Merry Christmas!

My Christmas Eve wish for all is to know the peace and joy of this very special season. To pause for a moment, to quiet our minds, to let our souls reflect on the grace, the mercy, the love and the blessings that are freely given to us each and every day.

God bless the world, our nation and every person we share this planet with, those whose paths and journeys intersect our own and those who we will never meet.

If you want to arrange it this world you can change it
If we could somehow make this Christmas thing last
By helping a neighbor or even a stranger
And to know who needs help you need only to ask

-Trans Siberian Orchestra

Merry Christmas to us all and a Happy New Year!

Christmas Designs 2008

Just a few of the many Christmas designs that I have done. You can see many more at our website - http://www.cafepress.com/graceunveiled

Christmas is such a great time of year for all the fun and festivities, the lights and laughter, but also the hope and transcendence that resides in the smallest of acts and the birth of a child. The love and mercy, the peace and grace that followed continues to affect and change the world.

My Passion, My Art - What is yours?

My passion is the creation of great art that will in some way touch, in a positive way those who view my art. Allowing others to share the 'moments from reality and dreams’, to capture in an image, a moment where time seems to stop and stand still, that will illicit an emotional response in the viewer.

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By adding these designs to everyday products and merchandise, others can carry the reminder with them and return to those emotions again and again.
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My art is influenced by those things that have been consistent themes throughout my life. These are my faith, nature, animals and moments of transcendence within the everyday. Simple and recognizable subjects within my art, capture the blending of ‘moments from reality and dreams.’ These instances arise out of apparent chaos, simplicity, movement or an intensity of colors and evoke very strong and powerful feelings inspiring us to persevere.

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A quiet and stillness can be found within the magic of a moment and calls forth the truest and purest emotions of who we are. The challenge of capturing a moment that touches someone’s heart and spirit keeps me striving and creating.

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The true joy is in the journey in the creating, no matter what it is that I do. Find your passion, that thing that drives you, that terrifies you, that brings you joy. If we would all do that and not pursue the meaningless things of life we would know that we often do make a difference, and my hope would be that we could realize the magnitude of that and the change it might bring.

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Find your passion!

Lately ........

During the holidays I always tend to drift towards three dimensional art as opposed to the my usual two dimensional art. I have for many years designed and created wreaths, centerpieces and ornaments and this time of the year always seem to lend itself to this type of art. It takes me back to the times in college where I worked in floral shops and it is a nice diversion that helps stimulate new ideas for drawings and paintings.

December 2008

Here is the list of my seven favorite things for the month of December. Again, in on particular order except for number one, this time! Limiting yourself to only seven things really makes you think hard about what you truly value, among the many blessings we all have to be thankful for.

• The birth of my savior, Jesus Christ
• The smiles of children at the lights and decorations
• Christmas music (year round! )
• Fudge - Chocolate and Peanut Butter
• College Football Bowl Games
• Quiet moments within candlelight
• Peace, joy, love and the hope!

Merry Christmas!

Oh Christmas Tree!

In the field looking for the perfect one.

Making sure daddy cuts it down just right.

A star on top, then lights and ornaments.

Ta da our Christmas Tree!

Does Anyone Truly Understand the Mind of a Child?

My daughter says this is a picture of her daddy, but I see a resemblence to the 'Snow Miser' from the classic - The Year Without a Santa Claus :).

The mind of a child is so free from the limits that we impose on ourselves as well as the so-called norms of society. Oh, to retain some of that freedom throughout our lives.

To Everyone!

Many blessings to you and your family during this season!

Times of Solitude

But Jesus Himself would slip

away to the wilderness and pray.

Luke 5:16

With the holidays slowing slipping up on us, I often feel the need to slip away, to be alone with God and recharge. I have so much to be thankful for, so much to look forward to and in the quiet is when God speaks to me the loudest. Trying to live my life daily with a sense of expectancy, not expectations, knowing that I may plan my day, but God will direct my steps. But only if I allow that reality to happen and surrender my will to His.

Perceptions

In a mass of colors or a simple line, so much more can emerge.

What do you see beyond the veil of everyday life?

Do you have faith in the things that you can only see with

your heart, beyond the world you only see with your eyes?

(Hebrews 11:1)

The Story of 'Grace Unveiled' -

Grace Unveiled is the name of our business, we run a website at Cafepress.com selling merchandise with unique and distinctive artwork.

We believe that grace from God is available to each one of us, as unmerited, undeserved favor and kindness. We do not deserve it nor can we earn it. It comes to us on its own as God wills. We hope to 'unveil' that 'grace' to others.

We named our daughter "Charis" which is a Greek word that translated means grace. She is God's grace unveiled to us over and over everyday in a million different and surprising little ways.

We hope that a combination of words and pictures can unveil a small portion of the grace of God. We often live in mystery and hope to shine a light into dark places.

To touch someone’s heart and allow hope to reign we strive to spread a little light, good news, laughter, kindness and love. The twists in the road lead us on a journey and to places we did not plan nor expect.

