This bench might be a comfortable place to cast a fishing line. Maybe it’s THE fishing spot. Or it might be a quiet place to read a book or to pray. Or a place to sit privately for a cry, remembering yet another friend or family member that recently passed away. Or maybe one might sit here and ponder what their own life has been, what their future holds, or even wonder about their own mortality. Or perhaps one might solve some current problem in their life right here or ponder about the world’s problems in general. One could sit here with a beloved dog, or a girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, husband, or child, to tell stories or jokes, make big plans, share some beef jerky, or simply enjoy each other’s presence. It could be a great place to commune with nature, watching the herons land and feed in the water, or the ducks and geese floating down the river with a trail of their babies following behind them. Of course, these woods are filled with all kinds of birds to watch. You might even see the occasional ermine scurrying in and out of the large rocks on the riverbank. I’ve seen all of these things down by the river. To some this bench might be an oasis in the middle of a busy city… one of the few places to escape the steel and concrete, the noise, and the litter. That might mean a lot to someone who needs that.

I created this painting about a week after a friend of mine unexpectedly passed away. I mostly thought of him as I painted it. He appreciated nature and places such as this. He even once helped save a beautiful natural place much like this from being sold and paved over by developers. Perhaps the empty bench symbolizes the void he has left. Because I know he would have told me that he liked the painting. He was always a supportive friend like that, and he enjoyed my art. Or, on the contrary, the empty bench might remind us to continue enjoying life, to keep pondering and planning and enjoying our blessings. To use the bench – to accept the ebb and flow and be grateful for the different seasons of our life.

In my painting the sky is gray, and the dormant woods are bare and colorless and struggle to shake off the final days of another cold winter. Here and there, snow still lies within tiny patches of shade, where the sun doesn’t reach it, but the river is running high and fast from the thaw. The trout and salmon are running upstream to spawn and create more life. Spring is here. The daylight will stick around longer each day throughout the coming months and the air will get warmer. Soon the woods will be green again and rife with life. The sunshiny days of Summer always return and that is when the bench is empty a lot less.

You can watch a time lapse video of the creation of this painting on my youtube channel. Here’s a link to that. If you enjoy the video, you can subscribe to my channel so that you will receive notifications of when I post more art videos.

Thank you for reading this. I hope the painting does something for you.

I’ve named the painting (simply) “Dryad’s Saddle”. For anyone not in the know, “Dryad’s Saddle” is an edible shelf mushroom that grows on dead decaying trees. You will easily find them in wooded areas (obviously). They’re also known as “Pheasant Back”, because the pattern on them resembles the feathers on a pheasant’s back.

The small young Dryad’s Saddle are tender and the most edible. My wife and I harvest Dryad’s Saddle from a decaying tree stump in our own back yard, every Spring and Summer, and she cooks them up in a frying pan. The larger they are, the tougher and woodier they are, so you want the small young ones which are softer. Freshly picked, they smell like cucumber or watermelon rind, and when chopped up and cooked in a skillet with some butter, garlic, and a dash of salt they fry up much like any mushroom does. Its texture reminds me very much of cooked chicken (the tender dark meat) and it has an earthy flavor. I’ve read that they are high in vitamins, protein, and anti-oxidents and are very healthy to eat. There is a lot of information on the internet about Dryad’s Saddle and how to prepare them.

Also in my painting are hosta plants. Did you know that hostas are also edible? You can eat the shoots, the leaves, and the flowers. There’s lots of info about that online as well. Perhaps I should have named the painting “Forager’s Delight”.

This painting has gotten my creativity going again and reminds me that Spring is just around the corner. We’ll be seeing lots of “Dryad’s Saddle” soon, and I have already started working on another painting! I hope we’ll be seeing more of those on a regular basis too!

Prints of my new painting “Dryad’s Saddle” are now available in my store. This open edition hand-signed giclee print is digitally printed in high resolution with waterproof archival pigment inks on 19 mil, 260 g/m2, archival textured matte velvet fine art paper, 100% cotton fiber and acid free.

Thanks for reading my blog post!

I painted the other piece, “Burger Friends”, in the weeks before the 4th of July (Independence Day, in the USA). I had to step away from the painting many times to work on projects around the house, so it took longer than it should have to complete it. ”Burger Friends” is evocative of summertime grilling and the toppings we put on a burger around here. I enjoy smoking and grilling food and I do a lot of it for my household in the summertime. Aside from brisket, ribs, kabobs, chicken, grilled hot dogs and hamburgers are a common staple food during the summer months. It’s easy and delicious. Who doesn’t love hand patted quarter pound “Dad burgers”? I particularly like lettuce, tomato, red onion, cheese, and mayo, on mine. I can’t help but admire the beauty of freshly sliced vegetables, brightly colored, crisp, and juicy, just before I destroy the presentation by piling up my cheeseburger.

I’ve already started a timelapse video of another new painting, in between painting my bathroom and garage (different kind of “painting”). The projects keep coming.

Prints of “Early-Autumn Zinnias” and “Burger Friends” can be purchased in my online store. Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog!

I’ve made several new paintings over the past few weeks. I began filming timelapse videos showing the creation of these paintings. My first painting was a garden gnome standing next to some black eyed susans. I painted it with gouache paints on paper and named the piece “The Gardener”.

The next one, also gouache on paper, was a grasshopper.

And the painting after that was some bleeding heart flowers, which I painted on a larger stretched canvas with acrylic paints.

The bleeding hearts was a painting that I had started about a year ago, but I lost interest in it as I instead got into a different painting. So I decided to break it out and finish it finally, and I made a timelapse video of it, and started a YouTube channel to collect the footage and more timelapse videos of my paintings, for people that like that sort of thing. I think it’s interesting to watch a piece develop and morph in fast motion. I try to put nice music to the videos or some pleasant ambient background noise. You can watch the full videos from beginning to end on my youtube channel at www.youtube.com/@marjasallproductions. Subscribe to my channel and you’ll receive notifications of when I post new videos.

These new paintings I just mentioned, “The Gardener”, “A Grasshopper”, and “Bleeding Hearts” are now available as archival prints in my store.

I put together a slide show several weeks ago of most of my current collection of artworks. I think it’s an entertaining way to view the collection quickly in one place. Enjoy!

I’m about to begin work on another yet-unfinished painting and time-lapse video. I want to keep the creative momentum going. It’s another painting that I started about a year ago and I’ll reveal what it is when I release the video.

April is the time when nature gets creative. It’s planting season and nature comes back to life. Summer will be here before we know it. The warm weather gets me outdoors more, which means more energy, and that I will be surrounded by inspiration and new things to paint.

That’s all the news I have for the month of April. Peace to you and have a blessed day! Thank you for reading my blog!