Recharging

I could do this all day...I just finished both of these - I had to rework the roots on the cypress, and finish the sky on the other, but they are now finished - I promise....I won't touch them again...well, maybe....

Time to start some new works. Spending my Saturday for 5 hours painting takes away all the stress of the 45 hours or so I spend at work during the week. My desire is to one day be able to do this full time. I can think of nothing I would want to do more...

Summer's Refuge, Oil on Canvas, 16" x 20"

"Quiet Day's End" - Oil on Canvas, 14" x 18" This is a view of the hill country looking south from the Old Number 9 Tunnel, Comfort, TX at sunset

Refuge

There is a peace that comes with painting. When I am feeling stressed, insecure, or when the world is coming against me, I seek refuge in the peace of a brush in my hand, and placing paint on a canvas. There are places I go where I can get away from the cares of the day, from the hectic pace of life.

I started this painting on the Cibolo Creek, at the Cibolo Nature Center just a couple of miles from Interstate 10, yet away from all of the noise and clamor of the city nearby. It's one of my favorite places in the world, and it's only minutes from my house. The picture of me painting  in one of the posts below is the beginning of this painting. It was finished in the quiet of my studio at home.

I was feeling especially insecure today for a number of reasons. I was to the point of being angry and frustrated at a situation I have no control of. All I could think of was my problem, and all of a sudden I said, "I need to paint." And I did. For an hour and a half I worked to complete this. (It's still not signed, but I'll do that when it dries.) I lost the entire hour and a half - completely engrossed in the music and the flow of paint being applied by my hand on the canvas. I thought about nothing - not my problems, not my stomach, or anything else - all I could think about was how the color was going to go on, where it was going to go, and what I would look like. Color... space... shape....

Perfect peace. I left my thoughts and frustrations for a while, and did what I knew would take me into another space, a perfect place - my perfect refuge. I am glad to share this with you. I hope you enjoy my expression of peace.

Summer's Refuge, Oil on canvas, 16" x 20" from the banks of the Cibolo Creek, Boerne TX September 2012

My first show

Cibolo Creek Cypress, Oil on Canvas Board, 11" x 14", This is the painting I have in the show

THE   BOERNE  ART  LEAGUE  FALL  SHOW
                               2012

You are invited to a reception presenting the BAL Fall Show at the Boerne Visitor’s Center 1407 South Main on Saturday, September 22 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm  
 The show includes works by  members in pastels, oils, acrylic and photography.
 The dates and times are September 17 through October 17 Monday- Friday 9-5 & Saturday 10-2.

Art is Art

Sometimes when I show something I have drawn or painted,  people tell me, "I can't draw a straight line with a ruler."

That's art, I always think. That's art.

A straight line is just a straight line. We all have art in us, and it doesn't always start with straight lines or realistic renderings. Art is art. It comes from within, and it's different for every person. Art is pure expression, and it's not right or wrong.

Yes, art can be very technical or very free. Art can be pleasing as well as shocking. It is expression, feeling, and passion. It's just art.

I like landscapes, dogs, and impressionism. I practice that in my painting. Sometimes I get frustrated at how something comes out, but always, always, I am totally at ease when I have a brush and paint in my hands. I love to express, and I love doing it with passion. I escape completely, and I am at rest. It's what I was born to do.

I haven't always liked my art. But now I do....I realize whatever comes out of me is what the Creator placed in me, and part of my self  - my essence - gets recorded and imprinted on a canvas or paper. And it's real - it's my art.

So I won't be drawing straight lines with a ruler. That's tracing.

I like art.

Painting out at Cibolo Nature Center