The Wet Pelican
by Dwelia T. Haas
(a story to go with the print)

This pelican painting was in my sister- in- law’s house in Bay St Louis when Katrina hit. Katrina unloaded 14 feet of water on the little pelican painting. My husband brought the painting back home to Ellisville to see if I could clean it up. I tried my best to clean it up, but I guess sea birds don’t have to be spotless to be beautiful.
It is hard to remember what I was thinking when I painted the little painting. I do know that I was trying to paint a happy painting. There are rocks and waves all around the little sea bird, but he is only interested in looking up. He does not seem to be worried as he shakes out his wet feathers. I guess he knows where his food really comes from. It comes from above. So this little wet pelican in my painting says his blessings before he enjoys his sea feast.

“Lift My Hands Up”
by Dwelia Haas
(a story to go with the print)

Today when my husband and I went to Sunday school, our church bulletin had the words “Lift Your Heart Up” printed on the cover. We could not believe those words were printed on the bulletin, because I finished the painting “Lift My Hands Up” earlier this morning.
I started the painting on the day of the anniversary of the storm. I finished it today on September 24, 2006. I am thankful that I am still here to praise the Lord. I had my husband sit in front of the canvas and I traced his hands reaching up. I wanted it to look like hands reaching up to our heavenly Father, just like a small child reaches for his earthly father. Then I started painting a celebration of praise. I believe that was why I was created. I was created to praise the Lord. I admit I don’t do a good job of praising Him most of the time, however this month I have really enjoyed talking and singing to Him while I painted “Lift My Hands Up”.
I sang a song while I painted. I sang the words out loud, and I sang it by making no earthly sound but screaming the words in my soul. I sang the words feeling so much gratitude that my human self can not described .The words of the song:

Do you how I love?
Do you know how I fear?
Do you know how a sing,
“Hallelujah I’m still here”?
Hallelujah
Hal le lu jah
Hallelujah
Hal le lu jah
Hallelujah
Hal le lu jah
Hallelujah, I’m still here.

I am thankful tonight that I am still alive here on God’s earth to praise Him. I am thankful for getting to talk with Him, and I hope He is pleased. I lift more than my hands to Him. I lift my whole being. I know that when I call His name that His love will rain on not just me but my whole family.
Now you may not know how I love and you may not know how I fear, but I have expressed how I sing “Hallelujah I’m still here” in a painting that I call “ Lift My Hands Up”. I hope that everyone who sees the painting will lift their hands just because they are still here and praise the One who loves them the most.

Connoisseur
by Dwelia Haas
(a story to go with the print)

Once again my mama’s yard was the inspiration for another painting. After looking at my mama’s persimmon tree, I knew that I had to paint it. The tree is beautiful. The persimmon fruit is just spectacular. I am sure the tree will be an inspiration for many of my future paintings, but in this painting I added a Mississippi persimmon connoisseur.
Is there a better connoisseur of persimmons than a raccoon? I remember when I was young hearing a story about how the raccoon got his mask. I also remember a story of how a man was turned into a coon by some Great Spirit. I think the story said that the man was turned into a raccoon because he did not follow a Great Spirit’s instructions. The man was told to go to another land by the Great Spirit but instead the man chose to stuff himself with so many delicious persimmons and got so fat that he could not travel. This made the Great Spirit so mad that he turned the man into a raccoon.
You know that the south has its share of fat raccoons. I remember camping at the beach one time and seeing coons as big as dogs. My aunt that lives in Biloxi shared a funny fat raccoon story with me. She said that her neighbor had a coon for a pet. The coon ate so much that he could not climb down from the tree. My aunt’s neighbor built the fat raccoon a tree house and a platform so that he could spend his obese life living in his special tree never having to come down. I just can not picture a coon so fat that he can not climb down from a tree but it is a good story.
I hope the painting of my not so obese coon makes everyone smile that sees it. Unlike my aunt’s neighbor’s pet, I don’t want to spend my life in a tree. I did enjoy the small part of my life spent drawing a raccoon in my mama’s persimmon tree.

Gulf Fish
by Dwelia Haas
(a story to go with the print)

My stomach does not get along with sea fishing. I will leave that to others. I just don’t like a lot of motion. I am not one for roller coasters or plane rides either. When I was young I did not mind the motion but now I just like to move slowly.
My imagination moves enough for me. When I painted Gulf Fish I pictured being under the sea and looking up at what I think is a rainbow. The rainbow is not one in the sky. The rainbow is a gulf fish slowly swimming above me. I wonder if there is a promise that goes along with seeing a gulf fish rainbow. I don’t need a promise, I just wonder if there is one.
The painting “Gulf Fish” was actually emerged in gulf water. It was hanging in my sister-in-law’s house when Katrina baptized it with 14 feet of water. So this is a print of a fish painting that was in the gulf water. I cleaned the original up and my sister-in-law hung it back up in her newly decorated home. I will make my sister-in-law a promise. My promise to her is that she will always have a painting of mine to decorate her home as long as I am blessed to paint.