Green Lungs Art

An interior scene, walking into an old woodworker's shop.  I see a workbench in front of me with a woodworker's vise mounted on it.  Several chisels, screwdrivers, mallets, claw hammers, and other such tools are hanging on the wall behind the bench.  A broken Windsor Chair is positioned on the bench ready for repair. Ambient light is low, and beams of light are streaming in from a source above, with motes of dust floating around in them.  Everything is read for work.
A koi pond seen from above, orange and white koi fish swimming among lily pads, clear water with subtle ripples, fallen cherry blossom petals floating on the surface, dappled sunlight
A koi pond seen from above, orange and white koi fish swimming among lily pads, clear water with subtle ripples, fallen cherry blossom petals floating on the surface, dappled sunlight
A koi pond seen from above, orange and white koi fish swimming among lily pads, clear water with subtle ripples, fallen cherry blossom petals floating on the surface, dappled sunlight
The Dagda, powerful Celtic god, standing with a massive, muscular horse at his side. Earthy robes, bronze and gold torc, long dark hair, commanding presence. Horses moving in the background like living wealth of the land. Misty forest or rolling hills, dawn light piercing fog, mythic realism, cinematic Celtic fantasy, raw authority, natural textures.
A koi pond seen from above, orange and white koi fish swimming among lily pads, clear water with subtle ripples, fallen cherry blossom petals floating on the surface, dappled sunlight
A koi pond seen from above, orange and white koi fish swimming among lily pads, clear water with subtle ripples, fallen cherry blossom petals floating on the surface, dappled sunlight
Now, we’ll all have our time on the rapid
And we may end together, alone,
going ‘round and about in an eddy
bruised and broken and soaked to the bone.
But the eddy keeps silent the wild current’s call
alongside those now grateful captains and all
we are given reprieve from a death at the fall
as we move to and fro’ in the spin.
We stand safe, as the spin takes us in.
A koi pond seen from above, orange and white koi fish swimming among lily pads, clear water with subtle ripples, fallen cherry blossom petals floating on the surface, dappled sunlight
A koi pond seen from above, orange and white koi fish swimming among lily pads, clear water with subtle ripples, fallen cherry blossom petals floating on the surface, dappled sunlight
A koi pond seen from above, orange and white koi fish swimming among lily pads, clear water with subtle ripples, fallen cherry blossom petals floating on the surface, dappled sunlight
A koi pond seen from above, orange and white koi fish swimming among lily pads, clear water with subtle ripples, fallen cherry blossom petals floating on the surface, dappled sunlight
A koi pond seen from above, orange and white koi fish swimming among lily pads, clear water with subtle ripples, fallen cherry blossom petals floating on the surface, dappled sunlight
First century Palestine.  Jesus sits on a rock on a hillside teaching a large group of His disciples.  The Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus wears a plain robe like most ordinary men.  Jesus' face is kind, but intense, as He teaches. The other people are mostly peasants, farmers, and tradesmen.  There are also women present, wearing plain, everyday clothing.  Some couples have also brought their children.  The Sea of Galilee shines in the far distance.
A koi pond seen from above, orange and white koi fish swimming among lily pads, clear water with subtle ripples, fallen cherry blossom petals floating on the surface, dappled sunlight
The San Gorgonio Pass, Mt. San Gorgonio) rises in the North, all hoary-frost and granite.  Snake-like clouds adorning her peak, I gaze past the big white house toward her uplifted boulders.
And at the South, Mt. San Jacinto has lost his head in cloud.  Burned bones against a blue sky backdrop.  Between the two, another sunrise gleams and beams of brilliant, white-hot day flash forth:  They accentuate the Sonora desert’s west extreme, and last night’s moon, high up on the left, forgot to go away.
In Old Testament times a group of 12 - 15 Hebrew men and women on pilgrimage ascend a steep road toward Jerusalem and the Temple, headed for the feast of the Passover.  They each carry their own bag, sachel or bedroll.  Anticipation fills the air as the set out on their journey.
A koi pond seen from above, orange and white koi fish swimming among lily pads, clear water with subtle ripples, fallen cherry blossom petals floating on the surface, dappled sunlight
Out where the river runs wild and free
and only the brave dare row;
where the rapids are deep, and the challenge is fresh
and it takes them where it means to go.
With breakneck speed, grinning into the wind,
standing straight on the bow of their craft,
just a glimpse now and then of those captains you’ll catch
flying by, near capsizing your raft.

