The Forgotten Urban Face

I am mindful of the sorrow and utter dismay of growing older. I think that every one wants to leave a legacy that they have been here on this planet and have done something with their life. For the past few months I have been painting this piece. It has been hard for me. I would paint a while then I would set it to the side. Too be truthful it's not a pretty painting nor is it meant to be. It is emotional at best. Last year I was in Cincinnati and I took a picture of this building. Let me rephrase that. I stood on the top of a parking lot building in downtown Cincinnati and started shooting with my camera as I panned around. I was not really aiming just shooting randomly. I went back to the studio and hooked my camera up to my Mac, (I love my Mac) and uploaded the pics that I had taken. I went thru the pics and deleted the ones that were out of focus or were crap and then I came to this one picture that intrigued me. I cropped it and to my surprise, I found a face! It was a building that was art deco yet when I cropped it there was two eyes where there were circles a nose made from a molding and a mouth where the dental molding was. There was a strand of hair where the downspout was and it seemed sad because where the pigeons had crapped it had run down as if it were weeping.

I'm sure that during it's hay day this building was really something to look at, with it's moldings and dentals. Alas it had been forgotten, abandoned and left to rot. I think, if a building that has had an investment of thousands of dollars has been abandoned what about our own people? 

What is the worth of a soul? Do we only care for people when they can produce or be of value? My mother in law was a beautiful soul. She was from Iceland and was very aristocratic. She knew the worth of a diamond simply by looking at it. Yet, when she was killed in an accident by the actions of a driver that did a U-turn, State Farm said that she wasn't worth as much because of her age. Had she been younger she would have fetched a better price! Seriously? That is how we judge our elderly? 

The knowledge and wisdom that they have to offer are boundless. If you have a Grandfather or a Grandmother or if you know someone that is over the age of fifty take the time to listen to their stories. It might save you some hard ache and you might even get a good laugh. Remember, one day you will be that old man or old woman watching the world get faster and faster.

Mahalo Hawaii

This is my latest painting called the "Tropical Cove". In 2009 I went on a cruise with Norwegian Cruise lines, with my wife, Sonia and my wonderful Mother, Jewel.

Of course this is after the passing of my father and so we took Mom to ease her pain. We went from Cincinnati to Salt Lake City and then to Honolulu by plane.  We then departed the Honolulu Harbor aboard the Pride Of America which is a beautiful ship with Norwegian, and awoke the next morning in Maui. Maui is amazing! The first day there we went on a dangerous excursion on the Road to Hana with our very talkative yet very knowledgeable guide "Surfin Sue." Sue knew everything about the Islands and the best surf places, the best places to picnic, the locals, the history and all about King Kameamea. She was wonderful! I highly recommend using a tour guide for driving this very treacherous stretch of road. 

The next day we stayed on the ship and just relaxed around the pool and enjoyed the rest of our evening by feasting and enjoying the comedy shows. We then allowed the ship to rock us asleep.

Next morning we awoke to the wonderful sight of the big Island at Hilo! Such a wonderful sight to see. In the far off distance I could see a wonderful sight. At first it looked like clouds but the clouds were going up instead off floating off. It was the steam of off the Volcano on the other side of the Island! Wow! That morning we went to a beautiful state park and enjoyed the jungle and beautiful flowers. I have never seen so many types of flora and botanical beauties in my days of living. Then on our way back we found out about HILO HATTIES! Hilo Hatties is a great place to purchase authentic Aloha Shirts and Mu'mus!

 http://www.hilohattie.com/aloha/ 

Yes, they may be a bit more expensive but they are made on the Island by Hawaiians. The Hawaiian people make their living selling these items. Now something to remember is that if you should go to a Luau, it is very important to know what a wonderful, spiritual and happy family event this is.

Luau's are very family oriented and the locals will dress in their own family color. Like my family dressed in Purple. It's like they color code their families which is good because at the Luau that we went to in Nawiliwili they fed over a thousand people. So if you have your family color coded it's easier to find them should your become separated.

By the way always have your camera ready for a shot. You never know when the opportunity will make itself available.

