High Meadow

I have been wanting to do some collage pieces lately, and have had this rattling around in my head for a while. It's been a long time since my collage days, and I'd forgotten how much fun they are to create. I have this wonderful stash of papers that I made in those days, all sorted by color in bins. My friend, Anne Heinrichs (www.anneheinrichs.com) is jealous of this bountiful stash. There are papers made from rice paper, wax and watercolor, acrylic on tissue, stamps, inks, even paper towels that sopped up the mess. Too much fun!

Wayne and Camille

Sometimes you create something that you know has meaning, but you're just not sure what. That's the case of this painting. I did this work about two years ago as a companion piece to a collage that I did of "orchid" people performing alla cirque de soliel. It languished in my studio, kind of on the back wall, never taking a spotlight, but never quite ready for the dreaded paint out either. Then one day some friends came from Houston to visit, and the first thing Amy said upon seeing this painting was, " Wow! is that you and Wayne?" Never thought of it like that!

Then Polly gave us our next assignment to paint a self portrait. I was preparing canvasses for that assignment, waiting for the paint to dry, when I began studying that painting on the back wall. The more I looked, the more I thought, yeah, it is a portrait of my husband and me. So, back on the easel it went, and new paint was mixed, glasses added to Wayne and more color added to my face. I love the painting now, and think it will have to come inside.

Flamenco Academy

A couple of years ago I read this wonderful book, "The Flamenco Academy" by Sarah Bird, and was totally enthralled.  It was set in Santa Fe and was the story of two young girls who entered the Flamenco Academy.  So rich is the character development and story line of this novel, that you almost can feel the beat of their shoes on the wood dance floor.  Ever since reading that book, I have wanted to paint a flamenco dancer.  I finally created one for my cousin Carol to hang in her new home.

I hope she portrays a sense of power and passion, as well as a little mystery.

Trudy

I'm finally through traveling for a little while.  It seems as if I've been gone forever on one mission or another.  Returning to painting has been a challenge.  You'd think that someone who gets as much out of art as I do would be excited to get back in the groove, but no.  All the old anxieties and insecurities come roaring back - will I be able to do what I want - will it be any good, blah, blah, blah.

This painting is a little challenge painting dreamed up by my friend and teacher Polly Jackson.  The subject's name is Trudy - don't have a clue who Trudy is, but she is a wonderful subject. I keep wanting to type Turdy - wonder if the cosmos is trying to tell me something!

The challenge Polly posed was to paint Trudy in any style you wanted to, and send her a photo so that she could post all of them on her student blog www.areyoupainting.blogspot.com.  They should be posted sometime on Saturday.  Check them out.

Painting in the Park with Polly Jackson

These paintings were done in my painting class with Polly Jackson, the last (for a while)  in the series of painting in the parks.  It's getting way too hot to paint outside in the afternoon!  The sweat runs in your eyes, you have to wear sunglasses to paint in, your paint dries in about 5 minutes on the pallet, and your point of view changes with the movement of the sun.  Not withstanding all of the above, I still love it!

These magnificent live oaks are in Little Stacy Park in south Austin.  Some trees just beg to be painted.  It's no wonder that Austinites are so passionate about their trees.

This painting is also from Bull Creek Park - a little slice of wild flowers, mesquite and china berry trees.

Wild Flower Meadow

Another post from painting in the park - this one is at Bull Creek Park.  I have lived in Austin all my life, and never knew this park existed.  It is wide open with almost no one there.  A few lucky dogs have the run of the park with their owners, and I'll definitely go back again.

This first painting is a panaramic view of the park from a gentle hill covered with wildflowers.  I thought you might enjoy seeing what these scenes actually look like and how I translated them into paintings.