to wonder about the work that created them.

Young Oglala Sioux

Young Plains Indian

Doesn’t today, our national day of thanks, seem like it is ever so fitting, so correct, so supremely proper, and precisely the right time to look back into our history, and to wish for a Happy Thanksgiving Day for everyone.

Doc Savage Novels with Book Cover Art by James Bama

Jim Bama Then and Now

This article was originally published on Thanksgiving Eve which was Wednesday, November 26th, 2008. However it did not transfer over when this, the new location and domain opened on December 3rd, 2008. So we republished it today, December 4th. That is why we have a Happy Thanksgiving article appearing AFTER the holiday has already come and gone. jmm.

As the movie begins, we learn that the Captain of The Red October, which is the USSR’s newest and most technologically advanced nuclear powered submarine, has disobeyed his orders, and is heading for the United States. The question is – is he defecting or is he a madman who will bring about Armegeddon by firing nuclear war heads at major US coastal cities?

Sean Connery portrays the Russian submarine Captain Marko Ramius whose real mission is to defect to the United States and bring with him the invaluable submarine and most of its officers. We learn this from a discussion at a dinner in the Captain’s Mess aboard the Red October.

But back on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. in the corridors of power, they’re not so sure. CIA analyst Jack Ryan, played by Alec Baldwin,

is going to have to somehow figure out Ramius’s true intentions, then get aboard this submarine. But doing so won’t be easy as the Russian naval fleet is trying to prevent Ramius from achieving his goal, and prevent the US from getting its hands on this submarine. Onboard another Russian submarine which is trying to pinpoint Red October’s location, we meet Captain Tupelov who fully intends to sink the Red October. Or as he put it –

“We’re going to kill a friend, Yvgeni.
We’re going to kill Ramius.”

Fast forwarding ahead, a US submarine was able to detect and find Red October, and Jack Ryan was able to make contact with Ramius. Ryan is part of a small three man party that will board the Russian submarine to verify Ramius’s intentions. All of this will happen below the sea’s surface. When the Americans finally board the submarine and are brought to the sub’s bridge and command center, they are face to face with Ramius and his senior officers.

Everyone, except Ramius is nervous. Ryan will ask one of the Russian sailors for a cigarette as a sign of comradeship. While Ryan puffs on the proferred cigarette, we will see that Captain Bart Mancuso, played by Scott Glenn, the senior American officer accompaning Ryan, is fast becoming more and more edgy. He had doubted Ryan’s analysis, and also distrusted the Russians. Yet somehow, here he is, right now, standing on the bridge in the Russian submarine.

At this point, noting Mancuso’s hand only inches from his holstered pistol, Captain Ramius will make a comment to his second in command, Captain Vasili Borodin, played by Sam Neill. Though it is in Russian, we clearly hear the word “buckaroo” and his statement makes Jack Ryan laugh.

Capt. Bart Mancuso to Ryan: “What’s so funny?”
Jack Ryan: “Ah, the Captain seems to think you’re some kind of… cowboy. ”

After it is confirmed that Ramius is indeed defecting, tensions ease. But not for long. The submarine still has to run the gauntlet and reach safe harbor in American waters.

However, there’s a rogue technician, ostensibily on board Red October to service the nuclear reactor. But he might possibly be a plant from the Russian Naval High Command, put in place to spy on Ramius. He is going try to foil everyones’ plans by sabotaging and sinking the submarine. Shots ring out, and in the close quarters, Borodin takes a shot to the chest. As he is dying, his last words are to Ramius:

“I would like to have seen Montana…”

Later, after much heroics, and naval derring-do, The Red October has escaped from its pursuers and has safely made its way into the Penobscot River in the state of Maine. As the submarine, now surfaced, glides upriver, Ryan and Ramius are outside riding at the top of the submarine. It is night.

Captain Ramius: “… and the sea will grant each man new hope,
as sleep brings dreams of home. Christopher Columbus.”
Jack Ryan: “Welcome to the New World Captain.”

