Hooray for the Red, White, and Blue – Jacki Kellum Oil Paintings

In my college art classes, I initially trained to paint in oils, but for most of the past 50 years, I’ve painted in watercolor, which is a much less forgiving medium–especially for loose, expressionistic painters. For quite some time, I’ve wanted to try oils again, and I’m finally doing that again. I’ve spent the month…

Zoo in the Sky by Jacqueline Mitton

Zoo in the Sky was illustrated by Christina Balit, and that is one of the reasons that I recommend this book.  I own several books that Balit illustrated. She is a master of design in illustration. Beyond that, I recommend this book because it introduces several of the constellations in the night sky. The constellations…

Stars, Astronomy, The Star of Bethlehem and the Magi in the Bible

The Magi Visit the Messiah 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed,…

Something Wicked This Way Comes Chapter 2 and Autumn: Seasons of Life

For this post, I’ll be quoting from the following edition of Ray Bradbury’s masterful novel Something Wicked This Way Comes: Bradbury, Ray. Something Wicked This Way Comes. Large Print edition, Center Point Publishing, 2000. The page numbers will be different if you are reading from another edition of the book. Something Wicked This Way Comes…

The Moon & the Stars — Things That Light the Night

Darkness versus the Light or Night versus Day are themes that frequently appear in the arts. In most cases, when the theme of the night is employed in a literary piece, the darkness of the night alludes to something sinister that is present in the story. Dark versus Light – Night versus Day – Themes…