BASTROP ART WALK

I feel privileged to have been invited to participate in the Bastrop First Friday Art Walk this coming Friday and I am so excited.  I will be in the shop called High Cotton at 809 Main Street.  The Art Walk begins at 5 pm. and lasts until 9.  The shops and restaurants in the Historic District will be open and there will be refreshments, a silent auction, and live music.  There is also a new brew pub on the river—just a block from High Cotton. 

I have been working all week getting all the paintings framed, labeled and ready to hang at High Cotton for display.  Some of my children and grandchildren are even coming for the event!  It should be a wonderful evening and my paintings will remain at High Cotton on Saturday for the Pine Street Festival.  If you come to Bastrop, please remember to vote for your favorite artist (hopefully me!).

A COTTON BOLL

Since finding out that I will be the featured artist at the Bastrop Art Walk on September 7th in a shop called High Cotton, I decided that I would explore painting a cotton boll.  I planned my painting and did a quick one on a 4x4 tile.  It turned out quite nicely, so I am now sketching it out on a 12x12 canvas.



I am a very slow, methodical and meticulous painter.  Many of my paintings take two to three months to finish--mainly because I paint in many layers, one thin coat of paint after another until I get the look I want.  My favorite things to paint are individual flowers.  Here are some examples:

Each of the two paintings above took several months to paint.  Of course, I usually have a number of paintings going at once because I paint on one, let it dry, move on to another painting, and so.  I always have something to work on and I never get tired of the variety of challenges that my paintings present when I walk into my Treetop Studio.

IN HIGH COTTON

Yikes!  It has been a long time since I have entered a post on my blog.  Where does time go??  But I have some news:

I am going to be in High Cotton!  Actually, I will be the featured artist at High Cotton, 809 Main Street, during the First Friday Art Walk in Bastrop, Texas, on September 7 from 5 to 9 pm.  I hope many of my friends will come to Bastrop for a look at my paintings that will be on display there Friday evening and all day Saturday.  We will have refreshments, a silent auction, and you can vote for your favorite artist in the Art Walk (hopefully that will be me ;-).  Bastrop is a lovely town with wonderful shops, galleries and restaurants so plan to come and have an enjoyable evening in Bastrop.

That is where most of my time has gone this summer.  I have been preparing for the Art Walk.  I did not realize how much time goes into finishing paintings, getting them ready to be framed, and then listing each on my inventory sheet after it has been framed. I have tried to be organized about this but my art studio looks like a tornado hit.  Every flat surface is covered and some has even moved onto the floor.  I am looking forward to seeing my art displayed on the beautiful brick wall of High Cotton and hearing what people have to say about my paintings.

FEBRUARY ALREADY

Here it is February already!  Where did the month of January go?

One of the activities I have enjoyed in the past was making my own Valentine's Day cards, so today I decided to explore the options for making a few cards.  I got out my Valentine's Day basket with all kinds of things related to Valentine's Day:  stickers, ribbons, hearts, flowers, doilies and began to craft my cards. I have made three so far and am thinking that I might get out my watercolors and see what I might come up with in painting some Valentine's Day cards.

I wish some of my talented and artistic grandchildren were here to help me out with this creative task!

FAMILY GATHERING

This past weekend our family gathered to meet Son #3’s Emily AND to have a surprise celebration of hubby’s birthday.  He knew about meeting Miss Emily but the birthday celebration was a complete surprise.
The weather was beautiful, although a bit cool, and we had wonderful outdoor activities.  Volleyball was popular until the dog grabbed the ball and punctured it.  The band aid that young grandson applied did not help much.

The low tightrope provided a challenge for everyone!  Thanks to Son #2 who set this up for almost everyone to try—and some even mastered it nicely.






We enjoyed having Miss Emily with us for the weekend.  She was a real trooper to come meet ALL of us at one time.  Please come back, Miss Emily!!

The birthday party was a real surprise and the cake by granddaughter, Miss Em, was a wonderfully artistic creation that captured the essence of her Granddaddy.  It was a delicious Craftsman toolbox complete with tools!

After the birthday party Son #3 taught the children (and adults, also) a bit about heartbeats.  He brought a stethoscope for each child and they listened to their own heartbeats and that of the very patient dog, Nero.  Thanks, Son #3 and Nero.

The evening ended with a wonderful fire in the fire pit that hubby and Son #2 constructed for our patio.

The weekend gathering was great fun!  Thanks for coming, one and all!

GEARING UP !

This weekend we will have all our boys here to meet Son #3's Emily and to celebrate hubby's belated birthday! Shhh! That last part is a secret. The emails, phone calls and text messages have been flying the last couple of days with planning, menus, questions, and suggestions. I am so excited I can hardly stand it!! I hope to post next week with pictures of all the excitement--once I have rested up!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR

Today is my sweet husband's birthday.  I hope it has been a good one for him.  I had a little party for him at lunch and he has received lots of birthday wishes by phone and e-mail and from the neighbors.  Unfortunately he had a meeting tonight so we could not have a party for him, but the week is not over yet!  ;) Heh! Heh!

This picture was taken on Christmas day.  The dog, Nero, belongs to Son #3.  Surprises still ahead!

I'M BACK!

I have been away from my blog so long that I totally forgot how to post a new entry to the blog.  Shame on me!  Looking back, I am not sure what I have done in those months, but here is a thumbnail sketch of events and happenings:

1) We settled into our newly remodeled house nicely and have frequent visitors--friends, family, grandchildren.  It is wonderful to have room for everyone without having the kids sleep on couches in living room and den.  It is also wonderful to have my art room where I have had a place to work on whatever project I am involved in at the moment.  My art table has been a sewing table, a painting table, a writing table, a Christmas gift wrapping table, and a place where grandchildren can explore various arts and crafts when they come.  Below are a couple of pictures that I painted and gave for Christmas presents.

2) I got a new computer!  #$%&%$!!  I thoroughly DISLIKE changing computers!  My brain balks at shifting from old ways of doing things to new ways. And, not only did I get a new computer, but I changed from using a Dell PC to (Gasp!!) a Mac!  Let me tell you--IT HAS BEEN A REAL LEARNING CURVE!  If I hear one more time, "It's very intuitive..." to describe Apple products, I think I will scream!  Somehow my "intuitive" instincts are missing!  The redeeming factor is that there is an Apple Store just ten minutes from where I live and I have become very familiar with their Genius Bar and have taken all the classes that they offer.  However, I am STILL learning.

3)  We had a brutally hot and dry summer.  We had put in all new landscaping the year before and we spent a good deal of time outside hand-watering to keep things alive.  As the temperatures rose and persisted, we seemed to wilt while we tried to stay cool and hydrated.  Fortunately, we have had some lovely rains the past couple of months but not nearly enough to fill up our lovely lakes.  The picture below was taken when Son #2 and family came at Christmas and we explored a part of a nearby lake that is usually 40 feet below water.

While other parts of the country had way too much rain, we had absolutely none!  And then the wildfires started around our area.  Fortunately, they stayed away from here, but I do have two emergency evacuation bags with important papers and a few clothes ready "just in case."

4) I also facilitate two writing groups.  These groups are designed to help women write their memoirs.  One group has been meeting for almost ten years and the other group has been meeting in a retirement center for about five years.  These women LOVE to write their stories and I never grow tired of hearing their stories and sharing mine with them.

Happy New Year to anyone who has not given up on me and is still reading my blog.