Autumn Art Walk • Chandor Gardens • October 16, 2021
12 noon til 4 p.m. • Weatherford, Texas
Come by and say hello!
A few weeks ago I was blessed to setup my plein air easel and paint in a beautiful and well designed garden. Stone paths, fountains and koi ponds made the painting experience a peaceful treat. The garden was Chandor Gardens in Weatherford, Texas. This little known gem is tucked away in a neighborhood near downtown Weatherford. I had been there painting another time years ago, but I never paid much attention to the fascinating history of the gardens until this particular visit. More on the history in a bit.
First, I’d like to mention that I find the fact that the scriptures mention gardens in various ways to be very interesting, and at times comforting. A window into the goodness of God and the beauty He has created. Gardens can be a place of refreshing and rest.
Gardens have been around since the beginning….And God said,
“Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. “
Genesis 1:11 – 12
The first job of the first man and women was to take care of a Garden.
“Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.”
Genesis 2:15
When I was painting at Chandor Gardens, I couldn’t help but think of Solomon, the wisest man who lived, who enjoyed creating and cultivating gardens and parks.
“I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; 5 I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; 6 I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. ”
Ecclesiastes 2:4-6
But back to the history of Chandor Gardens. As another generation says, “who knew” that the Gardens were built by an English born artist named Douglas Chandor. Chandor married a Weatherford woman named Ina Kuteman Hill and moved to Weatherford and built the gardens around 1936. The artist later added a studio and house on the grounds. Chandor painted portraits of many notable figures of the day including Edward, Duke of Windsor, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Sara Delano Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, and Queen Elizabeth II. Another notable figure Douglas Chandor painted was Winston Churchill, who actually came to the Weatherford studio to sit for the portrait. Churchill commissioned the portrait in 1946. You can see additional information and a short video of the Chandor-Churchill sitting HERE.
Winston Churchill has always been an interesting subject for me. Besides being in the Military, a politician and the Prime Minister of England, he was also an Artist, painting over 500 paintings in his lifetime. He played a critical role in saving the world from Hitler, as well as squeezing out some oil colors to create beautiful paintings on canvas.
One of Winston Churchill’s little-known quotes goes like this:
“Just to paint is great fun. The colours are lovely to look at and delicious to squeeze out. Matching them, however crudely, with what you see is fascinating and absolutely absorbing.”
Winston Churchill
Churchill came on the world scene at a critical time in history. I believe he was used by God to alter the course of history. Today we are at another critical point in world history, and especially here in America. We are watching our freedom’s being stripped away every day. There is an alarming disregard for the God who created us and His instruction as found in scriptures. I find that we are lacking courageous leadership both in this country and across the globe. Churchill was one of those courageous voices in a day when there was darkness covering the world.
Churchill had a unique insight…not perfect, but unique and one with grains of wisdom. He said:
“You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.”
Winston Churchill
Most of what our current administration is doing now is “everything else”. The thought process is what comes from a morally bankrupt population, void of wisdom, and even lacking very basic common sense.
“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”
Winston Churchill
Socialism… the gospel of envy. I think he is dead on here. Coveting is one of the roots of many attitudes and behavior’s that lead to breaking God’s law. When you “Love your neighbor as yourself”, you don’t covet. Coveting what your neighbor has or dwelling on what you don’t have is at the core of socialism.
I am continually amazed at the accuracy and power of God’s word found in the Bible. It is never out-of-date, never needs propped up and never false. It remains true no matter what goes on in our culture and society. Its purpose is to direct us as a light directs and reveals our path in the dark of night.
I came across a few verses in Isaiah that describe our current government here in the once blessed United States:
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
Isaiah 5:20
The Bible says many times that God is calling out to us to turn from our way, which falls short of His glory (sin) and follow Him. The word repentance, which is often considered to be one of those 25 cent “religious” words, means just that – turning around from the direction we are going and going the other direction. Or in this writing, turning from our selfish selves and turning to God, through Christ. It’s the simple Gospel.
Again, in Isaiah it says:
“Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55:6, 7
