58. Ten Years and Still Making Every Day Count

December, 2001

This is a special day for me, for it marks the tenth anniversary of the day I almost died.

Unconscious on a metal table, my body chilled to 93 degrees,  my heart was stopped and machines breathed for me and circulated my blood.  I spent many long hours in this condition while arteries and veins were cut from my chest, arm and legs and then sewn to the blood vessels of my heart.

I had six by-passes at the age of 45.

It took a while to recover from this operation and it did indeed change my life on so many levels. So many changes. You would think, for example, that a close brush with death would make you appreciate how precious life really is, which I do, and therefore I would become a much more cautious person.  But instead, it made me fearless in the sense that it gave me a new perspective. I knew what was, and wasn't, important and I knew how I wanted to spend the rest of my life. I really was without fear in my dealings with people and in my law practice.  The feeling was, after what I had gone through and survived, there was nothing anyone could throw at me that would compare. I suppose it is the same kind of confidence someone may develop after surviving a major catastrophe. It either destroys you or makes you a stronger, better person. Unfortunately, it also sometimes makes it difficult for me to suffer fools easily and in that respect, it may be more like some elderly persons I have known who are at a point in their lives where they just don't really care what other people think, about them or anything else. While I haven't quite turned into a grouchy hermit, I did learn to slow down and appreciate every single day for its own sake, to stop planning so much for the future, or dwell too much in the past. The past can't be changed and the future is always uncertain. But we all exist in the present, and I needed to live in the present. And so I have.

My children have grown and made me very proud of them.  A lot has happened in the last ten years and I hope to be around for many years to come.  Wealth and success can come and go, but it was the love and support of my family that pulled me through a most difficult time.  I was too ill and weak to set up the Christmas tree that year (the only year I can remember not doing so), but the love and togetherness of our family was so strong, we hardly even noticed. 

The above photo was taken on Christmas Day in 2001 while I was recovering from my surgery. From left to right: Me, Alice Davis (my mother), Alyssa Bickers (my daughter), Tom Davis (my step-father); and Jessica Landis (my step-daughter).  Photo by Diane Landis Bickers (my wife).

57. Duff Park Sunset, 20 x 24, oil on canvas, 2011

Duff Park Sunset, 20 x 24, oil on canvas, 2011

Last winter I took a hike in Duff Park in Murrysville, PA, soon after a snowstorm.  I could barely believe my eyes when I saw how beautiful and serene the park appeared, especially with a small stream running through the landscape.  I explored the area all afternoon until dark, filling my soul and my camera with wonderful images.  This painting is based on such an image and it demonstrates my new appreciation for snowy winter scenes.  I can hardly wait for it to snow here again!

This is one of two paintings I now have on exhibit at the East Suburban Artists League's Annual Art Show at Penn State New Kensington (3550 Seventh Street Road (Highway 780), New Kensington, PA  15068). The show runs from December 2, 2011 through January 2, 2012.  The reception (and ESAL's holiday party) is Friday, December 2nd 7-9pm.  The public is invited!  I hope to see you there!

56. Electric Sun, photograph, 2011

Electric Sun, photograph, 2011

It took almost three weeks to recover from a case of the flu and unfortunately, most of November has been a blur to me.  I did manage to take this photograph the day before Halloween when we had just received a bit of snow a day or two before. Click on the image to enlarge.

I attended the opening reception of the 16th Annual Regional Juried Art Exhibition sponsored by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Council for the Arts, Inc., at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Ligonier Valley on November 19th.  While I did not win any awards this time, I was grateful to find that the curators of the museum liked my painting (see previous post) enough that they chose to hang it on the wall behind the front reception desk, making it the first painting a visitor sees when visiting the museum.  There is a great deal of fine artwork on display and it would make a trip to Ligonier very worthwhile. The exhibit runs November 18, 2011 through February 12, 2012.  

55. Leaves Upon the Waters, 20 x 24, oil on canvas

Leaves Upon the Waters, 20 x 24, oil on canvas, 2011

This is a view of the Conemaugh River near the Conemaugh Dam in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. This painting has been juried into the 16th Annual Regional Juried Art Exhibition sponsored by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Council for the Arts, Inc., at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Ligonier Valley.  Reception is November 19, 2011, 6-8PM.  The public is invited. The exhibit runs November 18, 2011 through February 12, 2012.  Click on the image to enlarge.

54. A Complete Revision of My Website

The last time I did a major revision of my website, I was excited about using some Adobe flash software that made viewing of my artwork easier and more appealing.  You could pick images from a table of small icons or sit back and watch a slideshow of my artwork slide by.  Many artists today use some sort of flash software to streamline the viewing process as I did.  Of course, it wouldn't last.

About a year ago when the I-Pad was released, I was troubled that Apple was refusing to work with Adobe to make sure their software were compatible.  When I finally looked at my website with an I-Pad, I found that the images either didn't appear at all or were thrown into some sort of "retro" mode where they were all the wrong sizes or jumbled up.  In other words, my website was a total mess.  Now that the I-Pad 2 has been released, Apple and Adobe, like a couple of misbehaving little brats, are still not talking to each other.  Unfortunately (sigh), it is clear to me that the use of I-Pads and similar instruments is only growing and may dominate the way most people view information on the internet, along with their smart phones.  It was time for me to make some adjustments.

