Puertas

Puertas___10 x 10 watercolor pencil sketch

 at Mission San Jose, San Antonio

Springtime is headed our way in Central Texas...my favorite time of year!

 Texas Independence Day is March 2...REMEMBER THE ALAMO!, Goliad is remembered at the end of March...and EASTER...Bluebonnets will be here any minute now! San Jacinto Day is

April 21, then Cinco de Mayo...Who can tell me the date for THAT?....ah, it's GREAT to be Texan!



Dusky Day

Dusky Day

6x8 study on Copano Bay

A few months ago I was down on the Texas coast and painted this little study early in the morning after some big storms rolled through...It's not great, but helped me solve a few color questions ...a true "study"

 

35 - Great in White

Great in __10 x 10 watercolor pencil__framed $450
#35 in the Birdseed Project
I am home after a week in South Carolina, Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, and a few days at ACE Basin....Saw no Whooping Cranes this year, but plenty of these great white egret. They are so big and elegant and in HUGE numbers at ACE Basin.
I spent most of my time there shooting pictures and trying out a new camera set-up...We saw  these egrets, some little snowy egrets, blue herons, tricolors, little blue herons. Also my favorite, the Kingfisher, bald eagles, otters, a few alligators and the endangered American Wood Stork...I can't wait to paint these for the birdseed project!
 

34-Heron Knife Demo

Heron Knife Demo
12x9 oil on canvas
#34 in the Birdseed Project

ACE Liftoff

ACE Liftoff- Tricolor Heron__SOLD at the SEWE Quick Draw

Today was the Quick Draw event at the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition. A few artists created works in one hour, and then these were auctioned off in a live auction....My little Tricolor Heron fetched $700...

I painted it from a photo I took out here last year at the ACE Basin Wildlife Refuge. ACE stands for Ashapoo, Cumbahee, and Edisto Rivrs that merge south of Charleston, making a terrific area for birds, alligators and all kinds of wildlife. After this year's show, I will again spend a few days there, HOPING to capture some more birds with my camera...new subjects for my Birdseed Project. I'm very excited to have better camera gear this year.

Dusky Docks

Dusky Docks__12x9__SOLD at SEWE

My first sale tonight at the Sotheastern Wildlife Exposition.

I just finished it a few days ago and decided to do a larger one real soon!

Wine Labels

If You Can Make A Gull Laugh...

#33.5 in the Birdseed Project

5.5 x 4 oil on canvas for

"99 Bottles of Wine on the Wall", a SEWE event

I am posting two small works today....Fun little paintings that come with a BONUS!!! Buy these and get a great bottle of wine!!! Actually, a number of artists at the Southeastern Wildlife Exhibition have been asked to create a small canvas that is being attached to their signature bottles of wine...I do not know what kind of wine...I think there are several kinds and one is a Merlot. But over the weekend, these will be on display and will be sold to attendees for $100 if they purchase a random selection, or $200 if they want to CHOOSE which one! If you are interested in choosing either of mine, LET ME KNOW ASAP, and I will connect you with the right person to make a purchase! This is to benefit the show and their good works in South Carolina...Bottles will be on display through Sunday.

Feel free to call my cell if you want to purchase....first one to call WINS!

512-917-0814

The title of the one above is from a quote by Marilyn Monroe...with my added "bird" reference :)

Wine at the Moon

5.5 x 4 wine label for SEWE

33 - Skimmer

 

Skimmer___10 x 10 watercolor__framed for SEWE
#33 in the Birdseed Project
Skimmers spend winter in Rockport Texas. They nest in big groups on the beachy area near the Rockport Center for the Arts...I guess I will find out if anyone in Charleston, SC is familiar with these wonderful birds! I will be there at the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition over the weekend!! See you there!

32-Soft in White

Soft in White___10x10 watercolor, framed__$350
#32 in the Birdseed Project
Here is another part of my Birdseed Project. It constitutes about 1 pound of the 241 pounds of art I shipped to Charleston, SC for the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition!
Hope to see you there!!!

31 - LOL

LOL__6x6 oil on canvas panel for SEWE
#31 in the Birdseed Project
Another little laughing gull painting that I shipped to the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition. The show opens Thursday night in Charleston, SC...These three gulls are laughing out loud...LOL...kind of silly, but it is a small little canvas I wanted to have some fun with...see you at SEWE!

30- A Good Laugh

A Good Laugh

#30 in the Birdseed Project

 It feels great to have shipped all my artwork off to Charleston for next weekend's Southeastern Wildlife Exposition.

WHEW!

I extremely do not like framing, packing, cataloging, and shipping artwork...I only like DOING artwork. But, yesterday I had to ship 241 pounds of paintings...not fun.

I titled the one above A Good Laugh, because I NEED a good laugh, and this breed of seagull is called a "laughing gull"...PLEASE tell all your friends near Charleston to COME MEET ME at the art show! If they (or you!) buy a little bird work from me, I will apply over 10% to the Birdseed Project

...and I will tell how to make a tax deductible donation!

Have a great laugh this weekend! See you at SEWE!



29- Mom's Heron

Mom's Heron

#29 in the Birdseed Project

Here is one that is NOT available...

A few days ago, I visited my mom at the nursing home and it was a GORGEOUS day, so we sat out by the bird feeders in the gazebo...her favorite place. I brought along my new favorite toys, watercolor pencils, and a photo of a heron I took in South Carolina last year...Well I was actually showing off for mom, and scribbled this out in my lap UPSIDE DOWN, so she could see it happen...she was so entertained that she couldn't stop "gushing" about it, so I let her keep it on her wall...I actually think I overworked it, but it was so fun watching her enjoy the cheap entertainment...brought back a lot of memories! I used to draw at the kitchen table a lot, and she enjoyed watching me way back then...Have you ever wondered where the phrase came from:

"As exciting as watching paint dry!" ??



