Mountain Herd Wild Appaloosa Equine Abstract Art Horse Painting by Texas Artist Daily Painter Laurie Pace
'Mountain Herd Appaloosa'
24 x 36 Acrylic on Canvas
The Painting: This is only a part of the larger painting... I did not paint this week! This piece is available to purchase. You can click ON MY EASEL above to view it.
CHECK OUT on the left side of the blog... the upcoming July Issue of Appaloosa Journal. The two links below are pages 1-4 of the inside story of my art.
The Thought: There are these situations in life that you never think about because if you did, you would dread them. Literally dread. Some are actually those life or death things and you truly never know how you are going to react when they happen.
Thinking back to my Camp Fire Girl training and the common sense my parents instilled in me, it is not the wisest thing to be out on the lake in a sailboat in a rainstorm with thunder and lightening. Terry and I took the sailboat out in late morning yesterday about 11:00 a.m. The sky was blue with lots of those puffy billowy clouds filling the sky scooting from the southwest overhead. We had decided to sail a few hours and then dock the boat at our neighbors dock on the lake itself so we can get in and out easier than launching and relaunching form the boat dock. I had checked the radar on the computer before we left and there was nothing in our area. All the storms were south on the gulf coast.
When Terry put the sails up and we pushed off the sandy beach area.. we took off like a bird across the lake, one pontoon rising out of the water. That alone puts fear into me. Cars have four wheels and they belong on the ground. This boat has two pontoons but unfortunately they do not belong on the water at all times. Our family rule is they DO when I am on the boat. He decided I needed to learn to sail.
This centered around an earlier conversation as I was trying to bring my cellphone in the special waterproof bag, insisting we might should have it on us incase of emergency.
I got one of those dry looks back at me. Okay, so if something happens to us here, we don't have to have our Driver's license on us or our name stitched in our underwear, the sheriff can ID us and knows where our parents live. If something happened to me... he could skillfully bring the boat into the nearest shore, but if something happen to him, I would have to call 911 and ask the sheriff to launch a boat as I would have NO idea how to steer this thing in the lake.
Back to the idea...I need to learn to sail, or rather he said I did, but forgot to tell me. He sat still on the hull as the wind whipped the mainsail and the jib unmercifully and the boat wove out of control. There was no way for me to reach the rudder bar ... it was much easier to hold on for dear life. He eventually gave in as I launched into a terrified lecture on how to teach new people to do things and that was not the best choice...sink or swim, or in this case, sail or sink.
We continued on a nice sail for about two hours cruising the shoreline and darting back and forth in the sun across the lake. We were about a mile from our inlet when I noted the black clouds gathering overhead and heard that first roll of thunder. "Shouldn't we pull in on this shore and get off the boat?" "No, we will make it back across, let the jib out."
I let the jib out as more thunder rolled, and we picked up speed but not near fast enough. "What happens if the mast is hit by lightening, are we instantly fried?" "We'll be okay...just hang on and tighten the jib again." "But I want to see Tink again..." " you will..."
By this time we were only half way across the lake when a double rumble very close occurred. I said, 'Turn around and head back to the other shore." "NO, we are half way home.' "we are heading directly into the storm..." I pleaded looking back at him. He just smiled... more thunder rolled. About that time the jib began to flutter to still.. and the lake was calm and we were not moving. I could see our tie up about 1/3 mile away and our neighbor's dock just before it.
He calls at me, "Untie the paddles." I struggle to move to the front of the trampoline and encountered a huge mess of ropes in circled knots that only a magician could untie. He climbed over me fumbling with the ropes. Finally freeing a paddle he handed it to me and I began to paddle like my life depended on it.
It is an 18 ft catamaran... full sails and rain beginning to fall. I said, "I can jump out and swim pushing this boat faster" but I continued to paddle. I could sense he was struggling. A bee was between his glasses and his face and he almost dropped his newly freed paddle... but in moments he was paddling too.
He passed the first dock as I was pleading to him to just pull in and tie up. I was praying this entire time but it was like everything was in slow motion wondering how the disciples felt on the water in the storm and wondering how high their mast was. I reasoned ours was higher and it was not wood, it was an attractive metal...shiny metal. I wondered what kind of thoughts people would have if they had only a minute to think and they were going to die. Surely it was not our time to die, but if it was I had no control. I continued to paddle.
We reached the next dock and he decided with the rolling thunder to pull in there and tie up for the day. It is next to where we are suppose to tie up, but it will work, any port in a storm they say. He dropped the mainsail and I began folding it up on the dock as he untied the jib to let if flop loose. We were hoping to sail again later in the day.
As I walked up the hill to the house I was thanking God over and over again. Once safe inside as we sat eating our chicken salad sandwiches he said to me, "I didn't want to worry you, but since we are safe and home, you missed some of the worst lightening behind you when you were paddling and busy. I was trying to keep you active so you would not see it, as we were literally in the hands of God. There was nothing humanly possible for me to do but continue pushing us toward the dock."