Case in point, I was coming back from breakfast and noticed several people looking and pointing at the water about 100 yards out. I went to the railing and looked. To my surprise, there was a pod of whales playing in the water just off of our starboard side! Now this was a bit odd since normally the whales are there from January thru February and then go to Alaska for cooler waters. This was in June in the heat of the summer but there they were! I took a few picks but nothing special. Just a couple of lumps in the water from my vantage point.

I went back to the cabin and saw this older lady oblivious to what was going on because she was smoking a cigarette and reading a romance novel.

I asked her if she knew about the whales that were playing off the starboard side. Without looking up she mumbled something about whales not being here at this time of the year.

I said, "Ma'am, I'm not from around here and I'm not the brightest person on the boat but what I'm looking at is some very big fish flopping around out there."

She put her book down, frowned at me and looked over her shoulder to get a glimpse of a whales tail flopping in the water. She caught her breath and said, "Christ! There are whales out there!" She then jumped up and beat me to the door of the ship to get her camera.

Then we went to Kona which is on the other side of the Island and normally it is very dry her according to our guide on the bus. It rained almost all day. We saw a little church that tell us John Wayne used in one of his South Pacific Movies. We wound our way thru the hills to see the Coffee Plantation of Kona. What a wonderful place to taste test coffee. It was a two story building in which the restrooms were downstairs in the "basement". Also down there was a man making rum cakes! They were smelling so good. I looked at him thru the screen door and enquired, "What are you making?" He replied, "Rum cakes!" I said, "Really?" He sayed, "Have you ever tasted Rum Cake?" I lied, "No." He game me two small rum cakes. The rum was dripping thru my fingers down to my elbows. I being the fluffy man that I am, took a bite and was transported to Nirvana! I went upstairs and Sonia looked at me and said,"What have you got and where did you get it!" She took a bite and her eyes got big as her desire overtook her will to be polite. I told her that a guy was making them down stairs. I must have said it loud enough because a few minutes later there was a lady hollering over the crowd that there are NO free rum cakes downstairs! Oops!

We then got back on the bus and went to a Refuge in Kona that was mysterious as it were beautiful. There we wondered thru the park taking pictures and seeing people from all of the world. There were people there from Japan, China, Germany, America it was wonderful just to be there enjoying the sites.

We made it back to the ship and pushed off that night. We then came to a place in our journey that was dark and yet thought provoking. It was about nine o'clock that night and the entertainment director invited us to the Port Side of the ship. The passengers lined the railings to get video or to get photo's of the volcano lava falling into the sea at night. You could smell the brimstone it was so hot. We were about  a quarter mile out yet we could see the lava flowing and bubbling. One could almost hear a pin drop because the crowd of people were hushed by the vastness of it all.

After passing that part of the voyage we went about our normal routines of going to the dinner clubs and enjoying dancing and karaoke. 

The next morning we awoke with the crow of a rooster! Yes, we were in Kuwaii.

A few years ago a typhoon blew thru and smashed all of the Chicken coops and the chickens ran wild. Now the are mostly feral chickens that run thru out the Island of Kuwaii. Kuwaii is beautiful with its high cliffs and beautiful coves. Here is where we enjoyed two beautiful days and our Luau. The Luau was such a wonderful experience with plenty of pig, poi, lomi lomi to eat along with the fire dancers and singing. It was a story of their family and how they traveled to Kuaii from Polleneesia because of love. It was a very moving experience. 

We returned to the ship and enjoyed the rest of the evening and awoke back in Honolulu, Oahu to finish the trip. Now for you golfers their is a golf package that is hard to beat so if you want to play some of the most beautiful golf resorts in the world this is the cruise to do it on.

www.ncl.com

Setting in the Sun

I took a photograph of a man setting by himself fishing at the Camp Earnst Lake in Burlington, Kentucky. This was in 2009 which was a tough year for everyone. The recession was at it's climax. My Father, the late Dr. Elmo Peters D.D. had concluded his time on this planet. My two dogs Butterscotch and Oreo had also left he planet to where ever little dogs go.

