Somebody in our government gets a fabulous salary to dream up "national this or that" days to satisfy someone else's whimsey.  "Earthday" has, to me, always seemed to be a stupid named-day or weekend to celebrate - until recently when it is becoming obvious sea levels are rising to dangerous levels, storms are stronger and more destructive, seasonal changes in heat and cold are becoming more unbearable for man, animals and plants. 

Some ancient cultures seem to always have been attuned to these conditions beyond our control. Asian cultures use the abundance of quick growing straight and strong bamboo as a building material for everything from houses and boats to chopsticks. 

This scene was inspired while hiking in Bhutan, by a people with simple needs or desires but filled with happiness and smiles.  

Just sayin'  Happy Earth Day.
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It was once a church, then a mosque, then a museum, and today a mosque and a museum. Hagia Sophia is located in a city overlooking the Bosporous Strait once called Byzantium, Turkey. The town was later was renamed Constantinople after its founder and ruler, and today is known as Istanbul.  

This building was originally commissioned by the son of Constantine and built in the 360 AD after which it underwent various revisions until 537 AD when the structure took on it's current dimensions - a 100 foot wide dome rising 180 feet above the floor, supported by 104 columns from the temple of Artemis in Emphasis, and from Egypt.  Impressive does not approach an  adequate description of the experience of being there.

I was allowed to sketch this tranquil and moving scene during afternoon Islam prayers. The scope of the height and depth is impossible to capture on a piece of paper.  The sense of something larger, sacred and enduring, for Christians and Moslems, is palpable.

God is great, indeed.

I'm honored to have been chosen as this year's artist to promote the 2023 Concerts on Marietta Square. I was approached because my art is a departure from the traditionally colorful illustrations.  Hopefully my own sensory experience from previous concerts captures the delightful mood of music merging with and floating as a breeze into the trees and around the fountain on the square.