Rosita's Bridge, San Antonio (Small Study)

A friend of mine recently started watercolor painting and had painted a picture of Rosita's Bridge on the Riverwalk at LaVillita in San Antonio. This reminded me that I had a file of reference photos of my own trips to San Antonio and I was inspired to do this small study. In the past, I've walked by this area which features a stage on the right side and outside seating on the left (not seen here).

If you continue up and to the left you can visit a very charming shopping and arts area known as La Villita Historic Arts Village which pays homage to San Antonio's first established neighborhood. We happened upon it during our last trip and were pleasantly surprised at all the quaint shops and welcoming shopowners combined with some wonderful San Antonio history.

"Rosita's Bridge" (Small Study)
8"x10" oil on canvas, SOLD

Peanut Butter Jelly Time - Small Study

My goodness, life has been busy and I have gone 3 weeks without painting! Aaarrghh. I needed to do a little warm up before I started back on some of my larger, long term works and wasn't quite sure what subject matter to choose. Around lunchtime, I decided to have some fun and make myself the kind of peanut butter jelly sandwich I would've eaten as a child (before we had any idea at all about grams of fat per tablespoon): lots of peanut butter and lots of jelly (with a tall glass of ice cold milk - definitely not my usual diet!) Sometimes, I wish I was still a kid so I could eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich everyday, that's how much I like them. Some people like to go light on the peanut butter and heavy on the jelly, or maybe the other way around. Several members of my family add bananas (for extra nutritional value?) There are lots of versions out there. Didn't Elvis like his fried? I usually don't use white bread, but I decided that I needed to make it on white bread for the sake of my artwork. Oh, the sacrifices we artists make! My sister called while I was working and asked what I was painting. She kind of paused like she wasn't sure what to say to that, but artists enjoy most painting the things we love. Can you tell that I love PBandJ by looking at this painting? I hope so.

"Peanut Butter Jelly Time" Small Study

8x10 oil on canvas, NFS

"Hunger of the mind and spirit is as strong as hunger of the belly."

~Camille Pissarro

Nanny's Vase (Small Study)

There's something about the way glass and crystal reflects the light and catches my eye. Same goes for clear water in streams. For a long time now, I've wanted to try my hand at painting crystal so when I had this beautiful bouquet of roses on my counter in a very special vase (pink roses "Belinda's Dream" and red roses "Oklahoma"), I thought a small study would be a good start. I knew it wouldn't be easy to capture the colors and design of the crystal.

The vase is one that I picked up a long time ago from a family friend and avid collector of treasures and garage sale finds whom we called "Nanny." Nanny took great relish in her garage sale discoveries and was known to give you a good deal on an item when she re-sold it if she thought you loved it as much as she did. I believe she might have even raised the price if she thought you didn't love the object as much as she did! I bought this at a time when the family budget was tight and it definitely wasn't on the list of household necessities. I think Nanny knew that because she gave me a bargain. I swear the flowers look even more lovelier when I pull out this vase to hold them.

I look forward to trying my brush at more glass and crystal. I can't offer this one up for purchase as it was snatched up before I could get it posted.

"Nanny's Vase"
8"x10" oil on canvas, SOLD

An aside: If you don't have an Oklahoma rose, do yourself a favor and go out and get one! Heaven scented!!

Cook's Garden at Chateau Chenonceau

The Cook's Garden at Chateau Chenonceau in France is a commission that I recently completed and wanted to share with you. The client I painted it for had a beautiful selection of vacation photos from her trip and wanted to commemorate her journey with a painting for her house.

These types of commissions are very much a combined effort between myself and the client because often I am trying to capture the feeling of a place I've never been before and the client has their own special memories they want to capture.

I knew, when I saw her photo, that I definitely wanted to paint it. Who could resist?! I completely lost myself in this garden as I worked on it over many weeks. Sometimes, I had to shake myself out of it and come back to my little painting corner. It was a joy. I do know that after painting it, I hope I someday have the privilege of journeying there myself. I wonder if I will walk into the garden and feel a special connection after having studied it for so long?

I always feel honored when someone asks me to create a visual reminder of a special memory of a time and place in their life.

"The Cook's Garden at Chateau Chenonceau, France"
30"x30" oil on canvas, private collection

Green In Gruene (small study)

I snapped a photo of this barn after we strolled down Hunter Road in Gruene, Texas. My reference photo captures the lush green of early summer. I loved the way the old oak frames the barn across the street. I took the artistic liberty of adding the tire swing as an afterthought.

It is our tradition to always save enough time and energy after visiting Schlitterbahn to make our way to Gruene and the Grist Mill River Restaurant which overlooks the Guadalupe River. As stated on the town website, Gruene has been "gently resisting change since 1872." We usually walk off our dinner with a stroll through the historic town and pick up chocolate covered raisins at the Gruene General Store with it's old time Soda Fountain. Then everyone piles back into the car and falls asleep while dad drives home.