I loved this picture because of the timing of the setting of the sun and the patience of the old man that was fishing. He had been there several times and he might have had luck or not but he was still waiting for his time.

Isn't that really what we are doing? We are waiting for our time in the sun. Life is sure a mystery. We are born into this life as innocent as snow. We grow, we experience pain and happiness as we journey on this planet. What do we do with all of the knowledge and wisdom that we gain? Do we share it? Do we keep it in our hearts and minds like a vault? 

Hopefully we make an imprint on someone to do better. Hopefully we are like a ripple in a pond and we spread love and joy wherever we may go. I would like to hope that I have inspired someone to reach beyond and achieve their dreams.

Yesterday a man made an offer to purchase this painting of mine. It wasn't for as much as I would have liked to get but it was almost like a gift for he is now setting in the sunset of his life. I hope that he enjoys  the painting for the rest of his days.

Give the World a Smile!

You know, I think that the best thing that God gave us was a smile. There is so much that you can tell about a person who smiles. You can tell if a person is real or fake by their smile. Sometimes that is all a person can give you is their smile. It's hard to argue or debate with a person if they smile. I think that was one of the things that was great about Mohammed Ali was that he would smile at people when they fought him!

Smiling changes things. Did you know that it takes less muscles to smile then to frown? No wonder people come home tired at night! They are frustrated with their job, their family, their life and it shows on their faces! They go home and they can't eat or sleep or maybe they do eat because of their stress and unhappiness. The world is full of people that are so unhappy and they show it on their face. They wear their lives on their face.

There is a song that I use to love to hear. It goes something like, "Take that frown off your face put a smile in it's place. Let your personality unfurl! Loosen up, Start to sing your a child of the KING! Now go out and face the World!

Any time that I go out into the community, I try to put my best foot forward and show people kindness. I'm a real person, giving people my gift which is my smile. I try treating people like I want to be treated.

You don't have to be cheesy. Just be nice. Just be friendly. It will open doors for you in ways that will surprise you.

Winters that come and go.

Well, this winter is my 49th winter that I have seen come and go. So many hate winter but to me it's a part of life. You have to take it as it comes. I have seen good winters and I have seen hard winters. I believe that you have to treat winter like you would life. You must prepare for it. Have you had the antifreeze changed in the car? Have you checked the tires on the car? Did you put your safety and emergency kit in the car? Do you have a blanket? Do you have a tow rope or chain in the trunk? Maybe a shovel to dig out of the snow? Same as with life. Have you kissed your wife today and told her that you love her? (Or your husband) Have you hugged your kids today? Have you patted the dog or kitty on the head or scratched them behind the ears?

I think that sometimes we should take the time to reflect. Are we ready for the next step in our lives? What is our next step? What is our next project? Where is our next trip? Who will we meet today? Who can we influence? How can we make humanity and the world better?
I don't know about you but I tire of the status quo. I want to reach higher! I want to be a better husband! I want to be a better Father! A better man!
When I step into that Winter of Separation I want people to know that I was here and that I was a good man. That I cared. If you think about it that is really what death is. It is a portal that separates us from those that have gone on. I do believe that what we do and the choices that we make determine our destination thru that portal. Some believe that we come back as someone else or as something else. I am not of that thought. I don't believe that I have been any where else then where that I have been. I do believe that where I am going is unfathomable to the human mind. I am very excited and am not afraid of that moment when it comes.

My Father saw it and tried his best to describe it to me but he didn't have the vocabulary to explain it to me. I am reminded of the words, "Eye hath not seen , nor ear heard , neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 


Yes, I believe in a God. I believe that he has always been. I have felt him in his greatness. Now you may not and that is fine. It is not for me to judge you. He is my creator, God, King and my loyalties are unto him. Now I am not the type of Christian that rails against people. I live my life and hopefully someone can see my little light shine.
Well my friends, I hope that you enjoyed our little walk today thru the winter. If you should ever have a question that maybe I can help with let me know. I'm not a Dear Abby but I will give you a straight answer. Remember if it's a Biblical question, I will give you a Biblical Answer. 
Keep in mind that I'm NOT a religious man but I am spiritual. There is a difference. Even Jesus Christ himself didn't like religion and religion didn't like him either.

