I THINK IN IMAGES

New Developments

2009-10-08T08:01:00.003-04:00

I have a new "shooting studio" in downtown Johnson City...16 foot ceilings...great natural light...LOVE IT. I call it simply The Studio...right next to Taste Budz on South Roan Street. Naturally, I am still using the studio at the house for meeting with people, printing and computer work, as well as small projects.

I had the pleasure of being the featured artist at the October 2 First Friday at Nelson Fine Art...and about 500 people showed up! But, I do have to admit that I had a little help from my friends...we had a wonderful body art exhibition organized by Ren Allen and Patti Peters (see the slide show below). And Taste Budz did the food...it does not get better than that.

I am displaying twenty four large canvas "decor" art pieces...and I love doing commissioned pieces for people who want something special, just the right size, and in the right colors. Give me a call at 423-967-7201 to explore images you may be interested in.

---Paul

2008-09-09T12:05:00.000-04:00

BLACK AND WHITE IN AMERICA 2008

2008-03-20T09:10:00.000-04:00

MY VISUAL REACTION TO SENATOR OBAMA'S EXCELLENT SPEECH THIS WEEK ON RELIGION AND RACE.

2007-08-16T15:18:00.000-04:00

Images that just make you smile

2007-08-10T11:12:00.000-04:00

Blogging Is Where IT Is AT...so

2007-08-10T09:26:00.000-04:00

I have slimmed down my static web site, and will put most of the happening stuff here on the blog...new images, contact information, ideas, and hopefully all current and useful. My Space and U Tube and "taking over" and I feel most people are comfortable with a blog format. We will see.

Your Wedding Images Will Come In Eight to Ten Sections

2007-08-06T15:48:00.000-04:00

And generally we will put them on two or three disks so that you can easily see everything on the Picasa Slide show.

From Nelson Fine Art

2007-05-25T16:21:00.000-04:00

This is a first posting from Nelson's in JC...I have a major gallery space here...which I have just expanded. See family, children, portraits, and wedding photography. If you would like to visit with me there...just give me a call 967-7201.

Connections of All Things

2007-05-17T07:59:00.000-04:00

A day or so ago, I was sitting in the garden room, and happened to glance up when a robin flew to the upper pool of the waterfall to take a bath. She enjoyed the experience, but in the middle of the bath an ambulance cranked up its siren...even though it was far, far away, the robin got scared and flew off to the fence so she could be on alert. How connected we are in this world...who would have thought that an ambulance siren would disturb a robin taking a bath more than a mile away...I wonder what other creatures were disturbed by the commonplace event.

I did not like the sound of the siren either.

First Studio Image

2007-05-03T14:01:00.001-04:00

Naturally, my helpers wanted to be in the picture.

It Is NOT Easy Moving A Life Time x 2 of Stuff

2007-04-29T19:21:00.000-04:00

We make progress daily, but there always seems like so much to still deal with at the Kingsport house. It is fun, in a stressful way...knowing that we actually are dealing with of stuff and finding treasures. I will be pleased when this moving phase is done, and we can move on to selling the house.

Alot is Happening At The New House

2007-04-26T21:31:00.000-04:00

I got the big old laptop fired up again...and had it souped up by the techie company down the street...not bad for an old machine.

Beautiful Sunrise Over the Field and Barn

2007-03-30T07:38:00.000-04:00

Today there is another beautiful sunrise over the neighbor's field and barn.

Spring Snow and Bumblebees

2007-03-29T08:52:00.000-04:00

Yesterday in downtown Kingsport it really looked at times like it was snowing...Spring Snow...white blossoms blowing down the street and piling up on the sidewalk. And while watching the "nesting" bumblebees (maybe called something else) here at the house in JC, I noticed that they poop in flight...actually quite visiable and fairly dramatic. The question remains, "...what does a bumblebee fart sound like?'

Kind of fun to notice stuff around us.

I DID NOT Fall Off Of The Bus...Just Moved

2007-03-28T06:49:00.000-04:00

We have just moved to a new home...fits our life style well and includes a nice small consulting studio, so I will have the big studio in Kingsport and the smaller place to meet people here in JC.

The whole family has moved even Roadie...she is not happy yet, but is working on it.

Relections on the Bus - What Do You Do For 24 Hours

2007-02-23T07:45:00.000-05:00

Slightly more than 24 hours on a bus is an interesting way to live...best to bring some stuff along to keep occupied as the flat land rolls by. I had a fairly large bag, which actually can be made into a back pack. I carried my camera, a laptop, books and magazines, DVD's, and a bit of emergency food. For the most part, I think I could have done just as well with one good book and the snack food, but I used most of the stuff I had in one way or another. Some of my fellow passengers had alot more, some who were going long distances carried almost nothing except their cell phones. Everyone has a cell phone, and the hunt for an outlet to recharge when stopping at a bus station was fun and funny. Most stations do not have extra wall plugs unless you go looking in corners. One fellow even unplugged the change machine in the games area of the Nashville station to recharge his phone...when someone wanted to use the change machine he politely replugged the machine back in for them to use.

