For as long as I can remember, there has been an artist screaming for me to release him from somewhere deep within my soul. The only challenge has been I wasn’t blessed with a great deal of traditional artistic talent.

I love music, but I am incredibly tone deaf. Can’t carry a tune in a bucket? Apparently, that description is not adequate for describing my musical deficiencies. It is my understanding that I couldn’t carry a tune in a thimble.

While I love singing, and it sounds quite good to my ears, I have come to accept that I am the only one who appreciates what comes out when I (frequently) break into song. I have been told I am tone deaf. Perhaps, my Dad was doing me a favor when he set me straight at a young age by interrupting me in the middle of singing by bluntly asking, “Hey, what do you have against good music?” Many others have repeated that sentiment with similar questions over the years.

Can’t sing? Why not paint or draw? Trust me; I’ve tried.

I’ve played a part in directing the development of more ads than I can count. Unfortunately, it never worked out when I tried to sketch out a concept in a brainstorming session. Apparently I have an uncanny ability to make people look like trees, swimming pools like sinkholes, etc. One of my creative business collaborators once exclaimed, “Ohhh nooo, not another Neanderthal crayon drawing” when I began an attempt to illustrate a concept by sketching it out.

As a result of these and other artistic deficiencies, I’ve learned to laugh at my many shortcomings. My favorite saying to explain my musical and artistic ineptitude is, “I’d be a great singer if only I could carry a tune: I’d be a great artist if only I could paint!” I’m actually half-serious when I make that statement. I feel like I have the heart of an artist, but, too frequently, not the talent.

I think that is why photography has been such a blessing, such great medicine, for me. I may not be able to sing or draw, but I can frame a picture. And, when I occasionally do it correctly, I have a chance to share with others how I see the world. Thanks to great software, I can even come close to painting a picture through photographic manipulation. It makes me feel good and I always hope it lifts the spirits of others.

Mary and I love visiting friends and relatives in Colorado. Not only is it strikingly beautiful, it’s a great place to escape when the temperatures begin to soar in Arizona. More importantly, it calls forth the artist in many, many people (think John Denver and Rocky Mountain High).

The pictures featured in this post were captured during a respite this year on our way to Kansas for Mary’s mom’s estate sale. For more of our Colorado images and the location of where these photos were taken, check out our Exploration Communication Colorado gallery.

Now he walks in quiet solitude, the forest and the stream, seeking grace in every step he takes,his sight is turned inside himself, to try and understand, the serenity of a clear blue mountain lake. And the Colorado Rocky Mountain High, I’ve seen it raining fire in the sky. You can talk to God and listen to the casual reply. Rocky Mountain High, ….in Colorado….Rocky Mountain High.

– From John Denver and Mike Taylor’s Rocky Mountain High