Wandering Wednesday: Time for a COMMA PARTY!

 Wandering Wednesday

There are milestones in music that deserve to be celebrated.

The first show.

The first recording.

The first person who tells you, “I really love this song.”

And then there is the moment when the number of people listening starts requiring a comma. Brinker James just reached 1,000 Spotify plays for “His Garden.”

So, it is time for a COMMA PARTY! 

A thousand plays might not sound enormous in the world of streaming, where some songs collect millions of plays almost overnight. But for an independent band releasing its debut album, every one of those plays represents someone who pressed play and decided to spend a few minutes listening. And reaching that first comma is something far too many musicians never experience.

What makes this milestone even more exciting is that several other songs from Wooden Shield are already closing in on the same territory. The album is finding listeners, one song, one playlist, and one curious music lover at a time.

That is how something like this begins. There is no giant machine behind Brinker James. There are two friends who wrote and recorded these songs, a lot of work behind the scenes, and people discovering the music and deciding that it is worth another listen. So today, we're celebrating the number.

1,000!

Not because the number is the destination, but because it means the journey has officially reached its first comma.

Congratulations, Andrew and Ben.

COMMA PARTY! 

Listen to the full song at: 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/70kOSrP26XnjH4KyctFK94 

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/weve-got-the-day/6795074682?i=6795074684

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/tracks/B0HBQCR8ZW 

Deezer: https://link.deezer.com/s/341S3Kg70w7DhqSof2QnL 

Pandora: https://pandora.app.link/kbyvw3U7l5b 

qobuz: https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/wooden-shield-brinker-james/ot8877kgvqyz4

Follow Brinker James:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brinkerjamesmusic

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brinkerjames

❄⛄ What place always brings you back to memories of home? ⛄❄

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty

There is something about Skaneateles Lake after a fresh snowfall that quietly reminds me what matters. The world seems to slow down as every branch wears a blanket of white and the shoreline settles into a peaceful stillness. My boots leave crisp tracks in the snow while the cold air brushes against my face and each deep breath carries that unmistakable scent of Winter that only Upstate New York seems to know. It is the kind of place that asks nothing of me except to be present, and somehow that is enough.

I have learned that the places we return to again and again become part of who we are. They remind us of family gatherings, holiday traditions, quiet walks, and conversations that stay with us long after the season has passed. Home is not always where we live. Sometimes it is the place our heart returns to first. 

If someone walked into your home today, would they discover a place that tells your story and the places you never want to forget?

❄⛄ Winter On Skaneateles Lake ⛄❄

202004029

Museum-quality posters made on thick matte paper

© copyright Mike Kraus Art Inc.

If this place holds a special place in your heart, you'll find it here:

FRAMED: https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/4538444208

PRINT: https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/4538424211

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD: https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/4538421175

One lyric from Brinker James' new song We've Got the Day has been stuck in my head: "Man named Life tapped me. Told me be happy." Simple. Honest. Thoughtful.What if happiness isn't something you find, but something you notice?

Full Song: https://open.spotify.com/track/70kOSrP26XnjH4KyctFK94

🍁 Awesome Autumn Art Festival 🍁

Discover artists. Make new friends. Celebrate creativity. Join us for 3 days of art, conversation, and community. Meet artists from around the world, explore original artwork, and find something that speaks to you. Whether you're an artist, collector, or simply love beautiful things, we'd love to have you with us.

👉 https://www.facebook.com/events/1071336015459888

I’m Mike Kraus, a lifelong artist who believes color, movement, and curiosity can quietly change how a space and a day feel. More about me at: https://mikekraus.blogspot.com/p/bio.html

For more information or custom order, please visit:

Store: http://MikeKrausArt.etsy.com

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BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mikekraus.bsky.social

🔥 What If One Night Around a Campfire Could Give You a Memory You’d Never Forget? 🔥

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty

I spend the day wandering wooded trails, crossing quiet streams, and letting the rush of everyday life fade with every step. By evening my legs are pleasantly tired, so I slip off my hiking boots and cool my feet in the creek before walking back to the campsite. The scent of the campfire mingles with the aroma of pine, warm earth, toasted graham crackers, melting chocolate, and marshmallows caramelizing over the glowing coals. When I take that first bite, the crisp cracker gives way to warm chocolate and soft, gooey marshmallow with just the right hint of smoky sweetness. Some flavors cannot be recreated in a kitchen. They belong exactly where they were made.

Too many people convince themselves that another busy weekend or another task crossed off the list is enough. Yet the memories that stay with us are often the simplest ones, shared around a crackling fire beneath an open sky. Slowing down is not wasting time. It is how I reconnect with the people who matter most and with myself. Every bite reminds me that life's sweetest moments are earned by stepping outside, embracing the adventure, and savoring what so many others are still too busy to experience. 