I therefore revised my website to make it more friendly to all types of operating systems and to especially make it easier to use on a tablet-style computer (I hope).  Please go ahead and check my website out for yourself.  I think you will like it.  

There are exciting times just ahead.  I am working on a number of new paintings and will have them exhibited in various shows over the next year.  I will be updating and adding more paintings and more photographs to my website on a regular basis and you can expect to see more frequent postings here as well.  It is a good and exciting time to be alive!

53. Deep Woods Respite, 18 x 24, oil on canvas

Deep Woods Respite, 18 x 24, oil on canvas, 2011

This is the latest of a series of landscape paintings I am preparing that focus on various aspects of the seasons, especially as I see them here in Pennsylvania.  Click on the image to enlarge.

52. Michaels Incorporates Two of My Paintings in It's Advertisement Campaign for Fine Art Classes

Although my tenure as a Certified Grumbacher Fine Art Instructor at Michael's Arts and Crafts Store only lasted six months last year, I was surprised recently to find that Michael's had elected to use two of my paintings in it's website promoting the acrylic fine art classes I had taught. If you look up art supplies at the Michael's website and then click on "Fine Art Classes at Michael's" you will see the advertisement at left. Moving your cursor over the "Floral 1" bar or the "Seascape 1" bar shows additional images of these paintings. The seascape and the floral paintings are, of course, mine and are shown below.  I am quite pleased and honored to have my artwork showcased this way and I sincerely wish Michael's luck in the promotion of their acrylic fine art classes. 

 

Other posts about my time working with Grumbacher and Michael's can be found at posts 52, 46, 34, 33, 32 and 31 and on Bob's website here.

 

 

51. Giuseppe Moretti's Ladies of Highland Park, Pittsburgh, Digital Photograph Diptych, 2011

Giuseppe Moretti's Ladies of Highland Park, Pittsburgh, Digital Photograph Diptych, 2011

Last year I visited Highland Park in Pittsburgh and was greatly impressed with the enormous columns that stood on either side of the entrance to this old and stately park.  Providing light on either side of the street were these two magnificent bronze statues created by the sculptor Giuseppe Moretti late in the 19th century.  I was struck by the greenish-blue patina on the statues and decided to print my own digital interpretation of these works of art.  Note that this diptych and the oil painting of the Conemaugh Bridge (in the post below) were both juried into the "History Through Art" Exhibition being held by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Council for the Arts and the Greensburg Art Club at the Rowe Gallery (at 230 Todd School Road, Greensburg, PA 15601) and will be on exhibit July 15, 2011 through August 26, 2011.  Opening Reception is on Saturday, July 16, 2011.  The Rowe Gallery is open Tuesday-Friday 10:00am-4:00pm; Wednesday Evening 7:00pm-9:00pm; Saturday 1:00pm-4:00pm and closed Sundays & Saturdays.   Click on the image to enlarge.

50. Conemaugh Bridge No. 4 on the West Penn Trail, 18 x 36, oil on canvas, 2011

Conemaugh Bridge No. 4 on the West Penn Trail; 18 x 36; oil on canvas; 2011

A short distance east of Murrysville, Pennsylvania, where I live, is a section of the West Penn Trail which crosses back and forth across the Conemaugh River along a series of old stone railroad bridges built over a century ago.  Stained yellow and red by the iron deposits washing out of the many flooded mines upstream, the bridges have always been a source of fascination for me.  I decided it was about time I went ahead and painted one of these stately wonders of another era.   

This painting and the digital photograph in the next post above were both juried into the "History Through Art" Exhibition being held by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Council for the Arts and the Greensburg Art Club at the Rowe Gallery (at 230 Todd School Road, Greensburg, PA 15601) and will be on exhibit July 15, 2011 through August 26, 2011.  Opening Reception is on Saturday, July 16, 2011.  The Rowe Gallery is open Tuesday-Friday 10:00am-4:00pm; Wednesday Evening 7:00pm-9:00pm; Saturday 1:00pm-4:00pm and closed Sundays & Saturdays. Click on the image to enlarge.

Update:  This painting won Third Place in oils/acrylics at the 2011 Murrysville Women's Club Annual Art Show held at the Murrysville Municipal Building on October 8-9, 2011.

49. Bethany Blair Bickers Receives (Another) College Degree

Bob and Beth Bickers

I am proud to announce that my oldest daughter, Beth (posing with me at left), received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Memphis on May 8, 2011.  Her major was Criminal Justice and at this time she is seeking a job in that field.  Beth had already earned an Associate Degree in Graphic Arts in 2007.

I know that Beth has worked very hard to get this far and I wish her a very rewarding (and safe) career in law enforcement.  She is only the third generation from my side of the family to be college-educated, and I hope that is a chain that will continue into the future.  Beth is a fine young woman with a bright future and exciting times ahead of her.

Speaking of bright, Beth's younger brother, Brad, just completed his first year of college on the Dean's List.  That's the sort of thing that makes me proud.  Keep up the good work, Brad.