dreaming of Africa

Last night my dreams returned to Africa. The place where the earth became a new discovery. When we are children almost ever day is new. Remember that first time you visited a zoo? Each new animal filled your heart and mind with fresh wonder, awe and inspiration. The first time you felt a tug on a fishing line and you pulled up your first catfish, gills gasping, tail twitching and flopping, you felt such an amazing thing. You only get that sense of wonder so many times in a lifetime. I keep wanting to find that sense of wonder and it is why my heart calls me to travel to those places to find it. I remember standing in Yellowstone at the edge of this massive waterfall. I stood there for almost an hour, my feelings overwhelmed by the immensity and grandeur of such a spectacle of beauty. The first time a child sees a goldfish in a bowl is such a feeling, never having seen a goldfish before they watch it for hours, days, until the feelings numb and finally become adjusted. That is the way of it. Lucky for me the EARTH is too big and too complex and wonderful-even though our destruction of it increases by horrible bounds each day-and i am compelled to seek out each new places

-each new discovery for my own soul.************************************************************************************************I remember waking up in Kenya, stepping a few feet outside out tent in Samburu and finding pizza pan sized footprints in the sand. Elephants, like silent gigantic ghosts in the night, walked a few feet from where we slept and dreamed of the immense beasts. As i look each morning at our bayou, here in Texas, I remember those brief but memorable visits to the jungles of Costa Rica and the savannahs of Africa, the elusive views of toucans and spider monkeys in the canopy and the giant elands on the night drives and I realize and sadly imagine this same bayou winding from the bay like a sleek green twisting and turning anaconda, its banks filled with huge sun basking alligators and hundreds of herons, egrets, ducks, rookeries of white and colorful plumage, bobcats, ocelots, and red wolf packs hunting along the forest edges of the waterway. I think about this as I gradually wake up to the day. These thoughts are usually what compel me to make art of animals and instill in me a burning desire to leave this place of too many people too much destruction and travel- move- follow what is left of the earth..in search of new discovery--that feeling-that I found in Africa that never leaves once discovered-that feeling that my years melted away in that place and each morning I woke up a child-full of wonderment and promise. ************************************************************************************************I have been planning our next trip and it a year long process just to find and figure out where and when we embark on our journey of discovery. In the next few months i'll figure it out and keep creating and dreaming of the animals that are trying to survive- My small contribution is in directing my art students in their Endangered Species Art Project next month! Until the next time-thanks for reading my words and share my blog ---DOUG HISER

2013 A NEW YEAR for ART!

As I write this I am back teaching the 2nd semester of High School Art Students and almost TOO busy to ever get any of my own artwork accomplished. The Visual Arts Scholastic Event is coming up for my students in 3 weeks and I will be totally embroiled in preparations for the event up until that time.*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************With that explained I'll share the last few paintings I completed in December and the new one I finished today. This new one, an american Kestral, which I used to call a "Sparrow Hawk" I used a technique I just invented and I sort of like the way it turned out. I used a blue-black BIC pen and Derwent color pencils. It almost has a metallic strong finish to it. Kind of like a Heavy Metal Little Hawk! **********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************Those who follow on Facebook might have seen the Mara Hippo or the Barn Owl and maybe even the steps in the other hawk. During the holidays I had some ups and downs, mostly ups-seeing my daughter and son come home and spending time with my family. I did spend some time out in nature and had some really great encounters with local wildlife. I spent about 20 minutes only a few yards away from the most beautiful Loggerhead Shrike I have ever seen. That bird was not even afraid of me-and I didn't have my camera! I also got to watch two White-tailed Kites flying above a lake for some time. I have been having visits from three Pied-billed Grebes here on the bayou in my backyard this winter-seems like they show up every year at this time. I also have had plenty of Kingfisher visits and lately brown pelicans have been cruising down the bayou. ************************************************************************************************The Art Show season has been slow lately but in a few months the Springtime will pick it back up! One last thing My 2 bestsellers, The Honey Bee Girl and Montana Mist keep on finding their way into the reading public with the help of many good reviews showing up on Amazon.com. Now if you haven't discovered my FAVORITE Book that I have written, Tropical Calypso, order one today! AND stay tuned I'll soon be announcing when my new book will be ready for sale, Ten Secrets of Love! Thanks for staying with me, Doug Hiser

MUTT Online - Arts Community, empowering those in the arts from around the world to reach their full potential

MUTT Online - Arts Community, empowering those in the arts from around the world to reach their full potential

CHRISTMAS in the HISER world!!