Where we pass in this life, everything we do, a word, a touch, a look will impact another and can echo into eternity. Be kind to yourself and to others.

I know nothing, except what everyone knows --

if there when Grace dances, I should dance.

-W.H. Auden

New Blog

Update - ran into techincal problems with old blog so here is the new one, new blog name but same passion and direction by the same author and artist. I am still working on updating previous postings and continuing with new ones, thanks for your patience.

We are still linked to our Cafepress site "Grace Unveiled" in the favorites section, check it out to see much more of my art and designs.

Hope you like it. It is very similiar but a few small changes!

PS - Have a nice day!

November 2008

The following are my 7 favorite things for the month in no particular order -

• My Daughters Birthday - number 4!!!!
• Thanksgiving & a grateful heart
• Smell of wood smoke on a chilly evening
• Turkey and all the trimmings
• Football
• Hunkering down on a blustery fall day
• Leaves, leaves everywhere

The Quest for Authenticity

As a world, as a nation, as individuals, if you do not know what you believe it is okay to say 'I don't know.' But do not stay in that place, start looking and discover what awaits.

We do not know where this will lead us or the ultimate outcome. But we can make our choices each day and stand up for honesty, dignity and truth.

Choose to trust! Choose to love! Choose to live!

State of Affairs '08

I do not wish to get into a political debate either about candidates, ideas or anything of that sort. But considering the current events in the news and the impact that this is having or could potentially have on every American, I just want to share a few thoughts.

I do not understand why we as Americans, at least it seems the majority of Americans, seem to insist on relying on a 'president', 'political party', 'government program', or some other outside source, to provide a solution at both a national and local level to solve our problems for us.

My belief is we must take responsibility and do what is necessary to overcome our current situations both as individuals and as a nation.

Absolute truths exist whether you agree or not and whether you chose to believe in them or not. They are like evil and gravity, they exist we just often choose to ignore the reality and then complain when we suffer the consequences of 'our actions'. It is always someone else's fault, time for personal accountablity and owning up to our responsibilities.

Ask yourself what can I do or better yet, what should I do? Do what you can no matter how small, right now, right where you are for your family, your neighbors, our nation and the world.
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Be part of the solution not the problem and remember to vote!

My Muse

"To be this old and have our life and hers just begin."

I was 40 years old when my daughter was born and I now see things with a whole different set of eyes and a different perspective. The joy my daughter gets from following after her daddy and wanting to paint and draw with me melts my heart. The world is new again and all is magic!

She sees the wonder and the magic. I try my best to recapture it in my daily life, but somehow it often seems just out of reach. But she has re-energized me to try and live that simple life of no limits, no what ifs, no buts. The magic is there we only need to open our eyes to it and see beyond the curtain and those limits we impose on ourselves. The simple joy of a child, caught in the moment and truly being only in that moment and nothing else!

Last Weekend

Our annual October trip to the ocean to

celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary.

(Lucky 13!)

Beautiful sunset on the beach and awesome colors everywhere.

A time to get away to refresh and energize, the mind and spirit.

New Design

This is a new horse design I have recently created

and painted. My goal is to have the simple individual

shapes work together and suggest so much more than

just a picture of a horse but also the emotion, the power,

the strength, the majesty, the alertness, the vitality,

the freedom and the independence.

All of which a horse can respresent.

My Manifesto of Insignificance

Knowing that my death is certain and my time of death is uncertain…Knowing that the work I do matters and also will not last…

• I’ll make every effort to do great work & art.


• I’ll strive for progress not perfection.


• I’ll love God & the people in my life.I’ll forgive those who hurt me.


• I’ll strive to know and be known.


• I’ll to be open to life’s adventures.


• I’ll laugh, cry and rest when needed.


• I’ll enjoy today and live in the moment.

I challenge you to write you own Manifesto of Insignificance about your life. For more information about this exercise and the paradox of our lives: both overwhelmingly meaningful and overwhelmingly insignificant and creating great work, go to the Box of Crayons website using the link on the left.

October 2008

The following are my 7 favorite things for the month in no particular order -

• The baseball playoffs and world series


• The changing colors of leaves on the trees


• Fallen leaves crunching underfoot


• Breast Cancer Awareness


• Frost on the grass in the morning


• Cold and clear, starry nighttime skies


• My daughter in her princess dress 2 weeks before Halloween


• Let me know yours and look for a new list every month.

My Art

My love for animals, especially horses leads me to do a lot of

designs that revolve and evolve from the figure of the horse.
The majesty, power and beauty of the horse can truly be inspiring!

Live Deliberately!

Life is short, often to short.

We squander the precious moments we are given. Those things that come to us through no power of our own. We rush through to tomorrow or someday, without really seeing today.The beauty, the laughter, the joy and yes even the sadness.Take the time to slow down, to see the hidden. To breathe, to feel and to accept all that is freely given to us on a daily basis.

Love Another!