And as the music rises, the film ends. I brought this film into AoV as an introduction for this column, as a way to transition from the idea of the West that these fictional Russian submarine officers had dreamt of, a place that they had chosen to make their homes, to some actual art works which bring these concepts to you on a visual plane.

Not so long ago, America itself was the New World. Brave Europeans endured the hardships of crossing the seas to land on American shores. And still later, in quests for open lands and freedom, settlers and frontiersmen pushed their way across the heartlands of America, going further and further west. It wasn’t easy. Many failed and died enroute. In addition to the hardship of the travel itself, the west was occupied by many ancient peoples. They were called Indians.

So the west was the scene of many fierce battles between the Cheyennes, or the Cherokees, or the Comanches, or the Apaches, or a myriad of other tribes who were fighting against the ever increasing hordes of settlers who wanted to claim those sacred tribal lands for themselves. Hence the West came to be called The Wild West. Lawlessness was endemic. Men shot first and asked questions later. No doubt, Ramius and his men had seen many American movies which portrayed the settling of the West, or the destructive wars between the Cowboys and the Indians, which is why Ramius knew the term, “buckaroo”.

Today, the American West is still beautiful, with vast tracts of unsettled land, or land that has been set aside in perpetuity as National Parks, but the days of the Wild West are history. Yes, we still have Cowboys, but today they are known as cattlemen. Yes, we still have Indians, but today, they are called Native Americans. Now they are more apt to be artists or craftsmen, who apply paint to a canvas, or to some pottery, rather than to place warpaint on their own faces.

Today if you want to look at the Old West, the best way to do so is to go to an art gallery. In this column we will look at some works of art which memorialize how it was back in the days of covered wagons, trappers, and gold prospectors. Back when men lived in and by the bounties found in the forest, when Indian warriors wore war paint and feathered war bonnets, when teepee villages or log-cabins were the norm, and all of it set amidst the majestic wonder and beauty of the American West.

Let’s begin with some works by Martin Grelle. Grelle grew up in a small town in Texas and is now known as one of the finest and most recognized of western artists. This past summer, his painting called Trappers In the Wind River (below) sold for $406,000. Look how much detail there is. Astounding, and an excellent example of Classic Realism.

Next, the above painting is called Apsaalooka Horse Hunters, and isn’t it spectacular. Look at the detail of the grasslands, the shadows, and the colors of the of the lead rider’s coat and blanket. Note the soaring mountains in the hazy background. Below we have the similar Last of the Pemmican. Note the hovering storm clouds above the trees on the mountainsides, and note how the horses look tired. Just superb.

Our last Grelle painting (below) is called Valley Guardian. Here we have a tired scout on his solitary duty to watch the entrance to the valley. Notice the details: the colors of his clothes and gear, the breath from the horse’s nostrils, as well as the angle of the sun and the horse’s shadows. Just wonderful.

Grelle has said,

“I have always been drawn to the mountains because of their grandeur.
Whenever I paint people in a mountain or wilderness setting,
I try to convey the larger-than-life effect that the landscape
must have had on those individuals.”

Just from looking at these four paintings, and measuring my own reactions, there’s no doubt of the impact.

Our next artist is Alfredo Rodriguez. His strength is in the portrayals of the people that inhabited the rich lands of the west rather than the lands themselves. Let’s have a look.

Above is The Search Is On. These men are just a few of the thousands who were caught up in the California Gold Rush. Yes, the search is on, not only for the few gold nuggets that might be amongst the stones and pebbles of the creek bed that is being panned, but also for that night’s dinner which will have to hunted down as well. Rodriguez’s attention to detail is amazing. Check out the tufts of hair on the donkey’s head, the sheen on the cup hanging from the front prospector’s belt, as well as the light and shadow of each of their beards.

