scenery of carrollton, missouri

Ahh.....summer break. Looking to establish my routine as fast as I can. Woodcuts, yes. Drawing, yes. Painting, we'll see. And continued exercise, whether pedalling my bike on blacktop Hwy B or walking laps side to side at the Senior Center or bouncing on my family trampoline, yes, yes, and yes.

So, here is a recent one minute pan of nature just outside of my town, west of Carrollton.

 

Leafy trees, creek bed, sunlit clouds, grave rural road.

It's time to get those pencil studies rolling.

field near Missouri river, graphite on 12 x 9 drawing paper

tree and village hills, graphite on 12 x 9 drawing paper

 

two ribbons

My painter friend Pat Hollowell went to the opening reception at St. Joseph, Missouri. The 39th annual membership exhibition at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art. She wrote that both of my entries had ribbons. When they announced to winners during the slide show, she stood up and cheered when my name was mentioned. The 12 by 9 inch, six color linocut reduction (ABOVE), "Tull Island II," edition 4 of 10, received 2nd place in the Printmaking category. The 12 by 12 inch woodcut, "Among The Mullberries," edition 2 of 10, received 3rd place in the same category. All together six persons entered the Printmaking category this year.

 

Category IV:  Printmaking
1^st Place – Cynthia Pederson, “Summer Meadow I”
2^nd Place – Cynthia Pederson, “Whirlygigs I”
2^nd Place – Karl Marxhausen, “Tull Island”
3^rd Place – Karl Marxhausen, “Among the Mullberries”
Honorable Mention – Jakob Ehlert, “Trio Trianos”
Honorable Mention – Sherrill Brooke, “Cirque”
(courtesy of AKMA, http://albrecht-kemper.org/event/39th-annual-akma-membership-exhibition-2/, accessed Feb 12, 2013)

twelve by twelve

Double click on images below.

Majestic by Karl Marxhausen

hand-pulled linoleum impression

signed edition 4 of 10,

image size: 12" h x 12" w

sheet size: 18" h x 18"

monogram in left corner

$200

Order yours at

anburkholder@earthlink.net

Burkholder Project

719 P Street

Lincoln, Nebraska

dark from foltz



It was the Lloyd Foltz print exhibit at the American Legacy Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri that took me in to THE DARK. While at the opening I had author Barbara Thompson sign my copy of the above pictured book. You can order the book HERE. It was the use of darkness in Foltz's block prints that later helped me envision Glade 1. Double click on next closeups.

I was halfway through my first linocut reduction,

when the idea of light cascading from the sky took hold.

Cuts were made on a varnished birch panel

twelve inches square.

Two such prints are in the August exhibit.

It is the darkest dark that I love.

Double click on image. 

Glade 1 by Karl Marxhausen

hand-pulled woodcut on white sulphite paper

image size: 12" h x 12" w

sheet size: 18" h x 18" w

signed edition 2 of 10

unframed

monogram in left corner

$200

Among The Mulberries by Karl Marxhausen

hand-pulled woodcut on white sulphite paper

image size: 12" h x 12" w

sheet size: 18" h x 18" w

signed edition 2 of 10

unframed

monogram in left corner

$200

 

Order yours at

anburkholder@earthlink.net

Burkholder Project

719 P Street

Lincoln, Nebraska

his answer

Shouts of joy resound in my tent. He did it.

The Lord has done mighty acts. He answered me.

Thus, pens song writer and poet David, son of Jesse.

The day the dragon wind howled in my ears,

surrounded by juicy mulberries,

just west of the Floyd Levee, off blacktop B,

this is the information I came home with.

 My dream was to capture

the branches going up up up above my head,

 yeah, imagine this, on a horizontal canvas.
Double click on image to enlarge.
(15"h x 24"w on stretched canvas)

The dream took shape

when I rendered an abstract on square paper.

(18 x 18 inches)

It was during the workouts

 in the water and

 the sauna heat,

the waiting, the pausing,

the resting of the mind,

that He brought it to me.

The square graphite came next.

(12 x 12 inches)

There are too many

changes that He granted,

praise to His name, His majestic name.

So grateful this image came to be.

The desire of my heart,

placed within by His intention

bestowed by His affection.

Harder still would be 

the converting

of graphite swiggles

 into solid black shapes.

Inked linoleum block
 (twelve inches square)
Double click on images to see enlarged.

Trial proof

Woodcuts and paintings
Now on display
lower level of Burkholder Project
Lincoln, Nebraska
August 3-28

it comes

His way is not my way, Isaiah 55: 8 tells me. He's been telling me to “drink in his peace--let go off fretting—rely on what he brings my way—thank him for the things that disappoint as well as the things that bring joy.” 

As I looked off to the side I could see the leaning cloud with its astute shading. My feet pedaled, the sprockets clicked, the rubber tires moved me gently over the rough tarmack of Highway B. It was like God was doing X games. You know those amazing riders on ESPN who flew high, somersaulted their bikes, and landed smoothly on the down turned ramp. God was twirling his bike handles in mid air, a fancy cloud stacked with flair, and his voice said to me, “look at this! Isn’t it cool?!”  I replied in my head, ‘That is fine, God. I am happy for you. How majestic is your name. How clever are your skills. I am truly impressed. But what will it be that you will bring to me??? What will be the thing you want me to paint?’

I used to feel intimidated by the wonders of nature. Felt compelled to master what I saw. Yanked this way and that. How majestic is your name. It is enough to give him credit for his astounding compositions in nature. I am drawn to wait. What surprise does he have set aside for me….

Easel faced toward the east end of my neighbor’s waning pond, the willows in shade, the edge of the water receded from the heat wave. Half way through the morning, God brought his awesome clouds into the patch of blue,  just behind the tree tops. Combinations from the brush excited me. Eagerly I ran to the shed and into the house to pull out paintings with unfinished skies. Darkened values received a new coat of titanium white and cobalt blue, swish spish swash splash. Muscles jubilant, awash with joy. It came,  just as he had said it would. Yes, he brought this moment along with the energy and spunk. He who is high about the tree tops. He who brought something unexpected. He who brought peace to drink. A light load to bear. A smile for my heart. 

Floating on my back in the Walmart rim-inflated pool, I looked up at the green pattern above, fuzzy without my glasses. How majestic is your name, Father. Jesus, this way, your way, high above the branches, is not my way. Walk away, you tell me. Walk away from my greed. Nothing escapes your attention. Time and again I fall back on my sneaky ways. Your restraining order is a discipline with which you are training me. Train me, Lord. Help me to wait. I will drink in your peace. Personal trainer, lead me in your word. Train my heart. Teach me your way. You are doing it well. Your peace quiets my mind, when it comes