Jan. 14 and Jan. 15

January 14, Last Year on the Farm__2007

January 15, Last Year on the Farm___2007

To look at these images quickly, they look like the EXACT SAME painting!

When I painted day after day for my exhibit of 365 works called "Last Year on the Farm" I "accidently" painted the same thing twice...almost exactly! On January 15, I picked up the small canvas and looked around for the BEST impression to paint that day on the farm! We were in a stretch of COLD weather and the days were drab. Since I chose this view (forgetting that I had chosen it the day before), I would conclude that THIS VIEW was the best view of our farm on a cold drab day! haha ...In those 365 paintings I OFTEN painted the same scene, but SELDOM the same COMPOSITION of that scene and NEVER on two consecutive days! ....But, actually, if you look hard, you will see differences, even in these two :) I should do a "Where's Waldo"-type contest to see who notices the differences!

The January 14 painting is part of an exhibit in Austin, hanging thru March at Hill Country Bible Church. They have a Balcony Gallery with rotating exhibits. My work is part of the 2020 Retrospective and includes works by David Rigney (Sculptor) and Kathy Miller (Mixed Media, metal and glass and....I like to tell her she works in "wood, hay and stubble"....you Bible readers will understand that one :) Go see the exhibit when you can. It is a beautiful combination of diverse works! Go on Sunday or Call Dee for the rest of the week (512) 577-3339

Today, was our funeral for our beloved Nana, the "Matriarch" of our farm. It was a JOYOUS service at Walnut Creek Baptist Church. The church was started by Pa's parents or grandparents over 150 years ago! It used to take all day to get to Austin (by horseback) from there, and now it is surrounded by Austin. It's a small congregation, a little bit off the beaten path, and has a small cemetery where many of our family "fathers and mothers" are buried . It is on a little hilltop with oak and cedar trees...and now, Nana is buried there, too....

Next week I am off to the NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS!....more on that, tomorrow...I have rambled too much already!

Goodbye Nana

Sept 13-LAst Year onthe Farm

Sept 1-Last Year on the Farm

Nov 15-Last Year on the Farm

Nov. 15 - Last Year on the Farm

Last Year on the Farm___Selections: Nana’s House
Just now we got the phone call that our beloved Nana has passed away. She was the Matriarch of our family’s farm. A beautiful, strong farm woman of 98 1/2 years. Wow….what a life! What a heritage! She was my husband’s maternal grandmother, and I actually had her longer than I had my OWN grandparents.
The paintings above are a few from my “Last Year on the Farm” series of 365 works I did during the year our family had to leave the farm. This was my view from the studio where I lived and worked for nearly 30 years. It is Nana’s house! IT was to the north of us, so the weather seemed to change from that direction: cold fronts, rain systems, and the build-up of summer thunderheads….
There is something special about our grandparents’ homes. They seem safe, and comforting…a REFUGE! Maybe because our earliest memories of grandparents are always filled with love…. and special attention and home cooking! Nana kept a HUGE garden and taught me to can and make jams. She was up before dawn, taking care of Pa who ran the Gault Dairy Farm for over 35 years, milking cows EVERY DAY, TWICE a day(2 am, then 2 pm)without a vacation!
My bedroom window looked out at this same scene, and MANY nights I lay awake, just watching the activity up at Nana’s place. The lights would be on in the kitchen and I would imagine them getting ready for their day. It was a comforting scene.
On New Year’s Day, last week, ALL our families were together again. Nana at the center of our day! She was not a big lady but had a BIG MEAL! My husband asked if she wanted more and she nodded. He brought her “second helpings” of everything on a plate bigger than one he would eat!....she ate every bite….then a plate full of desserts! We all marveled and were so pleased at her apetite! But sometime in the night as she slept, she had a stroke and never woke up….so we have been on watch ever since. Doctors said she would pass on in a day or two, but our Nana stayed for 10 days! What a woman….what a gift from God! Nana’s passing was sweet. She loved Jesus 