It was cold, and while the bus was heated, it felt good to have my jacket and cowboy hat. I really was never uncomfortable. Some people brought blankets and pillows, but most people just traveled pretty light and made do with an extra jacket or sweater. One young couple who had not known each other before they starting riding together, bundled up together "for warmth" a good bit. It is interesting that they did not socialize or stay together at the bus stations, just on the bus...which is passing strange.

We stopped at one remote bus station in Arkansas for a lunch break, and while most people ate a snack in the small station, a few of us went next door to a real full menu IHOP. Most people could not afford to eat a restaurant meal, and I felt somewhat guilty being able to afford the warmth and food. I gave the young man in the couple arrangement $20.00 when he asked for money to eat...they had not eaten in "two days" because of a bus schedule delay due to weather. They made the money go pretty far, and ate their crackers and similar items on the bus.

Smokers shared their cigarettes at every stop...giving away a cigarette seems to be considered a fellow traveller obligation. One young woman was down to her last four or five cigarettes and still gave one to a fellow passenger, who had none.

Another obligation of a fellow traveller was to watch the bag of a person who needed to use the bathroom in a bus station. I was asked to perform this guard duty several times because I must have looked like an old honest guy...which I am. But, the bottom line is that an informal set of rules governs the bus passenger immediately upon joining the group, and must be passed along continously as people come and go from the bus riding experience.

Relections on the Bus - Getting the Speeding Ticket

2007-02-17T18:33:00.000-05:00

The most crowded segment of our trip was from Memphis to Nashville...a night time segment. The bus driver from Dallas to Memphsis was quiet, and helpful...he was an excellent driver. If anything the driver from Nashville to Kingsport was an even better driver and a bit more talkative. I will tell several stories about him in later installations of this journal.

The driver from Memphis to Nashville was not typical, but he may have been the most interesting. The bus was crowded because, Greyhound had combined passengers with our bus because apparently there was a late bus in the system somewhere, and if passengers did not come early with us, several would have not made their connections in Nashville. Our driver really did not understand this at first, and tried to throw a couple of people from the back off the bus to wait for "their" bus. They would not get off, and on checking tickets up the aisle the driver began to realize what had happened...but he still was really quite impolite about it. He decided to make up time because we got a late start from Memphsis...maybe ten minutes late.

The road was good, the weather was fine, and the traffic was not bad. We were passing just about everything on the road. I imagine we were doing 80 mph for a good stretch of this segment, until three Tennessee State Highway Patrol cars pulled the bus over. At first, we did not understand what was happening, but the fellows in the back could see the driver talking to the Highway Patrol officers, and they were speculating that the "law" would come on board and arrest someone, and carry them off in handcuffs. There was some mild speculation who might be the guility parties. But, when the boys in the back discovered that the patrol officers were writing the driver a speeding ticket, the let out a big whoop and when he got back on they let him know what an "Ass...." he was. He responded in with an interesting statement about he did not much care about the ticket because he could afford it, and speculated that the boys in the back could not. He did not apologize to the passengers, but he did slow down.

I would not be surprised if the ticket ended his career with Greyhound...

This was my first speeding ticket...and I was not driving, and it was on the bus. In more than 40 years of driving I have never seen a bus pulled over. Interesting segment.

Relections on the Bus - The Front Seat

2007-02-17T18:24:00.000-05:00

The best view on the bus is the front see on the "passenger" side of the bus, which is normally reserved for handicapped persons. The second best seat is right behind the driver. Our bus drivers did not mind passengers sitting in these seat as long as we understood that if a handicapped person got on the bus, we would have to move.

Unfortuately, the trip from Central Texas to Middle Tennessee is flat. I mean very flat. Real flat. So, it all looks alot alike...flat. Going across the Mississippi River into Memphis was interesting. However, the highlight of the whole trip as far as scenery goes is the little town of Hope, AK. This is Bill Clinton's home town, and although the bus did not slow down and the bus driver never mentioned it, because I was sitting in the right behind the driver, I got to see Bill's first home on the main street of the town. It is a white house, and just a bit larger than most of the homes in town. Former Governor Mike Huckabee is also from Hope, but I did not see his house.

The front seats are much quieter than the seats in the back. Most people sitting up front did not say much. It is interesting how people tend to sort themselves out by personality even on a bus.

