New Moon

"Last Year on the Farm...third to the last moon"

I can't count how many moons we have seen rise here in our 30= years...this one is our third to the last....our time is winding down....

Let me know if you want first dibs on this one...the Farm paintings will be "unveiled" together in Sept. and Oct....my kids get first pick :)

Last May

"Last Year on the Farm....May Hay"

Off to Colorado!!! Will try to blog along the way...~

July Fog...Last Year on the Farm

Last Year on the Farm 07-21-2007 Accepting First Dibs

My computer problems are more severe than expected, so the timing for these notes will be irregular for a time…sigh….I have learned to NOT delete things in the computer which have names you never heard of….sometimes there are IMPORTANT things there that make other things work…

Sunday morning was foggy. Very unusual for July. I painted THREE little ones before church, when the sun finally brought light and color to the farmscape.

Did I tell you we have a new house in Round Rock?…not TOO far from here.

Our last day on the farm will be the 31 of October, and for the whole month of October, this farm house will be my “gallery” for the “Last Year on the Farm” paintings….365 total

I hope you will make plans to come view them all some time that month…I will send a more “formal” invitation pretty soon.

"Drive-By Burrito" 6x8 oil on Linen $200

Hello again, y’all!Moving and computer problems have removed me from blogging, but not from painting!This one is a drive-by from my May trip to Arizona…a little juicy Burrito! Lots of paint on this one for whoever wants it first…I would love to hear comments!

Later this week I will be doing some more drive-bys on the way to the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painter’s big event in Winter Park, CO.Usually by this time of the summer I am eager to cool off in the mountains, but it’s been so cool and wet this year in Texas that I’m not so sure I need more cool!

Welcome Back!

Fall Poppies

"Fall Poppies" 9 x 12 to be auctioned for...

This painting will be auctioned in Austin ,TX in Sept. (I think) to benefit

A World for Children http://www.awfc.org/ which provides qulity foster care and adoptions in Texas. My good friends Pam and Robert have LONG been foster parents and I can vouch for this great organization.

The gala and auction will be a GREAT event: The MC is Randy Phillips (Phillips, Craig and Dean), Honorary chair person is Texas First Lady Anita Perry, and the Keynote speaker is Rick Barns (UT Basketball).

100% of the funds raised will go to the children in this organization...someone go bid!!!

Hay Demo

"Hay Demo"

We had a little workshop this past weekend at the Art Center of Williamson County. When I live in Round Rock soon, I will enjoy hanging out here with Michael, Denise and the gang. GREAT ART TEACHERS, there!

I did this demo on Saturday, showing the artists in class one way to "see" and block in a landscape from one of my farm photos....Today, the farm looks JUST LIKE THIS, with hay being rolled up and other fields being cut! Will paint some more hay today!

Caught on the Fly

"Caught on the Fly"

Maybe some of you do not know that my early carreer was as a cartoonist and graphic designer. Some things are best said with a little cartoon and without captions...this is how I fly fish.

My recent trip to Tennessee included a little fishing excursion on the Watauga River (I think), thanks to my hosts Lisa Ann and Mike Milhorn. They are the gallery that represents my work out there in Kingsport (Up Against the Wall Gallery...But I call like to call it

"Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother Gallery"..if you are from Texas or have ever heard of Gary P. Nunn you know why...the Milhorns approve...the gallery was named for the song and Mike is a musician and "buds" with folks in the music biz)...

When There was Life Here

"Last Year on the Farm 07-16-2006"

Last Year this time, there were cows all over these gentle terraces. We had a draught last summer and a VERY harsh winter (for central Texas) and when a few cows died, our family decided to sell the herd.

I really have missed the many cows moving over the pastures. There presence invited all the cattle egrets, and now they don't stop by, either.

When I painted this, the egrets were gathered by the tall grass at the bottom and as the cows began to move, one by one the birds joined in procession to tag behind. They like to eat the bugs stirred up by the movement...

The cows are gone, the egrets are gone, and recently all the horses left, too.And finally gone are every family here, my husband's grandparents, parents and 2 families of aunts & uncles.

Leonard and Ella Fae and their family is gone...I will tell about them another time: lifelong residents of this farm....all have moved on...Except us...

LAst Year Literally

"Last Year on the Farm 07-15-2007"

My series of 365 paintings is drawing to a close next month! I have a few more to go and then will hang them on the walls to show everyone....If you are anywhere in the Austin area after Sept. 5, please e-mail me for a viewing or plan to come to the official show on or about Sept. 15...

"Last Year on the Farm" paintings are documenting my last year where I have lived most my life, near Austin, TX. These will be offered for sale in a few months, when our last year is up. Please ask me if you want a copy of the story. If you see one you like, PLEASE CONTACT V....Vaughan to have a first dibs shot at it. A list is underway....my kids get first pick! ;)

07-10-2007 Last Year on the Farm

The sunrise the other morning was the first "hot" sunrise of the summer!

Please forgive the missing days! SBC/Yahoo is relly undependable this week. They say there is a connection problem in a large area...I have had no e-mail for days, now and am finding it difficult to post this!