Hunting By The Gunnison River is above. This is an old hunter who looks both fierce and gentle. He has won his battle that day with the two wild geese. His red coat might help other hunters avoid shooting him. Also note the amazing blue shirt beneath his coat, the color of the dead tree he is sitting on, his red bandana, and the effect of the sunlight coming from behind him. This is an amazing painting, The more you look at it, the more rich detail you can see.

Rodriguez offers us another old-timer in Running Out of Time (above). With his face in the sunlight, we can see how the many years of struggle have long since aged him. His shirt is worn through at his left elbow. He’s likely to not have shaved in two years or more. But his face is still dignified. His strong hand grips the handle of the shovel. And if he can just stand in the sun for a bit longer, he’ll be fine. Isn’t this a magnificent painting by Rodriguez?

Lest you think Rodriguez is only good at painting grizzled, old men, how about this beauty above. Rodriguez calls this one Aspen Flower. I see the aspen trees but the flower must be the beautiful woman wrapped in the bearskin. Not only is the detail of the bearskin remarkable, but the snow on the ground, and the leaveless trees tell us it is winter, yet the painting is filled with warmth.

It is easy to see why Rodriguez is a successful artist. His paintings convey all we need to know about the dignity of the human spirit. His paintings are filled with majesty of the west and its occupants. Bravo!

Our last artist is Howard Terpning. He is one of the most honored and best loved of all the western painters. His works can be found in the homes of discerning collectors as well as museums. Let’s begin with Thunder Speaks (below). This small troop of Indian braves are about to face a fierce enemy, Mother Nature. The dark brooding storm clouds are indeed ominous. But notice the smaller details like the flowers amidst the grasses, the bedrolls behind the riders, and the twin feathers of the leader’s headpiece.

The Lonely Sentinel (below) tells a different story. Notice how his feather atop his head leans in the same direction as windblown grasses at the horse’s feet. His blanket looks like it might be slipping. You can imagine how it must be to ride with one hand holding the reins, and the other gripping his rifle in the coldness of the winter. And one last detail – his horse’s hide is long and shaggy, no doubt as protection from the cold.

Crossing the Ford (below) is also rich in details. Note how the river bank has been eroded by high waters in the spring. That soil has been washed away to who knows where. Yet the details include individual blades of grass in the foreground. I also see the ripples and eddies of the river itself. And in one impressive bit of imagination, note that the left backleg hoof of the trailing rider’s horse is raised as he is about to take another step into the stream.

Our last Terpning painting (below) is called Chased by the Devil. Look how two riders are riding with just one hand on the reins, how all three riders wear bandannas on their heads, and how all three horses have those white blazes on their foreheads. The dust behind them may have been caused by what we now call thermals, but for those Indian riders back then, to them it was the devil that stirred the air.

Howard Terpning has this to say about his art that fills his voluminous portfolio,

“The American Indian fascinates me;
I could paint two lifetimes without running out of subject matter.
I think it is important to tell the story of the Plains Indians
because their history is our history…part of our heritage.
The history of the West is the only history America
has that is uniquely our own.”

And that ends our short discourse on some of the best painters of the American West. Sorry for such a small sample. But you must admit, these paintings are indeed rich in the flavors and feelings of those bygone times. And we have been enriched by looking back in time through these works of art. And speaking of looking back in time, Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World more than 500 years ago. It is only fitting that we publish this article today, October 12th, which just happens to be Christopher Columbus’s birthday. Thanks for coming by.

After that we gathered ‘speed’ and I exited the bus in Storrs 5 hours and 15 minutes later. More than five hours to travel just 147 miles. Just a few days before, I had flown in from Asia. The second leg of the flight was from Vancouver, B.C., Canada to New York’s JFK Airport, a distance that traversed the entire North American continent, and took just 4 hours 20 minutes. Go figure.

Sounds of Sunset

Now I am down here in Florida to refresh my suntan. This is just a short trip, a mere long weekend, Thursday to Tuesday. No jet lag from this flight. What is jet lag anyway? I think it is nature’s way of reminding us that man cannot fly. Despite this inability to fly, you can still go halfway around the world in one day, albeit a very long day. I woke up in Hong Kong at 7:00 AM then I went to sleep in New York late that ‘same’ night at half past midnight. Do the math. 12:30 AM in New York is 1:30 PM the next day in Hong Kong. Yes, that made my day 30½ hours long.