Reflections on the Bus - More From The Back

2007-02-04T12:46:00.000-05:00

Most people were not traveling as far as I did on the bus, so the cast of characters changed from stop to stop. But, the back of the bus was the place where people of character or who thought they were characters came to sit. The total capacity of the bus was 55 and it was only full on one stretch between Memphis and Nashville. So, for most of the way, there was plenty of space for people to turn around and talk and form discussion groups. One one stretch a young man heading to New York City and truly full of himself engaged three or four other young people in a rambling discussion and persuasion. He was especially attracted to a young woman who was probably 18 and traveling with one or two others who were heading to Nashville. The young man fancied himself a mover and "pimp" and proceeded to try to talk the young woman to come to NYC with him and let him introduce her into exotic dancing and more. Perhaps out of boredom or because she knew she was parting ways with him, she let him ramble through his various arguments in favor of the proposition. His language at times would get a bit foul and then he would realize where he was and clean it up for a few miles. She was a "singer" and had a website, that he was looking forward to seeing, although he never got the web address. Even the grandmother in the back seemed to be amused by his persistent arguments in favor of her giving her life over to him. I am not sure anyone was very serious about the conversation, but it passed the time for those involved, and a few of us around them who could drift in and out listening to the disucssion.

Reflections on the Bus - The Back of the Bus

2007-02-03T18:55:00.000-05:00

One most of the trip, the grandmother with the three small grandchildren sat in the very back seat so they could be together. She was a happy person and the kids were "snacked" and talked to the whole trip. She was also the guard of the bathroom, which was it the back. The door was awkward to open and it appeared locked when it actually was not...so she made it her business to tell a person whether the bathroom was available or not.

But the back of the bus was also where the talkers and braggers sat. I moved around the bus to "see" the different sections. My least favorite part was the back of the bus mainly because of the single and somewhat loud young people who congregated back there. But, it was also the section with the most interesting conversations. One young man who obviously was full of himself was heading to a new job with a trucking company. He most likely had the job, at least until they saw him, because he had a full head of curly hair and a full beard. He had a dirty t-shirt and wore shorts with black socks. He had a buddy who was going to the same company, but the did not have as much as a lock on his job. At one point, they had been out in California working, but some how the job in Arkansas was much more attractive.

A young man sitting across from the truckers was a story worth telling as a installment of blog entries.

The bathroom, by the way, was clean and convenient. For what it was, it could not have been better. I will tell the story of smoking in the bathroom later.

Reflections on the Bus - Young Moms and Babes

2007-02-02T07:27:00.000-05:00

One of the images that keeps coming back for me about the bus ride from Texas was the large number of young mothers with small children...most under five years old. These moms and kids were riding to get somewhere "better" for them...home or to other relatives and friends. The kids were amazing...well behaved and happy...very little whinning. One young mother especially was interesting...she was traveling with a daughter and her sister and they were coming home...and even though it was late at night she talked on the cell phone almost constantly for hours. These were very quite conversations. Mom probably was seventeen and her sister was a bit younger. They could not have traveled without the bus...and they were warm and safe and maybe most importantly in communication. When I left on the next leg of my journey, they were still waiting to be picked up by the family, and the young mom was still talking on the cell phone, which was jacked into a spare wall plug in the station because she had used up her battery on the bus. Still she was just having a conversation with her own Mom and looking forward to getting home.

I don't think I saw a biological father, mother, and children traveling together...just the moms with their young kids...or in several cases a mom and child with a man who was obviously not the biological father. I don't understand everything I saw, but that is the subject of another day.

My Trip On The Bus...Reflections

2007-01-30T08:13:00.000-05:00

I recently had a very pleasant trip on a Greyhound Bus from Texas to Tennessee...specifically from Killeen, TX (Ft. Hood) to Kingsport, TN. The trip with appropriate stops and layovers took about 30 hours...give or take. This is a trip I had wanted to make for years because I have seen the bus from Dallas heading to Richmond through Kingport and the bus heading to Dallas from Kingsport for years pulling into our downtown bus station. I want to write about the trip now that I have had a chance to reflect, and I want to do it over a period of time.

First, a few general observations:

Did I feel safe...Yes, very safe and while at first unfamiliar it was easy to get used to the bus routine.
Did I meet people on the bus...Yes, but in a fellow bus riding way in the culture of riding the bus...much more on this.
Would I do it again...Sure, it is an inexpensive, and interesting way to travel.

Tennessee Weather Channel - Part Two

2007-01-29T07:13:00.000-05:00

How do you tell the weather in Tennessee when it is not raining? Well a very good indicator that is very cold out...the cats won't go outside, and when they do they come right back inside. Supposed to be 13 here this morning...cats are inside. Note: dogs are not reliable weather gauges because they sometimes rely on cats to tell them about the weather, and cats have a wicked sense of humor when it comes to dogs.

The Far Side of the Moon.

2007-01-20T09:09:00.000-05:00

My Early Support Will Go To Bill Richardson for President

2007-01-20T07:24:00.000-05:00

Richardson to Launch Presidential Bid
Jan 20, 5:08 AM (ET)By NEDRA PICKLER

WASHINGTON (AP) - After years of freelancing his diplomatic skills from the unlikely position as governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson is taking the first step toward a bid to become president and put his skills to work in the White House.

THE FULL STORY BY NEDRA PICKLER IS WORTH READING...Richardson has impressive experience and credentials.

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20070120/D8MOUKD80.html