We didn't sail again yesterday. More storms were moving in from Tyler up to where we live. It will be a few days until we are back out on the water again. We stored the sails and stayed put the rest of the day.
What would Jesus do? When the storms hit unexpectedly we have to push on in faith and do the best we can possibly do.
Thinking back to my Camp Fire Girl training and the common sense my parents instilled in me, it is not the wisest thing to be out on the lake in a sailboat in a rainstorm with thunder and lightening. Terry and I took the sailboat out in late morning yesterday about 11:00 a.m. The sky was blue with lots of those puffy billowy clouds filling the sky scooting from the southwest overhead. We had decided to sail a few hours and then dock the boat at our neighbors dock on the lake itself so we can get in and out easier than launching and relaunching form the boat dock. I had checked the radar on the computer before we left and there was nothing in our area. All the storms were south on the gulf coast.
When Terry put the sails up and we pushed off the sandy beach area.. we took off like a bird across the lake, one pontoon rising out of the water. That alone puts fear into me. Cars have four wheels and they belong on the ground. This boat has two pontoons but unfortunately they do not belong on the water at all times. Our family rule is they DO when I am on the boat. He decided I needed to learn to sail.
This centered around an earlier conversation as I was trying to bring my cellphone in the special waterproof bag, insisting we might should have it on us incase of emergency.
I got one of those dry looks back at me. Okay, so if something happens to us here, we don't have to have our Driver's license on us or our name stitched in our underwear, the sheriff can ID us and knows where our parents live. If something happened to me... he could skillfully bring the boat into the nearest shore, but if something happen to him, I would have to call 911 and ask the sheriff to launch a boat as I would have NO idea how to steer this thing in the lake.
Back to the idea...I need to learn to sail, or rather he said I did, but forgot to tell me. He sat still on the hull as the wind whipped the mainsail and the jib unmercifully and the boat wove out of control. There was no way for me to reach the rudder bar ... it was much easier to hold on for dear life. He eventually gave in as I launched into a terrified lecture on how to teach new people to do things and that was not the best choice...sink or swim, or in this case, sail or sink.
We continued on a nice sail for about two hours cruising the shoreline and darting back and forth in the sun across the lake. We were about a mile from our inlet when I noted the black clouds gathering overhead and heard that first roll of thunder. "Shouldn't we pull in on this shore and get off the boat?" "No, we will make it back across, let the jib out."
I let the jib out as more thunder rolled, and we picked up speed but not near fast enough. "What happens if the mast is hit by lightening, are we instantly fried?" "We'll be okay...just hang on and tighten the jib again." "But I want to see Tink again..." " you will..."
By this time we were only half way across the lake when a double rumble very close occurred. I said, 'Turn around and head back to the other shore." "NO, we are half way home.' "we are heading directly into the storm..." I pleaded looking back at him. He just smiled... more thunder rolled. About that time the jib began to flutter to still.. and the lake was calm and we were not moving. I could see our tie up about 1/3 mile away and our neighbor's dock just before it.
He calls at me, "Untie the paddles." I struggle to move to the front of the trampoline and encountered a huge mess of ropes in circled knots that only a magician could untie. He climbed over me fumbling with the ropes. Finally freeing a paddle he handed it to me and I began to paddle like my life depended on it.
It is an 18 ft catamaran... full sails and rain beginning to fall. I said, "I can jump out and swim pushing this boat faster" but I continued to paddle. I could sense he was struggling. A bee was between his glasses and his face and he almost dropped his newly freed paddle... but in moments he was paddling too.
He passed the first dock as I was pleading to him to just pull in and tie up. I was praying this entire time but it was like everything was in slow motion wondering how the disciples felt on the water in the storm and wondering how high their mast was. I reasoned ours was higher and it was not wood, it was an attractive metal...shiny metal. I wondered what kind of thoughts people would have if they had only a minute to think and they were going to die. Surely it was not our time to die, but if it was I had no control. I continued to paddle.
We reached the next dock and he decided with the rolling thunder to pull in there and tie up for the day. It is next to where we are suppose to tie up, but it will work, any port in a storm they say. He dropped the mainsail and I began folding it up on the dock as he untied the jib to let if flop loose. We were hoping to sail again later in the day.
As I walked up the hill to the house I was thanking God over and over again. Once safe inside as we sat eating our chicken salad sandwiches he said to me, "I didn't want to worry you, but since we are safe and home, you missed some of the worst lightening behind you when you were paddling and busy. I was trying to keep you active so you would not see it, as we were literally in the hands of God. There was nothing humanly possible for me to do but continue pushing us toward the dock."
We didn't sail again yesterday. More storms were moving in from Tyler up to where we live. It will be a few days until we are back out on the water again. We stored the sails and stayed put the rest of the day.
What would Jesus do? When the storms hit unexpectedly we have to push on in faith and do the best we can possibly do.
Laurie
“The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.”- Habakkuk 3:19
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