Secret Watch

I went to work the next morning. Following work, that evening I had to go to sleep at 8:45 PM. I said I was exhausted; everyone else called it jet lag. But it is just nature’s way of getting even, and keeping us in our place.

Raptor’s Watch

We should be in awe of nature. For the spectacular colors that we see in the sky, for the variety of animals that populate the earth, and for the rich bounty that we call our foods — all of these are nature’s gifts. American artist Stephen Lyman had a gift. It was the talent to find the spectacular in nature and capture it in oils on a canvas.

Noisy Neighbors

Famed naturalist John Muir once said,

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.”

Lyman followed those words his entire life. Beginning from a childhood spent hiking in the Pacific Northwest, Lyman went to school at the Art Center for Design in Pasadena, California.

Sentinel of the Grove

Later he returned to Idaho’s Snake River country where he again discovered the beauty of nature and the wonders of the natural world. Lyman said,

“All my paintings have their origins in my experience and perceptions of beauty in the wilderness.”

Lyman’s works are breathtaking in their execution, their scope, and his remarkable ability to share the wonders of the natural world. Tragically, Lyman was killed in 1996 in an accident in Yosemite National Park. His art has garnered a legion of admirers including me. Have a look.

Canadian Autumn

Here at JMM’s New AoV, in addition to admiring the beauty in the wilderness, we like to admire wild and beautiful women captured on DVD. So forget how long it takes you to get from here to there, leave your mental jet lag or ennui packed away in the closet with your luggage, and get ready to see some natural beauty by visiting this website whenever it strikes you to do so.

Ahwanee-The Deep Grass Valley

The women we will look at on our pages, in a few cases, may not be all natural, but in their natural, unadorned state, all you’ll want to think about is what you see.

This column was originally published in December 2002. It has been updated for publication in JustMeMike’s New Also on Video on December 3rd, 2007.

Wish I could say that I came away with a trunk full of money or even a pocketful of that filthy lucre, and now, weeks later, I am still partying and celebrating. No, that wasn’t the case. As jockey Jerry Bailey, aboard Saint Liam, the center horse in the photo above, crossed the finish line ahead of the rest of the competition, to win the Classic, the last race of this year’s Breeders’ Cup Series, his bold fuchsia silks did nothing for me. It was just another race that followed the pattern for the afternoon — watch the race, then tear up your betting tickets. Racing is a tough game to beat.

Three horses that began the day never having been beaten on the track went down to defeat. Their names were Shakespeare, Lost In the Fog, and First Samurai. Jerry Bailey rode Shakespeare and First Samurai, so even his day had some losses. Lots of people went home disappointed and with an appreciably thinner wallet. There are no sure things in horse racing. That’s the way it’s always been, and that is why they call it gambling.

Starting a relationship with a woman is also something of a gamble. Will she go out with you? Will she be willing to get intimate with you sooner rather than later? Will she marry you? And of course, will it be forever?

These are the series of questions that come up in every situation that evolves from a man/woman encounter in which the participants take note of each other with interest. Each of you reading this may have ‘wagered’ on the outcome of these questions, and just like when you wager on a horse race, some of you may have come out on the wrong side of those bets, and the end of the relationship was just another way of tearing up some ‘tickets’.

For our topic in this column we will join a few assorted couples after she’s agreed to go out with the guy, and after they’ve sampled sex together. Everything before their eyes is the color of roses; he loves to look at her, she loves to be held in his arms, and to feel her soft lips against his. We can also enjoy some solo poses as well, for even the happiest of couples are not together 24/7. When happy circumstances like these are what is happening, this is when you win, and you get to cash in some bets instead of tearing up your tickets.