Okay so it is almost Christmas and the Christmas break began with the END of the WORLD. These next two weeks should be spent with family, watching the new movies, football and soccer games, getting some serious art time AND some SERIOUS NAP TIME!!***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************Our Christmas Art Show at HGA went well and now my students will be getting ready for UIL Visual Scholastic Arts Event in Feb. I will be finishing my Aplomado Falcon gigantic 4 x 5-ish ink piece! Below I have added 3 steps to my close up Kenya Hippo painting--which i will also be finishing soon. Still working on the different cover versions for my new BOOK due out in a few months: TEN SECRETS OF LOVE************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************During these two weeks I will also be scheduling my Art and book appearances for the upcoming SPRING ART season! I hope to see many of you soon! Thanks for reading my words and checking out my ART! Doug Hiser

Watching nature in Matagorda

Thanksgiving is over and the food was great and the family interesting as always. We took time out on the way from Galveston county driving 2 hours to Port Lavaca, Texas, for my Wife's family gathering and took a detour in Bay City, Matagorda Wildlife Refuge. We have stopped here many times and the birding is always rewarding.***************************************************************************************This time the adventure included my wife, Gayln, getting extremely close to a beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk. The photos are below. We also were very lucky to sit and watch a belted kingfisher catch a fish too large to swallow. For twenty minutes, he slapped and pounded that silver fish against the tree branch on the other side of the Colorado River. It was so awesome, because Kingfishers can be such elusive birds to watch.*************************************************************************************************We were lucky to encounter a trio of gorgeous wood ducks and buffleheads. Other species we got good views of were Brown Thrashers, chasing each other in and out of the foliage, egrets, a lone Roseate Spoonbill, flycatchers, yellow rumped warblers, vireos, and many others. We also took the easy photos of those swamp dwellers on logs, red eared sliders and other assorted turtles. This was the first time we failed to see any alligators but the day was slightly chilly.***************************The swamps, the woods, the ponds and river foliage, and the many vines and interesting trees all have spots in my mind's reference eye for future paintings. I did some sketches later in the weekend and I am pondering my next painting this week. Christmas is on the horizon and this time of year gets too busy for me and puts a damper on my art time. Hey guys, Thanks for READING!! Doug Hiser

San Antonio Art Conf 2012

Hello!********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************I am back from three days at the San Antonio Art Teachers Conference, the Riverwalk, and the ZOO! I have to say that each conference workshop is a great experience with learning and pushing boundaries in my art realms. The most rewarding experience is that many art teachers are also artists and the conversations seem to be so gratifying. The best thing about the event is that I always come away with so many NEW ideas about teaching art and so many different styles for tweaking my lesson plans. Being around so many good teachers and artists is what I miss most about being the only artist on my campus. On the other side of that coin is the difference of opinion that i have from some of the other art teachers. For example--there is an OLD School way of thinking about art and a New Age of imaginative thinking and the OLD School is still pushing their philosophy against the rising Tsunami of the NEW WORLD of Imaginative ART. I think the ART world Academia are still pushing their Agenda and they do control the Art Education world in college and school, for now. SO I am STILL a REBEL, i guess because, even though I have a college art education I do not follow their beliefs. I could write an entire novella on this topic but I'll stop here and just say---it is better to keep quiet about your opinion on "HOW to teach and What to teach" when in the company of ART Academia. I will let my ART speak for itself instead and my student's art speaks loudly too. :) ***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************Here are some of the many different and unique examples of stuff I did in workshops---> Thanks for reading my words! Doug Hiser

Art Festival Season and a BABY RHINO!

I have had a busy season of 2012 so far after returning from our trip to Africa. I had a few art shows squeezed in with the Bay area Art Walk, the Word Wrangler Fest, The East Texas Book Fest, Galveston Artoberfest, Seabrook Art Fest and the Santa Fe Heritage Fest. Next week I will be in San Antonio for the Texas Art Educators Conf. Thursday through Sunday. So far I have not been persuaded to do any Art Fests or shows in December but that could change. I will be featuring my student's Christmas art at the HGA Christmas Program on December 21st.*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************As far as producing ART. I am going at WARP speed. I finished my baby Rhino today and will share it with you below. I am steadily working on a large 36 x 40 Aplomado Falcon and starting a painting of a fight scene between a white tiger and a 'regular' haha tiger.**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************Please, my friends, share my blog and my art and it helps us to grow and reach more people who love art and wildlife, who care about conservation and saving our planets precious animals! Thanks for tuning in again. Doug Hiser