Lilly's under the Cherry Blossoms.

Many times I wrestle with sleepless nights wondering about my next piece. That was my situation last night. I awoke this morning with great vigor and jumped out of bed and cranked up my computer to flip thru my catalog of photos that I have taken and I found the one that I wanted. I then printed it off and trotted down stairs to the studio and began with ernest. I actually had fun painting this wonderful piece. It was swirls of blue and white with the trees growing thru the canvas to bud in all the right places.

This Painting is of a photo that I took while at the Krohn Conservatory last year during the spring. I always like to go there during the spring because they have the butterfly exhibition and it is so fun to photograph the butterflies. You are actually walking around excited like a kid looking at all of the butterfly hiding places.

So, If you are in Cincinnati and don't have anything to do this is the best place even with kids to see beautiful flowers and butterflies.

http://www.cincinnatiparks.com/krohn-conservatory/

Listen, Don't be shy to give me some feed back and let me know what you think. You should click on the link to the right and count your self as a follower of ...Raymond's Vision.

The Rolling Hills of Kentucky

Finally, I have finished with this piece after doing and redoing and redoing it again! I wanted to catch that essence. I posted it last night on my site at raymondsvision.yolasite.com . I always sigh a sigh of relief as well as release after completing a painting. It's like a parent watching a child learn how to ride a bike. There is apprehension and movement and flow and relief.

Back in June my wife and I were retiring at the house and we were thinking about what would be something to do. We had been to the Elk Creek Store in the Mall. We had browsed thru their wine selections and had purchased a bottle or two but we had never been to their vineyard or their winery. So we grabbed our cameras and loaded the GPS with the address to the winery as we set off to Elk Creek.
http://www.elkcreekvineyards.com/

We followed down the highway until our GPS told us to move onto a secondary road then to a country road. Before starting to get the nervous feeling that maybe our GPS is nuts we saw the signs leading us to the Vineyard.

I totally loved the feeling of the place. The views were beautiful in every direction. We walked in and ordered a small lunch, which was simply a sandwich and glass of wine. We went out on the deck and totally enjoyed the meal, the wine and the scenery.

If you are a hunter, you will love shooting skeet at their top of the line facility.

This is the picture that was my muse to paint the painting.

Here is the deck that overlooks the valley. Great vantage point when they have concerts.

Here is the beautiful lodge that can be rented out as a B&B.

Ahh, the vineyard.

Here is the open air stage that rocks the vineyard with anything from Beach Boys to the Moody Blues.

This is just one of the secrets that are kept in the great state of Kentucky. Try their 2004 Cabernet which is nice fruity,rich,grape with rounded tannins.

Sometime distractions are good.

For the past few days I have had a bit of a distraction but it is good. My friends, Matt & Shelly went to New York on business/pleasure and they have two beautiful huskies. One is snow white with baby blue eyes and the new addition to the family is Tyson (the wonder dog). Tyson is also a husky but he is black and white with attitude!

He came to us as a bundle of joy and in a very short time fell in love with this pup even though he crapped on my carpet twice! We learned quickly that timing is everything. Let him, eat and then drink, then immediately outside. He was a Ninja Crapper! He could pee and poop at the same time! Remarkable!

I say all of this to lead to my point that it was nice to have a dog in the house once again to remind me of all the great dogs that I have had in the past. There was Pooch my very first dog that was a small german shepherd with a light beige coat. I was about 4 years old when we had that dog. He was very protective of me and my parents would have to put the dog out before administering any type of discipline. He was my companion until he died.

Then there was Frisky who was my wonderful short haired Dachshund, who was the love of my life until I was twelve. She was such a fun dog and always had such a nice demeanor. I have never heard that dog growl. I read with very much shock and surprise that Dachshund's were vicious Badger hunters! I had no idea! I can remember hear the nails of Frisky scratching the linoleum floor as she was rounding the corner she would get loose in the rear. (to coin a NASCAR phrase) For her rear end would come around the corner first!