Next time we visit, I think I need to take a photo inside the soda fountain. That would be a fun painting.

"Green in Gruene"
8"x10" oil on canvas
(small study) sold

Happy Spring!

Do you think I got a little carried away by all the colors in this small study? Oh well, it was fun and I was "Spring dreaming." Recent sunshine-y weather has me wanting to get out and plant flowers. I always dream of having a garden like this, but alas, I'm sure I wouldn't want to take time away from painting to take care of it. I'm glad I can have fun and get carried away with the brush (without the weeds!)

Once the heat and humidity arrives, the thought of staying inside with the a/c becomes more attractive than the idea of tending the flowers anyway. I think I'll stick with the brush.

Cottage Dreams (small study)
8"x10" oil on canvas
Private Collection

Leftovers (small study)

I happened across a picture of an old homestead and decided to use the leftover paint on my palette for this small study. I chose the title "Leftovers" because of the leftover paint, and then because of the fact that these old buildings and homes that I see as we drive out in the country remind me of leftovers. I wonder what stories they would tell "if walls could talk." I suppose some might find the term leftovers depressing, but not me. I'm not sure why I find them so endearing, but they seem to be representative of a different time and era in history that speaks to my family heritage, I suppose.

"Leftovers"
8"x10" oil on linen
Small Study $55+s/h

Donkey Love (Small Study)

I have a friend who graciously forwarded some fun pictures of her horses and donkeys and this little donkey couple was just too cute to resist. I am fortunate to have many friends who are kind about sharing their photos with me. That is an enormous asset as an artist.

Another painter friend of mine has been encouraging me to start working on small studies and I've finally decided to follow through. Small studies are often done with the intention of completing a painting in a single day. Many artists these days are participating in this "painting a day" approach. While I have no desire to do a painting a day, it's good practice and very liberating because the whole goal (in my mind anyway) is to be less formal and restrictive and more creative and experimental. Even the brush strokes are more loose as I keep reminding myself to have fun with the brush and not over think any particular area of the painting. They are a welcome break from some of my long-term, planned commissions and larger works and should be easy to work in when I need a break from a more intense project.

As such, they are a great opportunity to own an original work of art at a reasonable price. I will be selling these small studies (8"x10"s) for $55 +s/h.

Donkey Love - SOLD

8"x10" oil on canvas

$55+s/h

"Let It Rain"

First of all, thank you for all the great title suggestions. You sure did not make it easy for me to decide. I really liked the deceptive simplicity of "Let It Rain," but wasn't sold on it until I read this interpretation:

"Although the barn design definitely sets the scene in the USA, the mood reminds me of time spent in southern Iran when the countryside is waiting expectantly for the first rains after the hot dry summer. I can almost feel the heat from those bright reds in the foreground. I thought of parched dusty grasses - the kind that rub the skin and itch, and I have memories of kids shoes covered in dust. Against that are the towering dark clouds – threatening thunderstorms: storms that will bring long awaited cooling, nourishing and reviving rains. Again, I can see those first raindrops splattering up the dust, turning the foreground to a mud and releasing a cool rich smell . . ."

As an artist, the thought that I could inspire beautiful words like that, makes me want to jump up and down! Prior to receiving this, I had started plans to revise the painting because even as the artist, I wasn't sure I was getting the message across. These words captured in writing exactly what I was trying to capture in colors.

As you can see, I think I found the perfect temporary home for it, viewed from an archway. Even though it's still for sale, I'm liking it quite a bit right where it is so I'm in no hurry!I'm also including a picture for you of where "Let It Rain" was supposed to hang (the big wall in the small room) and what is there now. This diptych was a departure for me as it was painted entirely in acrylic and was strictly done as a design element - like a giant doodle. I painted and played and didn't worry and fuss. It's a completely different experience when you are painting from a design perspective because there are different things to consider. It complements the room without demanding attention as the other did.

Thank you again for your titling help and, as always, I love hearing about what kinds of things you think about when you see a piece of my art.

"Barn Storm" - (Need titling help!)

Our home has a very large wall in an otherwise small room that has been begging for a painting so I decided to paint this barn that I snapped a photo of as we drove by. As you can see, I had fun getting carried away with the colors and my own ideas for the landscape and playing with contrasts. At 3'x4', this is a rather imposing picture, as I found out when I went to hang it up in the small room it was intended for. I absolutely love it, but this painting demands way too much attention and knocks the whole room off balance. I should've known better as I often paint pictures for people based on the room where it will hang and I totally missed it for my own home. Duh. I'm glad it wasn't for a client! Alas, I had to paint something else for the room, but that's ok - I had a blast with this one. I guess it will be looking for a home where it can be a focal point.

Only thing is, I can't seem to think of a title. Every now and then I draw a blank and I figured it's been awhile since I've asked my readers for help. Please email if you have a title recommendation for me.

"Untitled Barn, Before (or after?) a Storm"
3'x4' oil on gallery-wrapped canvas