Would love to have a comment below :)

Late Spring 24 Last Year___8 pm

Late Spring 24 Last Year on the Farm___8 pm

This was the beginning of the sunset I posted yesterday...part of my "24 Paintings in 24 Hours" which I did a few weeks ago at the end of spring...It has been raining ever since!

"Last Year on the Farm" paintings are documenting my last year where I have lived most my life, near Austin, TX. These will be offered for sale in a few months, when our last year is up. Please ask me if you want a copy of the story. If you see one you like, PLEASE CONTACT V....Vaughan to have a first dibs shot at it. A list is underway....my kids get first pick! ;)

Late Spring 24 Last Year___9pm New Moon

"Late Spring 24 Last Year___9pm New Moon"
I dedicate this painting to my High School classmates (Class of 1977)...see yesterday's post about why...
For my latest round of "24 paintings in 24 hours", I painted a "Late Spring Day Last Year on the Farm"....a few weeks ago, on the last week of Spring.This is looking east at sunset with the crescent moon over our nearby neighborhood....there is something very intriguing about sunset and a new moon...it seems to speak of eternal things like life and death and even hope...
I dedicate this today, because we had a memorial service this morning to honor the families and memory of our friends who have died since high school. What a wonderful time of memory and reflection...just the right kind of church service that brings hope and makes you THINK about your own life and it's "finish"...I saw many hearts touched this morning, including my own,...I would love to hear your comments...sorry for the unusually lengthy note :)
God Bless you!!!

"Last Year on the Farm" paintings are documenting my last year where I have lived most my life, near Austin, TX. These will be offered for sale in a few months, when our last year is up. Please ask me if you want a copy of the story. If you see one you like, PLEASE CONTACT V....Vaughan to have a first dibs shot at it. A list is underway....my kids get first pick! ;)

Reunion Morn

"Last Year on the Farm 07-07-07'

What a perfect day for the High School class of '77 to have a reunion! 07-07-07 ! I saw so MANY old friends last night at the first event of our weekend. The Austin Reagan and LBJ classes of 1977 are having our 30 year reunion all weekend. What a great group of people I grew up with in the tight knit area of northEast Austin. After 9th grade they split us up and sent half of us away from Reagan HS and over to LBJ HS.What rivals we were, and friends we ARE!

Many memories accompanied me as I painted this about an hour ago....These were "thunder tops" and as soon as I finished, the whole sky has closed in and it's raining again!

"Last Year on the Farm" paintings are documenting my last year where I have lived most my life, near Austin, TX. These will be offered for sale in a few months, when our last year is up. Please ask me if you want a copy of the story. If you see one you like, PLEASE CONTACT V....Vaughan to have a first dibs shot at it. A list is underway....my kids get first pick! ;)

Pelican's Summer Color

"Pelican's Summer Color" 6 x 8 oil on linen $200

I have painted the Rockport pelicans a lot, and this is the first time I noticed they were a different color! I wonder if this was a different group, or if their feathers change colors with the seasons? If you know, please let me know!

Rainy 4th

"Last Year on the Farm 07-04-2007"

Usually we sit on the trampoline (above the fire ants and having a view of the neighborhoods and distant Pflugerville) to watch fireworks. My husband hates them because of the fire hazard, so the kids and I used to wait till he went to bed...I would arm them with sparklers and water pistols :)

We are always vigilant to catch people shooting them over our fields (or IN the fields) because fire is such a scary thing when you live in a hay field. One year we had a big fire from someone who wanted to shoot fireworks "out in the country".

THIS YEAR there was no worry...it looked like this all day and night...

"Last Year on the Farm" paintings will be offered for sale in a few months, when our last year is up. Please ask me if you want a copy of the story. If you see one you like, PLEASE CONTACT V....Vaughan to have a first dibs shot at it. A list is underway....my kids get first pick! ;)

So Much Rain

"Last Year on the Farm 07-03-2007 So Much Rain"

We are being blessed with more rain than we have ever had in the summer. This week, especially there has ben no let-up. I literally stood in the open door of my studio, painting this as some of the rain blew onto my feet.

I will miss this deck overlooking the north part of the farm, where I am the first one to see the approaching fronts and storms.These memories will be my inspiration for large paintings and our pursuit of another piece of land, some day...

"Last Year on the Farm" paintings will be offered for sale in a few months, when our last year is up. Please ask me if you want a copy of the story. If you see one you like, PLEASE CONTACT V....Vaughan to have a first dibs shot at it. A list is underway....my kids get first pick! ;)

Rockport Docks

"Rockport Docks" 6x8 oil on linen $200

At the Workshop on Saturday, I was captivated ALL DAY by this building and the scene around it. THe white building often took on the exact color and value of the sky (which changed throughout the day). During this painting, the sun briefly brightened the scene.

Moonrise over Cove Harbor

"Moonrise over Cove Harbor" 6 x 8 oil on linen $200
We started our workshop day at 6 am, meeting at Cove Harbor near Rockport, TX, and ended with the moonrise at the same location. In between we painted near the art center. The small group of painters were experienced and willing to work the 15 hour day! What a blast we had, even dining with the mice! I will post more of the paintings this week.