What memory could you create if you made time for an evening around the campfire?

🔥 Have S'more 🔥

acrylic paint on canvas board

5" x 7" (12.7 cm x 17.8 cm)

202607040

© copyright Mike Kraus Art Inc.

For a delicious treat, please visit: 

https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/206373707

or buy direct at:

https://mikekraus.blogspot.com/p/buy-direct-from-mike-kraus-art.html

One lyric from Brinker James' new song We've Got the Day has been stuck in my head: "Man named Life tapped me. Told me be happy." Simple. Honest. Thoughtful.What if happiness isn't something you find, but something you notice?

Full Song: https://open.spotify.com/track/70kOSrP26XnjH4KyctFK94

🍁 Awesome Autumn Art Festival 🍁

Discover artists. Make new friends. Celebrate creativity. Join us for 3 days of art, conversation, and community. Meet artists from around the world, explore original artwork, and find something that speaks to you. Whether you're an artist, collector, or simply love beautiful things, we'd love to have you with us.

👉 https://www.facebook.com/events/1071336015459888

I’m Mike Kraus, a lifelong artist who believes color, movement, and curiosity can quietly change how a space and a day feel. More about me at: https://mikekraus.blogspot.com/p/bio.html

For more information or custom order, please visit:

Store: http://MikeKrausArt.etsy.com

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/MikeKrausArt

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/MikeKraus/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mkraus

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MikeKrausArt

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikekrausart

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mikekraus.bsky.social

Wandering Wednesday: Did You Notice The Creek Hidden In This Album's Story?

Wandering Wednesday

When you listen to We've Got the Day, one of the first images that appears is simple and familiar:

"By the creek, the sun and shade."

Those same elements became part of the visual world of Wooden Shield. When Ben Saunders and Andrew Glaser were developing the concept for the album cover, they connected each song to ideas, symbols, and imagery that reflected its themes. For We've Got the Day, they pointed toward the creek, sunlight, and shade found in the lyrics.

As a result, one of the most visible features of the final painting is the blue creek quickly and gently flowing through the landscape. It divides the forest and draws the eye to the wooden shield much like the opening song invites the listener into the album itself.

The more time I spend with Wooden Shield, the more I appreciate how closely the music and artwork speak to one another. The cover is not simply an illustration. It is a collection of visual echoes from the songs.

And this is only one of them. What details have you noticed in the artwork so far?

Listen to the full song at: 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/70kOSrP26XnjH4KyctFK94 

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/weve-got-the-day/6795074682?i=6795074684

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/tracks/B0HBQCR8ZW 

Deezer: https://link.deezer.com/s/341S3Kg70w7DhqSof2QnL 

Pandora: https://pandora.app.link/kbyvw3U7l5b 

qobuz: https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/wooden-shield-brinker-james/ot8877kgvqyz4

Follow Brinker James:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brinkerjamesmusic

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brinkerjames

🐯 In what ways can noticing beauty inspire us to care for what is rare and fragile? 🐯

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty

The Amur leopard is one of the rarest cats on Earth, living on the edge of survival in a shrinking habitat. Fewer than most people realize how close this animal has come to disappearing entirely. Its gaze carries alertness shaped by scarcity, patience learned through long winters, and resilience built from adapting again and again. Sitting with that presence invites a quieter kind of attention, one that softens urgency and replaces it with care. When we slow down enough to really see an endangered life, concern turns into connection rather than fear.

Awareness is a form of action. Not every response has to be loud or immediate to matter. Sometimes it begins with noticing, learning, and allowing concern to guide thoughtful choices over time. The Amur leopard reminds us that survival is often about steadiness, balance, and shared responsibility rather than force. 

When you consider how fragile and resilient this life is at the same time, what small act of attention or care feels possible for you right now?

🐯 King Louis Amur Leopard 🐯

202601005

Museum-quality posters made on thick matte paper

© copyright Mike Kraus Art Inc.

To find more wild in your space, please visit:

FRAMED: https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/4555963596

PRINT: https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/4555960656

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD: https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/4555958883

One lyric from Brinker James' new song We've Got the Day has been stuck in my head: "Man named Life tapped me. Told me be happy." Simple. Honest. Thoughtful.What if happiness isn't something you find, but something you notice?

