Mark & Duke. acrylic on wood.
Who is Mark Hogben & Duke? Mark lives on an island near Quebec, off grid. Mark chops wood to heat his home & shares tips on doing so, Mark has a bath by the lake that he fills with buckets to bath -even in the winter! Mark has a dog named Duke, his constant companion & he shares their adventures, including all the times Duke decided to explore across the lake. Mark has a huge following on social media - he is an 'influencer' my favourite, no he's not a 'movie star' but his videos of Duke and his dog butt that always seem to make it into the shots amuse me, often making me giggle - definitely makes me smile! Mark shares Canadian stuff, neat little facts about ice, lakes, bugs, doc spiders, ice making & wisdom. He is down to earth & the Salt of the earth'. Mark also has Parkinson's disease and explains a great deal about that also, how it progresses, what he struggles with now and can no longer do (easily) like put on socks and shoes -that's why most of his videos are barefoot. He has no problem calling out nasty commenters and tells them to 'fuck off' (if need be). He isn't making money off his accounts but he sure has received a lot of mail - postcards in particular... so much the postoffice complained (phhhhhhbt, no wonder Canada post is struggling), he's also received a few gifts like homemade jam ;)
He has fans all around the world and he makes me have faith in humans.
I wanted to paint him to say: Thank you for the continued inspiration!
Storm told me not to blog incase he sees it before his art arrives - lol, I doubt it, he's a busy guy and he's also a bit tired, I get it. As always it was a pleasure to paint. The painting has a look of not finished' as I was thinking 'Mark is a work in progress', aren't we all. A work, I hope we get to enjoy for a while yet. Every now and then Mark touches upon the topic of death, I get that too. It's hard not to contemplate death when you have a condition that reminds you about death daily. It's also a blessing as it forces you to SEE all that is precious here & NOW. It forces one to prioritize - what's worth pondering and what's not... most of it is NOT worth pondering or stressing about. I don't know Marks faith or belief, nor do I care... he inspires me to be better & that's enough. I hope he is able to remain on his island a while longer, although every winter seems to make him rethink the adventure, I get it... surrounded by 5 feet of snow and nowhere to go. lol
Almost August! Wow.. get out an enjoy it.. the mosquitos seem to have backed off the past few days, is it the humidity? More rain is expected today - so much so Toronto is understandably worried, not me - Mother Nature is watering my garden, again! The squash growing daily amaze me! I fin myself staring up with pleasure and anticipation, still a while to go, hopefully we'll be dining on squash by the end of August. It's already noticeably darker out especially in the morning, still dark when I turn the coffee on. I love reading in the morning, before the activity starts.
Enjoy the day! Bring your umbrella and give thanks to this day the Lord has made! I'm painting a handsome toad and planning a special painting for the forest! A blessing for all the creatures... including me.
Created to create
Who is Mark Hogben & Duke? Mark lives on an island near Quebec, off grid. Mark chops wood to heat his home & shares tips on doing so, Mark has a bath by the lake that he fills with buckets to bath -even in the winter! Mark has a dog named Duke, his constant companion & he shares their adventures, including all the times Duke decided to explore across the lake. Mark has a huge following on social media - he is an 'influencer' my favourite, no he's not a 'movie star' but his videos of Duke and his dog butt that always seem to make it into the shots amuse me, often making me giggle - definitely makes me smile! Mark shares Canadian stuff, neat little facts about ice, lakes, bugs, doc spiders, ice making & wisdom. He is down to earth & the Salt of the earth'. Mark also has Parkinson's disease and explains a great deal about that also, how it progresses, what he struggles with now and can no longer do (easily) like put on socks and shoes -that's why most of his videos are barefoot. He has no problem calling out nasty commenters and tells them to 'fuck off' (if need be). He isn't making money off his accounts but he sure has received a lot of mail - postcards in particular... so much the postoffice complained (phhhhhhbt, no wonder Canada post is struggling), he's also received a few gifts like homemade jam ;)
He has fans all around the world and he makes me have faith in humans.
I wanted to paint him to say: Thank you for the continued inspiration!
Storm told me not to blog incase he sees it before his art arrives - lol, I doubt it, he's a busy guy and he's also a bit tired, I get it. As always it was a pleasure to paint. The painting has a look of not finished' as I was thinking 'Mark is a work in progress', aren't we all. A work, I hope we get to enjoy for a while yet. Every now and then Mark touches upon the topic of death, I get that too. It's hard not to contemplate death when you have a condition that reminds you about death daily. It's also a blessing as it forces you to SEE all that is precious here & NOW. It forces one to prioritize - what's worth pondering and what's not... most of it is NOT worth pondering or stressing about. I don't know Marks faith or belief, nor do I care... he inspires me to be better & that's enough. I hope he is able to remain on his island a while longer, although every winter seems to make him rethink the adventure, I get it... surrounded by 5 feet of snow and nowhere to go. lol
Almost August! Wow.. get out an enjoy it.. the mosquitos seem to have backed off the past few days, is it the humidity? More rain is expected today - so much so Toronto is understandably worried, not me - Mother Nature is watering my garden, again! The squash growing daily amaze me! I fin myself staring up with pleasure and anticipation, still a while to go, hopefully we'll be dining on squash by the end of August. It's already noticeably darker out especially in the morning, still dark when I turn the coffee on. I love reading in the morning, before the activity starts.
Enjoy the day! Bring your umbrella and give thanks to this day the Lord has made! I'm painting a handsome toad and planning a special painting for the forest! A blessing for all the creatures... including me.
Created to create
