Kevin Callahan Blogs

The decades of the 1950’s and 1960’s were dominated by the ubiquitous entertainment known as the Western. Some of the great classic Westerns were made during this fertile period right after World War II up to the Cold war era. But it was the fledglin... 

I turn my truck off of the gravel road and onto the ancient dirt road. Once farm-to-market most of these old roads in Iowa are abandoned or seldom used. Many are closed, ceded back to the owners whose farms border the roads. This particular road is s... 

The big day was here, the opening of our annual pheasant hunt in Iowa. Not only were we beginning our annual hunt on a spectacular fall morning we had a crew of my favorites together who will most likely never be together again. Today I had GK, Mark,... 

When one has been walking this earth long enough one discovers a myriad of memories bouncing around the old brainpan. In my rapidly increasing decades of walking the hunting fields across the USA I have gathered enough fodder for many, many stories. ... 

The time is early spring, the year 1971. Karen (my future wife) and I had been dating for nearly six months. It was increasingly obvious that we liked each other and were going to continue to see, as much as we could, a future together. I don’t think... 

Arliss Coates: Why did you shoot Rosemary? (the cow) Travis Coates: She was sick. Arliss Coates: Well, you were sick. How come we didn’t shoot you? Travis Coates: That was different. I was four years old in 1957. That is the year the movie Old ... 

It was a beautiful October Sunday in Iowa, opening weekend of pheasant season, 2001. The weather was cooperating this year, as was the bird population. My buddy Ed and I attended mass before we headed to the hunting fields. I like to think this helps... 

“It was the best shot I ever made and the dirtiest trick I ever played.” – Tom Horn, Apache Indian Scout and Man Hunter before he was hung. Back in the winter of 1979 Karen and I decided to make a weekend trip home from Des Moines to Lenox. We b... 

It was mostly my fault. When I think back on it, which is not often and I think you will come to understand why I would love to put it all out of my mind. It started (naturally) with my love of antique firearms. I am getting a bit ahead of myself so ... 

It was New Years Eve 1969 I was sixteen years old. There was a fresh blanket of snow on top of the Christmas storm that had come our way a week ago. The thermometer hovered close to really damned cold. Outside it was bright and crisp as the new moon ... 

For as far back as I can remember I have been reading. When I turned four years old I was itching to go to school so I could learn how to read. Unable to wait, I learned to read before I turned five. When I was five I was off to our one room country ... 

Mingo’s cable was stretched taut behind me undoing every kink in the line as he swung back and forth in tight arcs, first one way then the other. I’d just hopscotched over the steel cord that secured Mingo as he charged towards some imaginary beast. ... 

From their origins in Asia over 2,000 years ago the common Brown Rat has made its way to every continent in the world except the Artic and Antarctica. The Brown Rat goes by many other names: sewer rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, or wharf rat. As every ... 

I was three-years old in 1956. That is the year my mother took a job at Terry's Produce in Lenox. Or so I am told, as I was too young to remember. My sister tells me that Mom worked at Terry's before I was born and that after I arrived she did not go... 

"Layla, you've got me on my knees. Layla, I'm begging, darling please. Layla, darling won't you ease my worried mind." Spring 1975 in Iowa was particularly beautiful. I remember clearly so many details from that time as it was my final semester ... 

Not long ago I found myself rummaging through old photo albums looking for pictures for a birthday party. In my search I came across my personal scrapbook. After the birth of each of her grandchildren my Grandma Gray would start a scrapbook for each ... 

I have always had a fascination with history, particularly Early American History. As a little boy I exercised my imagination by making wooden swords, knives, and pirate pistols and rifles. I would read of Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Bowie and a hos... 

From 1968 to 1972 Creedence Clearwater Revival was one of the biggest groups to hit Top 40 radio in America. "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" (coming down on a sunny day) was one of their big songs that blanketed the airwaves in 1971, the year I graduat... 

Artist in Residence-Painting The Gratitude Girl I had a request from another artist on FAA to show my "process" for completing a painting. I hasten to say this is how I do it and in no way do I suggest it is any better or worse than how any other ... 

Paul Klee Disguised As A Homeless Man In 2000 my wife Karen and I traveled to Africa to attend the International Aids Conference in Durban, SA. Each day walking to the venue we would pass through a huge open-air bazaar. One afternoon as I was walk... 

Beginning to paint As you can see in this photo the charcoal has left me all the pertinent lines I need to begin the painting. Some of these areas may be redrawn using a charcoal pencil. The original photo (I shot) is attached to the canvas for re... 

The Painting Progresses Once the skin has been painted to near completion, eyes, lips, and ear are added. At each stage I revisit the next day and make minor adjustments where I feel they are needed. The sweater is blocked in using black then scra... 

Nearing Completion It has been just over five days and the painting is nearly complete. Today (with student help) we tackle the camo on the hat. In this photo you can see that we drew directly on the canvas with paint tubes. The vibrant colors aga... 

Glazing the Skin The final step in completing the Gratitude Girl is glazing the skin. I use a VERY thin mixture of Cad. Red Light and LOTS of water. Using a soft watercolor brush I coat the skin ares. As you can observe it looks terrible as it goe... 

The Gratitude Girl A huge thank you to Joe Lanni and his talented classroom of artists at the Columbia Middle School, Berkeley Heights, NJ. I had sooo much fun.