The there was YakYak, who for his name sake Yaked all the time! When I say Yaked I mean he barked all the time! He wouldn't shut up! So we put him way in the corner of the back yard and he would set on top of his house, just like Snoopy and he would Bark! Oh, how the neighbors loved our dog! NOT!

Then there was Freakles who was a Party Cocker Spaniel who we loved very much. She was a milk chocolate with the fluffy ears and fluffy feet. Such a wonderful dog but she was very territorial. When we moved to Louisiana we picked up some other dogs along the way. There was Gator a black and tan. There was Lady a blue tick hound dog and Sambo half Labrador and half German Shepherd who was a black beautiful dog that looked like a Shepherd covered in soot.

Now in Louisiana we lived in a Parsonage by the Church off of Highway 1 right out of Rodessa and about a mile from the Texas border. One afternoon, a "meter man" came to read our meter. He told me that he would look for it and I offered to help but he would have none of it. Well, we had had the dogs chained out back in separate places in the yard to be strategic for security and to keep them from being entangled.
I sat in the living room watching TV while the "Meter Man" went to inspect the Meter. I'm a firm believer that most dogs are a good judge of character. Soon I heard Freakles with her woof and then a full blown high pitched bark. I smiled to myself. Then I heard the howlings of the other dogs and then the booming woofing of Sambo. The "Meter Man" came back to the door in shreds and very shaky as he asked me if I could accompany him. In which I did with no incident.
 He never came back.

Since then I have had Butterscotch and Oriole who were my Lesbian couple. Butterscotch was part Golden Retriever and Oriole was bird dog and beagle mixed. Oriole was an oddity who was built like a tank with short legs and fat body. She had the demeanor of an old war vet with Post war Syndrome. Which meant that every once in a while she would go crazy. She would eat ...anything! They were sweet. They would love each other and then they would fight until the blood would fly and I would have to separate them. One day I was out in the back yard swinging on the swing and the neighbor boy hollered across the fence. "Mr. Ray, Mr. Ray! What are those two dogs doing?" I looked to where he was pointing and saw my to Lesbians humping each other to beat the band! I was a bit embarrassed all though I'm fine with Lesbians, I stammered, "Uhhh, they are playing leap frog and Butterscotch just got stuck." He watched with a bit of confusion on his face and said, "Oh." Then he left after a few minutes of watching.

Unfortunately my girls died in 2009. Butterscotch died first of old age and then Oriole died two weeks later of a broken heart. I was saddened by their passing. You know that your dogs are special when the neighbors give condolences.

I have now been with a pet for about a year and a half now. So to watch Tyson was nice. A nice distraction.

Sometimes to keep your sanity you have to keep a dog distracted!

A little bit more about ...Me.

I was born in the early sixties in Hamilton, Ohio to two marvelous parents. They had good simple values. They believed in things like Truth, Honor, Integrity and all the good things that America stood for. I didn't come from a rich family with a silver spoon but we did have plenty to eat most of the time. 

As you can tell my Father was a Minister and my Mother was his faithful wife, secretary, organizer 

and chef for almost 50 years. This was a picture of his Ordination Service where he was Ordained as a Pastor. He was not one of those "Radio or TV" Pastors that was always begging for money. He was the real deal. His day normally started at 5 am by getting up praying, reading his Bible and then switching on the switch, putting on his head phones to do his radio show in the morning which was on WZIP the VOICE of IMMANUEL. He would do a half hour show in which he played a couple songs of gospel music then do a short devotion and end the show in prayer. After that he would suit up and head for the Hospitals. He would hit them all in Cincinnati. Christ, Jewish, Good Samaritan, University and then St. Elizabeth and St. Luke in Kentucky. He would go in and chat with the sick, pray with them and counsel the family. I have seen him work 20 hour days. He was a true pastor. He was always doing for others.

                                                        Here is a little History of the Peters

This is the whole Peters Clan.
Elmo,Clarence,Dale,Verlon,Virgel,Charles
Seated is my Grandfather Lanie and Grandmother Mary

My Great Grandfather with my father in his arms.'
The one our right is my father.
He was born in Booneville, Kentucky over in Owsley county.

