Thanks for giving me the opportunity to write about my photo. The inspiration for it all was my wife! My wife, Jane, is my heater on cold winter nights, she is the love of my life, and my muse. I love warm spring days! I love how laying in the sun warms me just like my wife does in the winter. I love being out in the sun, riding my bike, hiking and taking photographs whenever I can. I feel more alive and energetic in the spring, especially after the long dark winters. Jane makes me feel the same way. I smile every time I see her and every time I think about her (I’m smiling right now) just like I do when I think about warm spring days.

The photograph was taken this past summer at Cape May. I was watching and photographing the two swans as they swam together and nuzzled each other for quite a while. Eventually they were swimming with the whole swam family. Before I looked through the photos, I was hoping one of the shots I took of the parents nuzzling would come out great and this one did! It was pure luck that their heads and neck almost made a heart and that the reflection turned out as nicely as it did! I also liked how it looked with all but the orange desaturated more than in full color. It seemed to add to the loving mood of the swans.

The photograph and the poem go together so well! They look even better than I could have imagined! Just seeing it makes me smile. This piece will be a constant reminder of the love I feel for my wife.

Thank you for having this contest and for putting the two together so beautifully. Right now the piece is in our living room, but it will eventually find a permanent home in our bedroom.

Erik

My Warm Spring Day

As I peer into your eyes,
Into the neverending glow of light,
My heart goes thump,
I become lost in your gaze.
In this trance,
I dream of warm spring days.
Red, orange and yellow sunsets
Stretching across the horizon
Setting the world ablaze.
Flowers blooming
Sending their fragrance through the skies.
Birds singing,
Their beautiful songs filling my ears.
Fields of gold, forests of green
This world must be a dream!
You gently squeeze my hand,
Suddenly, I awake!
As I look upon your eyes and smile,
I realize
You are my warm spring days.

And if one of your resolutions this year is to bring more life and energy to your walls, take a few moments to peruse our website to see the great ideas posted by some of our customers.  Here is what one customer did with an entire wall.  What a way to show your loved ones how important they are to you in 2010!  Mom

Jamie told us about photo…

Here’s what Jamie had to say about Rebecca…
My wife is the best.  I have been deployed several times with the Air National Guard and when I got the call this time to fill in for Active Duty, as always she was very supportive.  With three kids at home and going to school full time to be a nurse.

Click to Play Audio Testimonial:

Here are Amberly’s canvases:

Thanks again, Jim and Ruth, for making a positive change in the world for children who are struggling with cancer.

You can meet Jim and Ruth by clicking on the video below.  Mom

Can Canvas Across America get any better than this? Stops in towns like Bourbon, Missouri looking for a classic small town bar; searching for the world’s biggest rocking chair; discovering the only–surely it is the ONLY–Vacuum Museum on earth; visiting the best wineries in the heartland when the Concords are at their ripest; discovering that a bluegrass fest was in full swing just up the road from my day’s distination; and getting a camping spot right on the banks of the beautiful Gasconade River with a full moon rising over the Ozark hills as I settled into my little van-bed for the night! How am I suppose to sleep after a serendipitous day such as this?

Tomorrow, I have an early morning radio interview…and afterwards, the honor of presenting an Army wife with a lovely personalized art canvas for her anniversary–all part of Canvas on Demand’s Operation Hi Honey program. Mom