Target Practice in The Desert

by Larry Whitler

Title

Target Practice in The Desert

Artist

Larry Whitler

Medium

Painting - Digital Oil

Description

Whenever I paint a picture, I am there. It’s almost a meditative thing.
I never went target shooting with my brother, Bob, but that’s him driving the Jeep while his good friend, Mark, is blasting away at that target somewhere in the desert Southwest. I never joined them on these outings but, as I painted this picture, I felt present with them.
This must’ve been fun.
Bob was always fun.
He was a mechanic, a biker (Harley Davidson, of course), an IT guy, a computer guy, a gun enthusiast (he even made his own bullets!), and perhaps one of the freest spirits I’ll ever know.
And Bob was always a little on the wild side.
His friend, Mark Cohen, sent me the photo that I used as reference for this painting. In his letter Mark wrote, “Looking for some pics and found these of me and Bobby doing what we loved to do. Was wondering if you can do one of your paintings that morph into a story with them. I am right side crippled and Bobby is shooting upstairs now.”
I love that Mark referred to my brother as Bobby.
Yes, if I wasn’t clear, Bob has passed away. Painting this picture allowed me to spend one more day with him.
Thank you, Mark.
And, thank you, Bob. I hope God found a place in Heaven for you with Joshua trees, cactus, and maybe even a shooting range.

Uploaded

October 4th, 2022

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