Late Autumn in the Texas Hill Country

A grove of Red Oaks on the back road to Boerne, watercolor study on paper, 2.5" x 6.25"

There is always something to remind me why we chose to move here. Autumn and the foliage is one of those things. There is another level of peace that comes with taking a moment to enjoy the colors and express it with paint.

3 most useless things to discuss - part 2

I started with this yesterday -

3 most useless things to discuss

Politics
Sports
Religious doctrine

Neither of which, no matter how passionate we are, we have any control.
and my cyber-buddy, Kansas Bob, challenged me with the question, "What are the three most useful things to discuss?"

Nice one, Bob... so here is part 2

Most useful things to discuss (in no particular order of importance - pick one and start there)

Spirituality

Encouragement

Love 

Personal Growth

Relationship

Family

Beauty

Discovery

The journey of life

Our mortality

Our significance

Purpose

All of which, with passion, all of us have direct influence.

What have I missed? 

Speaking of beauty and our significance, today I heard, then saw some migrating Sand Hill cranes in formation. Such a wonder of nature, these birds fly to Texas all the way from Alaska, and have been doing so for centuries. It's believed that this is the oldest known annual migration of birds in history. What does that have to do with our significance? We get to witness this!

Afternoon Hill Country Autumn study, watercolor on paper

3 most useless things to discuss

Politics
Sports
Religious doctrine

Neither of which, no matter how passionate we are, we have any control.

Why I don't like "romantic comedies" (aka chick flicks)

Romantic comedies are too predictable. The plot(s) go(es) like this -
Screwed up chick meets hot guy - or - Screwed up guy meets hot chick
(For the purpose of brevity, I will stick with the screwed up chick meets hot guy scenario, but they are interchangeable.)
chick hates dude or dude hates chick
dude has another girlfriend who is evil or bitchy
dude somehow meets chick's dysfunctional family disguised as her boyfriend
Mom is a (closet) drunk and dad is a doofus
Someone in the cast is gay
dude and chick have tension and evil girlfriend gets in the way
chick falls in love with dude
dude rejects chick because of evil girlfriend
dude almost gets married, chick gets depressed because she thinks he actually went through with it
chick loses job/family member/gay friend/dog
dude comes to the rescue and they fall in love
dude buys her a car/business/new dog
life becomes wonderful
Pauly get sick and rents "Expendables 2"
Life is wonderful again

Thanks and Thanksgiving

One of the greatest things I am  thankful for is the ability and opportunity to see and be with my family. I picked up one of the grandsons on Tuesday, and Wednesday hiked with him out at the Cibolo Nature Center. I did a watercolor sketch, and then did an oil painting of that scene later on that night. A. J. wanted to paint, so I gave him a little canvas and a knife, and let him create his own.
Family. It's great.
So over Thanksgiving, we treated everyone to a buffet at the hotel we came to, and then end enjoyed letting the kids wear themselves out at the indoor water park. I spent some time in the hot tub, but didn't really relax because of the noise. Holy hell, a thousand kids inside, with millions of gallons of water gushing everywhere made the noise level pretty unbearable. Nevertheless, I am having a blast knowing the kids are having an experience they'll remember for a long time.
Family. It's great.
So here are a few things I've done the last few days.  Family and painting...my expression of thanks.And it's great.

Autumn Stream, Oil on Panel, 8" x 10"

Autumn Stream 2, Oil on Panel, 2.5" x 3"

Late Autumn Trees, Grapevine, TX, watercolor study on bristol, 4" x 7"

And 2 more

These are the best 2 works from the week. They are also the first 2 I painted out in Terlingua, both of the same subject. I really love these, and they both sold on Saturday. I think they are some of the best work I've done yet.

Bee Mountain, Terlingua #2, Oil on Board, 2.5" x 3" SOLD

"Bee Mountain, Terlingua" Oil on board, 8" x 10" SOLD

More paintings from the week

I have really enjoyed these little palette knife paintings. It's really cool to use color and texture together, and be able to cover a surface with a single stroke. I can get a more consistent color by mixing it first on the palette, then using a knife to spread it.

