tea shirt

skyscraper

An organic city.

Live Oak trees

A group of trees I often admire, just up the hill from where I live on Ranch Road 12. Skyline Ridge is in the background, another of my favorite local vistas.

pasture

This was inspired by a bright, sunny day. The sun was high overhead, so the majority of details were washed away. This is a quick study of the lines that remained.

two fish

Brush pen and Photoshop colors.

Pedernales river rocks

My goal with drawing landscapes and botanicals is to enhance the harmony and natural rythm of the scene. Fast flowing water is both rythmic and chaotic together. Water is by far my favorite of the 4 elements, also the most challenging to illustrate.

This sketch is also an exercise with textures. Rocks, water, sunlight, and shadows.

bones

door 24

Night dance of the moth at door 24.

a windy day

It happened on a rock in the Blanco river.

cave on the Pedernales River

A fairly large cave along a tributary of the Pedernales River. I was in awe of this area, it is gorgeous!

fern grotto

Along a small tributary of the Pedernales River, there are several small springfed grottos. It was a great surprise to find these areas. Just beyond the water is the typical dry, cactus landscape. It's a completely opposite environment from the cool, wooded grottos.

cave entrance

A small cave along the banks of the Pedernales River.

Pedernales River

View from above. West of Austin there is a large nature preserve along the Pedernales River. The land was once a ranch owned by Milton Reimers. I visited this place 20 years ago, this weekend I made a return visit. It is a beautiful and exciting place for hiking, canoeing and rock climbing. After hiking about a mile from the parking lot, I finally came to the river...from above. It took a while to figure out how to get down the cliff.

steep climb

Climbing down the cliff to the river.

Blanco River

While sketching, this pair of ducks swam over and came right up to me looking for a handout. I had nothing for them. The duck with the orange feet bit my knee before they headed back for the water. The nerve of them!

Blanco River

I sketched this while balancing on a slippery rock in the middle of the river. The water is cold but the air was warm on Saturday. People were swimming in the deeper pools.

Blanco River

The leaves are beginning to sprout from the trees. They are a fresh, bright green. The river is low because of the drought, but it is still the clear emerald green it has always been.

where do they come from?

Early this morning when I turned on my desk lamp, I was shocked with how many pens, pencils, and brushes were there. It seems like I'm always getting rid of the worn out and lesser used ones, but they somehow seem to reappear.

hello?

My view from the bottom of the stairs.

short-legged chair

The porch of Maui Wowee coffeeshop. Wimberley, TX.  The wall is heavily stucco'd.

handscape drawing

A clothesline on a windy day.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Somewhere around twenty years ago, I dug up these oxalis (clover) from the yard of a house I rented in Dallas. Everywhere I've lived since then, I plant a piece in the yard. This original pot of clover is still going strong. It dies back from the heat every summer, and returns again in cool weather. This time of year it is full of beautiful little purple flowers. These are at the top of my list of favorite plants.

bleeding hearts

A simple line drawing.

bleeding hearts

Painted with gouache.

morning coffee

While taking pictures for this sketch, the waitress kept glancing at me with a very annoyed expression. At first I couldn't figure out why, then I realized she thought I was taking pictures of her. She finally ignored me, probably thought I was some wierdo with an obsession for salt and pepper shakers.

tree house

It took several sittings to get this one. Sometimes this method works best. Other times it's just fast and furious energy.

woodwork collaboration

An Embossed copper piece that Steve Straffin created from my line art of roses. This will be inlaid on top of one of his handmade wooden boxes. Steve Straffin is an amazingly talented and experienced woodworker, craftsman/artist living in Massachusetts. We are working together and hopefully come up with some interesting pieces.

To see more of Steve's wonderful craftmanship, go to http://zioo.smugmug.com/

fossil fuel

A sketch of a fossil in my collection. With added enhancements.

fossil fuel

An exercise with gouache. The biggest challenge is keeping the integrity of the original color. This is always my nemesis, especially with green.

rain!

Oh wonderful rain! It's been so long since we have had substantial rain. Now it is here, a day of celebration! The whole world needs it. For me it's like a nurturing cleansing of the soul. I love rain.

"Tropical Sno"

Today marks the beginning of the snow cone season with their grand re-opening. There are probably 100 flavors to choose from. Snow cones are the perfect treat for a scortching hot summer day. Or, a pleasant March afternoon.

Dandy Dog!

The grand opening of the Dandy Dog hot dog stand1 It's the little things that make small town life interesting.

Tourism is the number 1 industry in Wimberley, but it leaves much to be desired in the dining experience. This past Sunday afternoon, the Dandy Dog was one of the few places to eat out that was not closed. This always baffles me, tourists and locals must drive 15 miles to the next town for a Sunday dinner.

Bouquet of flowers

Just before a trip to their final resting place in the compost pile, I paid homage to a bouquet of cut flowers.

Possumhaw tree

The berries are on the Possumhaw throughout the winter. Although it looks like a tree, it's really a holly bush. I used to keep cut branches is a vase, but the berries end up all over the place.

It has been very windy the past week, or more. I is not easy to sketch in the wind. You have an inherent reaction to stiffen against the breeze, which opposes the delicate movements of making lines on paper.

Isaiah

A quick sketch of Isaiah, the Greater Swiss Mountain dog. I just met him at the post office, in the back of a Jeep in the parking lot. He's a BIG happy dog.

windows and portals

Sketches for commissioned art.

Magic Carpet Ride

Here is another angle that shows the pop-up carpets pieces a bit more clearly.

handscape drawing

A vision.

magic carpet ride

3D moleskine pop-up art. Watercolor moleskine, gouache and ink.

rush hour traffic

Making fun of myself and life in Wimberley, Texas. In real life, only once have I had to stop the truck for cows in the road. Herds of deer are much more often the traffic stoppers.

Wimberley is a beautiful little tourist town about 30 miles southwest of Austin. I have lived here for five and a half years, watching the slow process of urban sprawl. I hope to be long gone before Wimberley becomes another bedroom community of Austin.

Me in my 1984 Chevy pickup truck. I never post pictures of myself, but was "tagged" to post one on flickr a few days ago. So, here I am on my blog too. No, I am not a cowgirl or a farmer.