The art works displayed in this column are by artist Rob Hefferan who is from Cheshire, in the UK. He’s skilled in various mediums from oils to charcoal. And his subjects are couples, gorgeous single women, animals, and life studies from Africa. He also does work for children in the sphere of illustrating books and book jackets.

I‘m very impressed with his style in portraying these couples as well as stunning portraits of women alone. First, there are the broad strokes of the atmospheric backgrounds, where Hefferan often employs the ‘brightly lighted window’, and then we have the shadowy lovers, and finally, the intricate foreground details. You may not be able to identify the models, but surely, you can see and feel the powerful feelings these couples share. Or in the case of the single women, look at impressive amount of details that just adds to the overall allure of these beautiful ladies.

Check out the romantic aura in Rob’s paintings on display. Surely this is the work of a winning artist.

Speaking of winning, to gaze at some luscious women who have captured lots of hearts on their way through life, merely make it a point to visit our site often. Here you can have a look at some sexy women, no doubt they are, or could be the prizes for some lucky guys who won their bets.

This column was originally published in November 2005 in Also on Video. It has been update for publication in JustMeMike’s New Also on Video on November 12th, 2007

The first time I read those words that are the title of this month’s column, they had been written by Paul Moran who writes the Horse Racing column for Newsday, a New York area newspaper. The circumstances were a golden October afternoon, when a horse called Go For Wand shattered her right ankle while battling Bayakoa, an Argentina-bred mare, down to the wire for the 1990 Breeders Cup Distaff Championship. (Photo above – The Painting below)

Pure Heart by Michael Geraghty

There was death on the Belmont Park Race Track that day; a gallant racehorse had to be destroyed, her ankle broken beyond any possible recovery. I was a witness to that event, and I will never forget it. I never forgot Mr Moran’ s memorable words either.

September 11th, 2001 was another New York day that began bathed in sunshine and ended washed in tears; this time an ocean of tears. It is nearly a month later as I write this, and like many people, who were either near or far from Ground Zero, I continue to re-live the events, especially while crossing the Hudson River, which I do twice daily. My life has been transformed, and likely so has yours.

But life goes on.

I will do as I have done before. I won’t relinquish my freedom to travel, to go where I want. Soon I will be boarding an airplane for destinations in Asia. Am I scared? Definitely. But I am still going. I’m reminded of the Tom Petty song, I Won’t Back Down from his classic album, Full Moon Fever:

Well I won’t back down
No I won’t back down
You can stand me up at the gates of Hell,
But I won’t back down.

It’s not a matter of defiance, or testosterone, or courage, it’s just a matter of living and continuing to do what we care for and like. Also on Video isn’t about civics, or geo-politics, or terrorism. Our usual topics of travel and art, and of course, video, will continue to be what appears in this column.

From A Higher Level

I had a tough time getting started on this month’s issue. No doubt you noticed we are a week late. And then, I had an even tougher time deciding on the art. We will return to artist Steve Hanks who graced our pages last month.

Winter Days

Besides painting those memorable moments in time, Steve has also a wonderful portfolio of paintings of beautiful women posed languidly, as if they had all the time in the world.

Country Comfort

Hanks has said,

“All art is an escape to somewhere you want to be
Or a feeling you want to have…”

About his paintings of women he said,

“They have an introspective solitude,
Where you’re alone,
Thinking about your life,
Contemplating where you’re going to go from here.”

Listening To The River

As we recently found out, none of us can truly know how much time we have left, or where we’ll be tomorrow.

Nature’s Touch

So instead wondering and worrying, let’s look at some beautiful women right now. First those painted by Steve Hanks, and then on other pages of my website, those captured on video.

To Search Within

Just click this link to give yourself a broad spectrum of columns and topics, and of course, beautiful women. If you can try it now, please do, because there won’t be a better time than right now. And always remember, things will be better.

To Dance Before The Sea & Sky

Bathed In Sunshine, Washed in Tears was originally written and published in early October, 2001 following the events that occurred on September 11th, 2001. That day will always be remembered.

JMM