“There is a place, Our God creates – A wondrous Garden of Prayer.

And there He’ll wait, Beside the gate, For those who’ll meet Him there.”

I feel like this painting has been with me all my life. I am drawn to it. For some reason, it was now that I was called to put it on canvas. The seven pools were not calculated, they just happened. Perhaps in a garden we are closer to our creator. We certainly are closer to His creation.

My prayer is that this painted garden will be a meeting place for many that would speak to their God in the silence of morning. Or the silence of evening if you prefer. Or anytime in between. In our imagination we might picture His presence at our side. Or is it just imagination? Do we see in the distance a gentle visitor approaching the gate?

Two of the dreams/memories we take from our childhood on our life’s journey, if we are fortunate, are the wonder and excitement of Disney World and the soaring majesty of castles.

Perhaps that is why the Cinderella Castle at the Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida is such an enchanting inspiration to young and old. My family makes a pilgrimage to this favorite spot on every visit. This year, I went in my imagination to explore a vision of the regal castle gently kissed by the golden light of a perfect day.

A New Day at the Cinderella Castle discovers a morning every bit as festive, delightful, and enchanting as the castle itself. A double rainbow arcs over the towering castle; fluffy clouds dapple its many towers with light and shade, morning light gently kisses the stone turrets. Lavish, rainbow-hued trees and shrubs frame the building; quaint gas lamps dance along the walkway.

I used a more whimsical brush and style in keeping with the subject: is Bambi on the lawn? Tinker Bell above the castle spires? The Ugly Duckling in the pond? You decide.

I think that in my Hometown Memories Collection, I’ve established – at least to my own satisfaction – that you can go home again. Perhaps not with a boy’s innocence and enthusiasm, but certainly with an adult’s fond memories and deep appreciation for the gifts of community, of belonging, of shared values and dreams that are the essence of the hometown experience. Hometown Morning is the sixth and final look at the hometown of my boyhood – and, I hope, at some of the things you remember most warmly about your hometown as well.

In this series of works we have revisited my favorite places: town square, the quiet lanes and busy street corners, the country chapel, and the stone bridge. These were the stages on which the drama of my youth played out with all the joy and high spirits and occasional heartaches that a passionate young man brings to living.

I was a newspaper delivery boy so I knew the morning rhythms of my town, and how well I remember some of the characters who gave my hometown its character. They live on – in my memory and now in my art. My newspaper route took me into the heart of my hometown and introduced me to the infinite variety of human experience. Though Hometown Morning will be the last work in my Hometown Memories Collection, I see it as a beginning rather than an end. After all, I met my future wife Nanette while on my paper route. And for me, that was the beginning of all good things!