Full Song: https://open.spotify.com/track/70kOSrP26XnjH4KyctFK94

🍁 Awesome Autumn Art Festival 🍁

Discover artists. Make new friends. Celebrate creativity. Join us for 3 days of art, conversation, and community. Meet artists from around the world, explore original artwork, and find something that speaks to you. Whether you're an artist, collector, or simply love beautiful things, we'd love to have you with us.

👉 https://www.facebook.com/events/1071336015459888

I’m Mike Kraus, a lifelong artist who believes color, movement, and curiosity can quietly change how a space and a day feel. More about me at: https://mikekraus.blogspot.com/p/bio.html

For more information or custom order, please visit:

Store: http://MikeKrausArt.etsy.com

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/TheWayToBeauty

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/MikeKraus/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mkraus

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MikeKrausArt

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikekrausart

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mikekraus.bsky.social

🐱 Tell me about the pet who became part of your family’s story? 🐱

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty

Truffle has always been more than the cat who lives with us. She is part of the rhythm of our family, quietly woven into the ordinary moments that somehow become the ones we remember most. I can still picture her looking completely at home in her little corner of the world. There is something comforting about the soft texture of her coat, the familiar weight of her presence, and the way a beloved pet can make a house feel unmistakably like ours. When I think about what we want to keep from this chapter of our lives, it is not simply an image of Truffle. It is the feeling of being the family we are, with the animals we love woven into our story.

That is what makes a custom portrait so meaningful. It gives us a way to celebrate the people, pets, places, and moments that say something about who you are and who you hope to remain. And it does not have to be complicated. You do not need to know exactly what you want or how to turn a memory into a work of art. You simply bring me the story, and we can create something that feels like it belongs to your life. 

If there is someone or something that has become part of the person you are, what would you choose to make a lasting part of your story?

🐱 Truffle 🐱

acrylic paint on canvas board

16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm)

202607043

© copyright Mike Kraus Art Inc.

To turn your story into a one of a kind work of art, please visit: 

https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/186507940

or buy direct at:

https://mikekraus.blogspot.com/p/buy-direct-from-mike-kraus-art.html 

One lyric from Brinker James' new song We've Got the Day has been stuck in my head: "Man named Life tapped me. Told me be happy." Simple. Honest. Thoughtful.What if happiness isn't something you find, but something you notice?

Full Song: https://open.spotify.com/track/70kOSrP26XnjH4KyctFK94

🍁 Awesome Autumn Art Festival 🍁

Discover artists. Make new friends. Celebrate creativity. Join us for 3 days of art, conversation, and community. Meet artists from around the world, explore original artwork, and find something that speaks to you. Whether you're an artist, collector, or simply love beautiful things, we'd love to have you with us.

👉 https://www.facebook.com/events/1071336015459888

I’m Mike Kraus, a lifelong artist who believes color, movement, and curiosity can quietly change how a space and a day feel. More about me at: https://mikekraus.blogspot.com/p/bio.html

For more information or custom order, please visit:

Store: http://MikeKrausArt.etsy.com

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/TheWayToBeauty

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/MikeKraus/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mkraus

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MikeKrausArt

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikekrausart

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mikekraus.bsky.social

Wandering Wednesday: What happens when two friends decide to make music together?

Wandering Wednesday

Some songs begin with a melody. Others begin with a conversation, a memory, or simply two friends deciding to see what happens when they make something together. For Andrew Glaser and Ben Saunders, that friendship eventually became Brinker James.

The two met working in a pizza restaurant and bonded over music. Years later, those conversations, influences, experiments, and countless hours of writing and playing became Wooden Shield, their debut album.

"We've Got the Day" opens that journey with something wonderfully uncomplicated: "Come with me, we've got the day."

After spending time with the album, that invitation says something important about Brinker James. Their music doesn't seem interested in telling you what to think. It invites you to slow down, listen, and enter the world they've created. And there is something particularly satisfying about hearing a song that began with two friends making music together eventually become a finished album.

I was fortunate to contribute the cover artwork to Wooden Shield, but the music belongs entirely to Ben and Andrew. This is their story, their songwriting, and their journey. If you haven't heard "We've Got the Day" yet, take a few minutes and come along.

What happens when two friends decide to make something together? Sometimes, you get a song. Sometimes, you get an entire world.

Listen to the full song at: 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/70kOSrP26XnjH4KyctFK94 

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/weve-got-the-day/6795074682?i=6795074684

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/tracks/B0HBQCR8ZW 

Deezer: https://link.deezer.com/s/341S3Kg70w7DhqSof2QnL 

Pandora: https://pandora.app.link/kbyvw3U7l5b 

qobuz: https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/wooden-shield-brinker-james/ot8877kgvqyz4

Follow Brinker James:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brinkerjamesmusic

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brinkerjames