-------------- Varied adventures in the art of doug keil aka dkeil --------------

Saturday, February 5, 2011

-Butterfly World- painting by dkeil

"Butterfly World" by dkeil on canvas on board- 2011






I have always loved the fragile existence of fluttering little color bugs. Few things in my life have matched the excitement of being able to get right up close to a butterfly and getting the chance to examine one closely. There is an iridescence about them that sparkles like a jewel in the bright sun. They weigh practically nothing and yet, somehow, most can flutter about pretty gracefully even in a light breeze. We all know that butterflies morph from colorfully strange worms into magnificent flying creatures; my favorite attribute, though, is their coloration. They are not simply possessing color- they have been PAINTED with color- spots and dashes, contrasting intensities of lines and waves of color. They were artist-designed and artist-finished...The sheer variety of butterflies worldwide is astounding. They do a fine job pollinating plants, and a better job giving me a convenient excuse to drop whatever pointless work is at hand and go on an adventure, briefly visiting the colorful places in the life of a butterfly.

This new work of mine is on canvas stretched over seasoned and oil-primed 1/4in. plywood. The canvas has been glued to the plywood with gesso and then many layers of gesso were applied to form the grounds for painting. It's a larger scale work, being 23 x 38.5 inches.

There's is some symbolism/ meaning involved in the work, but I'll let the viewer determine their own conclusions.

Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on the painting!
Thanks for visiting! 

-Doug Keil
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Friday, October 23, 2009

The Anomaly of Time

Do you know the artist of this work?
       If a man in his nineties with full mental capacities reflects on the course of life, it seems fairly apparent that the greatest enemy facing mankind is not men, but rather, death. At the height of his intellectual capability the end arrives, and another is left the task of reorganizing and maintaining one's work. How much better it would be if life simply continued and the minds of men were focused on good and peaceful things!

Some cynics may say, "Where would the adventure be in such a world?" The answer is simple- learning, loving, and sharing are the adventures that bring the most satisfaction. The simple fact is that we were created to enjoy such adventures. It's in our very composition. That's why love songs are "always and forever" and people in the most remote parts of the earth all share an innermost desire to live forever. Knowledge builds confidence; and no knowledge has greater power than that which results from study of the most ancient (yet) modern book- the Bible.

Many form a strong opinion on its contents without ever examining it themselves; perhaps based on the appalling behavior of so many "claiming" to be devoted to its teachings. I was guilty of that in the course of my youth. Knowledge would have spared me a lot of pain, but I move forward. The future I can change.


Every human owes it to themself to make a sincere investigation into the basic teachings and principles of the Bible. Then, with great confidence, the fading aged man can know what now seems to be greatly lacking- is restorable! Yes, God made time. It is a gift. Jehovah can grant more time to his friends. To those who don't know him, time is a confounding anomaly. To those who love the Architect of time, it is a delightful proposition of endless learning and discovery.


The video I've posted below is a few minutes of reading
from one of my favorite passages of scripture:

the book of Proverbs- chapters 1 & 2.
Take a couple minutes for some reflection.
Can knowledge of God be found, is it really a big mystery? What is written? What's the purpose of the proverbs? The answers are all in these two chapters.
You can continue reading read more
by clicking this link.
Let me know what you think.
Leave a comment, I look forward to hearing from you.






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