My Dad & Mom Met at Doc Stout's Root Beer Stand
 in Harrison Ohio on State Street.
 She was a waitress and he worked at the Gas station
 across the street. 

My dad couldn't play a guitar
 but he just wanted to look like Elvis.
He did have a fine baratone voice
 when he wasn't messing around trying to sing a falsetta.

My Father and I.

Three Generations
Elmo, Raymond and Ben

We are not perfect because we go our own paths but we have a common goal. To do our best at what we do. Whether it is being a minister or a worker, photographer,soldier,artist or what ever do it to the best of our ability! Never let anyone tell you that you can be something! Just keep pushing and trying. Never Quit! Never Say Die.
Why do I say these things?
I know what it is to start over. In 1992 I was homeless because of a bad divorce. I lost it all! I found myself homeless with nothing but an old truck and a tent. I was wondering what I was going to do.
I was setting watching the campfire and this passage came into my head. "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." Guess what? He provided me a way out. He truly is my shepherd and I want for nothing. My needs are met.

I Guess I'll see this picture as a going away present.

He loved us all very much. I miss my Dad and to know me is to know a lot of my Dad. He was a kind man but he would always stand for what is right and true. 

He told me, "Son, Always be truthful even if it hurts!"

It has hurt. I have had many ups and downs. I have been rich and poor. I have been happy and sad. My work ethic will always be to my Father and my Mother. 

We Peters are a hearty lot. We are known for reinventing ourselves. When our family lived in Booneville we were know for our moonshine but believe it or not we moved to Sunman, Indiana and started farming. Believe it or not the First Baptist Church of Harrison, Ohio started in my Grandfathers Kitchen and it stands on Hill and Broadway as a Testament that yes any body can make a choice and get a second chance.

Johnny Walker Photo Shoot

I was in Fricshes I few weeks ago dining, having my usual Big Boy platter that comes with french fries, cole slaw and a root beer. I'm always eavesdropping on conversations because I love to study people and hear their stories. Does that make me a bad person? I don't think so but it does make me nosey. Sometimes it opens doors of opportunities.

So at this point I saw a Lady and a younger Lady that was dressed in jeans, plaid shirts and work boots so I assumed that they worked on a farm or in the Horse trade that is here in Kentucky. Turfway Park is just down the road.

I introduced myself and we struck up a conversation. She, Ms. Ingram told me that she owned the Johnny Walker Stables and that the stable had been handed down from generation to generation. She said that I should come out sometime. I told her that I was an Artist and a Photographer and that I would be delighted to come out and take a few pictures of horses and the old home place. She gave me a card and I left to pay the check.

A few weeks later, I was in the neighborhood and I called her to ask permission to pay a visit and to take some pictures of the horses and the place. She said that she would call her daughter to let her know that I was coming.

I was only about five minutes away so the drive went pretty fast. I turned into a gravel bumpy road that led a short way back to the stables. I met her daughter who told me that if anyone ask why I was there to tell them that, "Susan said that it was all right." So I wandered back stepping around mud and followed my way back towards the fields and the barns. It was a nice place. A place that you just wanted to set down and watch the horses. To my surprise, I found that they had Icelandic horses that were being stabled there.

Now as you can see they are not very big horses but they are sure footed and tough. When I was taking these pictures it was very cold in the low 30's yet these horses felt quite at home. Also you can see that I made friends with this one horse. It followed me all along the fence, allowing me to pet and to scratch it's ears.

The place was a nice Kentucky Stable that had beautiful horses and ambience of times gone by.

So if you are ever in the Northern Kentucky area just south of Cincinnati and need to Board your horse, they have indoor and outdoor Arenas. They have daily turnouts for the horses or if you want to take horse riding lessons this would be a perfect place.

Susan Ingram - Owner

P.O. Box 604

5276 Bullittsville Road

Burlington, Ky 41005

Remember to smile today! Who knows, it may open a door of opportunity for you!