28 - Little Gulls

Little Gulls___6x6 oil study for SEWE

#28 in the Birdseed Project

SEWE is the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, held this time every year in Charleston, South Carolina. It is a great venue for all kinds of wildlife art. This year my theme is, of course, BIRDS! I have all my bird paintings packed up for the show!

The one above was so fun to paint, I followed up this little study with a larger 12 x 12 work...I will post that one tomorrow!

27 - Pelican Place

Pelican Place__8x6 oil on linen panel__for SEWE

#27 in the Birdseed Project: More Than Many Sparrows

 

I dedicate this one to my Father-in-law, RV.

He lovingly pointed out to me that even though these little bird works have been created to benefit a birdseed fund for a nursing home, MOST of the birds I have painted lately do not eat seed! I told RV that I would like this project to inspire volunteers to ALSO feed birds at other nursing homes. NOW I also hope that JUST MAYBE some smart person might create a bird feeder that dispenses little fish instead of seed!

That would be PERFECT!

 __________________
Tonight is the opening of "Twilight" at Act I Gallery in Taos, NM
I wish I could be there and enjoy the great gallery artists and patrons. Below is "my wall" there for this show! Please go by and see the show if you are nearby...it will be up for a while!
Read about it in Southwest Art Magazine...and see some of my paintings here

 

26-Little Tri Color Heron

Little Tricolor Heron__8x6 oil on linen panel

#26 in my Bird Seed Project

I place my title at the mercy of my real birding friends....If I had planned ahead, I would have asked Adele, Joe or Lynn to ID this bird for me! I painted it from a photo I took last year at the wildlife refuge in South Carolina....My choices were a Little Blue Heron or a Tri-Color Heron...Because of the white on this one, I am thinking it is a YOUNG Little Blue Heron...help?

Of course, if you tell me it is something all together different, I will simply claim that I painted it poorly!...So, I am covered.

25-Egret Eye

Egret Eye__6x8 oil on linen panel__$190 at SEWE

 

#25 in the Birdseed Project

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

I painted this little Great Egret while visiting  mom the other day...she always enjoyed watching me draw as a little kid, and STILL gets into it! She was the perfect mom to a kid who did WAY TOO MANY THINGS at a time...she never coached me, or gave advice about my stuff...she just watched and enjoyed, and told me how I was the greatest at EVERYTHING, ALL THE TIME! hahaha

Today is my mom's 89th birthday! We celebrated at her nursing home with some shrimp for lunch and she got her hair done! I topped it off by filling her bird feeders. See my favorite feeder, below. If anyone knows where I can get a feeder like this LET ME KNOW! (it is a metal plate that sticks in the ground and has branches with little birds on it...see?) I got it at Hobby Lobby and wish I had bought more!

Who can identify the 4 birds feeding?

The one at very top is the "decoy" :)

 

 

24 - Webs on the Rocks

Webs on the Rocks__8x10 oil on canvas

#24 in the Birdseed Project

Working with high school artists is a lot of fun. I especially enjoy helping them see easy solutions to things they always thought to be difficult. Here, we worked with oil sticks (are those the same as oil pastels?)...see the first step at the bottom, the second step in the middle, and the final step at top.

This lesson was to demonstrate how to create "distance" with atmospheric perspective (compare the near rocks from the far ones?).I also talked a lot about "shapes of shadows", "drawing with light", "Color in the shadows" and a few other little lessons. TMI for these new painters, but enough to make them BRAVE...you ought to see their works!

 

Webs on the Rocks___State 2

 



Webs on the Rocks___State 1

23- Mocking Back

Mocking Back__6x8 oil on linen panel___$390 framed for Southeastern Wildlife Exposition

#22 in the Birdseed Project

I hope you can zoom in on this one...it is one of my favorites...maybe because my favorite bird is the mocking bird. It is the state bird of the great state of Texas, and another state or two! Please click the link above if you are not familiar with my Birdseed Project! I am thrilled to see the word spread, and to see things HAPPENING!...Right now I am framing, packing and doing last minute paintings for SEWE in Charleston, SC. I ship the works next week, and then I will have some news to share about my birdseed project...including the real "official" project name!!!

22 - Proud As....

 

Proud As...  ___8x6 oil on linen__$190 unframed

#22 in the Birdseed Project

 

Yesterday I met up with an artist friend and while we chatted over coffee, I painted this little rooster from a photo I have. I was biding time before a special reception for some of my high school art students. They had been working for weeks on special works for the Austin Rodeo Youth Western Art Competition. Students from all over Texas compete to get into the top 24. The judges were BIG TIME artists, Kyle Polzin, Dalhart Windberg and Sam Hurt.

Student art works will be auctioned off on March 22. 100% of the auction funds go to the artist for college. It also qualifies them for other scholarships.

So Here is the artwork that won GRAND CHAMPION...

I am so proud of my freshman art student Max Haager, and his great painting,

Papa Louie's Ranch!

I wish you could see the TEXTURE on this one!

 

CONGRATULATIONS, MAX!

 

 Papa Louie's Ranch_18x24 acrylic on board__by Max Haager

 

V....with Max and Papa Louie's Ranch

21-Magpie Fly

Magpie Fly___8 x 6 oil on linen panel___$350 framed at Act I Gallery

#21 in my Birdseed Project

 

This little magpie painting would make a nice pair with yesterday's post.

I have shipped it off to Act I Gallery in Taos, to help spread the word about my Birdseed Project.

Magpies are lively birds that thrive out there in the mountains and they are beautiful in flight, with black and white blurring wings!