This was one I did before sunset. The movement of the sun changes the colors each minute, so it's hard to capture from one minute to the next. It was causing some cool coloration on the top of Tule mountain. One thing I enjoyed about Terlingua was the quiet. But the moving lights and the changing colors seemed to provide their own music on the landscape.

"Tule Mountain Near Sunset" Oil on board, 4" x 5"

"Cypress Preparing for Fall" Oil on board, 4" x 5"

 Bill Zaner always says to paint what you know, not what you see. I remembered this scene from the Cibolo Nature Center, and right now the leaves on the cypress trees are turning color. This was a fun little painting of one of my favorite places on earth.
























This little house has been challenging me for months. I finally attacked it with a palette knife and had a nice outcome. It will not be the last time I paint this ruddy little building.

"Robert E. Lee House in Boerne, TX" Oil on board, 5" x 7"

The Big Adventure

I'm behind a little red Jeep that has a license plate that says BZART. It's 7:25 am, the sun is rising and we're on the road. truly, this is an adventure that I've been looking forward to for weeks. It's a trip out west to Big Bend Country with the iconic Bill Zaner, and another artist, David Caton. The 3 of us are headed out to Big Bend to paint, drink some wine, and philosophize about life. Bill says it's only an hour to David's house, and then another four a half hours to Big Bend. but Bill's  driving only 50 miles an hour. I'm afraid this might take a little longer. Just 6 minutes out of Boerne, and already the hill country is beginning to change. The muted colored hills in the distance, and the morning light flashing on the oaks all around me reach out as to say, "Welcome home."
28 minutes and were just now I'm getting out of Bandera Texas. There was a warning sign that said there are Steep grades and sharp curves for the next 22 miles. I took us over an hour and 20 minutes to get to David's house, but we finally got back on the road. 7 hours later, we arrived at the cabin in Terlingua. We stopped only a couple of times along the way, once in Del Rio for gas and a quick HEB run, and then at the Pecos river overlook where we could see the intersection of the Pecos and the Rio Grande.



The Pecos River looking toward the Rio Grande, at the end of the canyon.

Wednesday was mostly traveling, so we didn't do any painting. I got a couple of quick sketches in prior to sunset, and took a few snapshots from the porch. We finally got to painting on Thursday, and I was able to complete 3 paintings, and start on a 4th. I'll publish those in the next few posts.

Something extraordinary happened on this short trip. Bill said my DNA would be rearranged, and it was. I learned some key things about myself and my art.

On Thursday morning, just after sunrise, both Bill and David set up their easels and began to paint. I was extremely intimidated, being the "junior" painter, and apprentice of sorts, among these two giants. I watched both of them paint for a few minutes, then summoned my courage to set up and get some paint on a surface. While watching Bill paint with a knife, he would share little bits of information about what he was doing - mixing, application, color, space... it took me about 10 minutes with all of my senses observing his moves and listening to his voice to figure out I could do what he was doing. So I did. And I loved it. I overcame my fear and learned a new way to paint. I didn't use a brush on any of the 6 paintings I completed since Thursday.

To be continued -

Quick sketch

I like pencil sketching. Here is a quick sketch for a painting I am working on. I was stuck with the painting and thought a sketch would help me see things more clearly. I really like this little rock house, but got frustrated trying to paint first. The sketch helped. Will post the painting when I re-do it.

Robert E Lee House, Boerne, TX, Pencil on Bristol, 5" x 8"

Necessary tools

I had this small 3" x 5" canvas and a frame it fits, and didn't know what to do with it until last night. There are things around where I paint that are aesthetically pleasing - at least to me - and want to capture. An artist's space can yield a lot of good subject matter. My brushes in my vase and a bottle of wine represent something I look at frequently. I enjoy a glass of red when I paint. The light coming in a west window provides a soft and bright environment in the late afternoon. The red wine, the smell of oil paint, and music from Amos Lee, Norah Jones, Ben Harper, and Jason Mraz provide a warm and calm ambiance - perfect for a mellow afternoon.

"Necessary Tools" Oil on canvas, 3" x 5"