They’ve no time for advice to those standing on shore
or to aid the ones just wading out,
for their task is to pilot this current, they think,
and it’s all they can do to stay out of the drink,
and their lives could be gone in the space of a wink
should they lose but a moment to doubt.
Standing tall, they never must doubt!
In days to come I stood amazed, walking through that forest, at the blazing symphony of color it brought forth, seemingly just for me.  I grew to love my friend’s words in a new way, through the astounding beauty of the spectacle he knew was coming when he said them.  I was young then, and didn’t know I had many autumns ahead of me.
I sat, long ago, on an Asian hill with a Shakya Mundi friend, and watched the autumn leaves fall down from high above, giants in the forest casting off their wakefulness, falling progressively into winter’s long, white sleep. 

“The important thing to know about trees” he said, “is that they are most beautiful in autumn; just before the winter snow.  They live and grow through the entire year just for these brief moments of stunning beauty.  We are like that.” He said, “but we have only one autumn, and a very long winter.”
Generate an image using the Depths of the Sea Generator style: A majestic and mysterious blue whale gliding gracefully through a surreal ocean abyss. Its massive, sleek body glows with deep blues and silvers, textured with hyper-realistic skin details and subtle bioluminescent veins. Soft sunlight filters down from the distant surface, creating volumetric god rays that pierce the crystalline water. Delicate, glistening bubbles trail behind like sparkling jewels, refracting prismatic light in the ethereal clarity. The scene blends photorealistic whale anatomy with dreamlike surrealism—vast, shimmering depths, faint silhouettes of ancient sea life, and an aura of profound awe. High resolution, 8K, wide-angle cinematic view emphasizing the whale's immense scale and serene mystery.
This day, though, I hiked another autumn wood.  Eastern Europe ancient; overgrown.  So thick the view was dark at just a few feet off the path.  All red and yellow; orange and brown, a million trees, each one in blazing preparation for long, frozen winter.  I cannot but recall my friend’s words, lasting long, though he did not, and the instant truth that follows.  Looking upward at the fiery canopy, matched against the bright cerulean sky beyond, I embrace autumn!  Winter surely comes one day, but spring beyond.  I have a winter to prepare for, but it is not yet.
Now, those captains must learn what the river will do
when it makes that great turn out of sight.
How it dashes them up on the rocks of the shore
How it spins to the left and the right.
It beats them and breaks them and crushes their pride
Leaves them dizzy and sick and all jumbled inside
‘til they’ve all but forgotten that glorious ride
lying flat on their deck in the sun.
There they lie, drying out in the sun.

As you round the point where the river was bent
and survey the great wideness ahead,
you can see all those captains alone on their decks,
beat and broken and very near dead.
Then the current takes hold and there’s naught you can do
as it drags you down into its maw.
Headed straight for those rocks, you make ready to crash
but at last, you rise up, roll and yaw.

Going back and away, then forward again,
fearing each time, the rocks will prevail!
You’re trapped in a cycling, circling tide,
in an eddy withstanding a gale.
But each time you circle that great whirling tide
and you’ve not hit the rocks or been thrown to the side
and you’re kept from the falls, cascading and wide,
for the eddy’s small mercy give praise.
Give the merciful currents your praise!
Gigantische, mythische Gestalt aus dunklem, rostbraunem Stein, halb mit dem Berg verschmolzen. Der „Eiserne Wächter“ steht reglos auf einem schroffen Gipfel des Braungipfelgebirges. Sein Körper wirkt wie aus massivem Fels gehauen, mit rissiger, verwitterter Oberfläche. Teile seines Körpers gehen direkt in die Klippen über, als wäre er aus dem Berg selbst gewachsen.
Seine Augen glimmen schwach in kaltem, bläulichem Licht. Schnee und Eis bedecken seine Schultern und Arme. Der Wind peitscht dichte Schneeflocken durch die Luft. Um ihn herum: steile, dunkle Felswände, verschneite Bergtäler, dichter Nebel zwischen den Schluchten.
Es ist tiefste Winternacht. Der Himmel ist wolkenverhangen, nur fahles Mondlicht bricht durch die Schneestürme. Unten in der Ferne sind kleine, warme Lichter von Burg Kronfels zu sehen, winzig im Vergleich zur monumentalen Figur.
Atmosphäre: ehrfurchtgebietend, mystisch, uralt, beschützend aber unheimlich. Cinematic lighting, dramatische Perspektive von unten, epische Größenwirkung, ultra detailed, realistic dark fantasy, 8k concept art, matte painting.
Portrait with orchid thoughts
New York City