a slice of home

I live in what used to be, back in the old west days, the mechanic's shop on a ranch. Now it's a 5 acre parsel of land with several little houses and the rock ranch house. An old barn, a big shed, the corral and lots of horseshoes are still on the property. And for whatever reason, there are ropes and chains and rubber hoses hanging from a surprising number of trees. So, my house is made of the local rock and cinderblocks with a tin roof. A typical Wimberley structure. It's small, but cozy. I love it here. Oh, and the pattern on the red floral chair is alot more dainty appears here. Not quite so Pee Wee Herman-ish.

self-portrait

That's me sitting there drawing. The desk is a banquet table with file cabinets as supports. It's very functional for my small space. When I moved here 7 years ago, the scene out my window was pastures with grazing cattle and occasional horses. A few months ago that changed. It's soon to be a 19 home "gated community". It really hurt to sit here and watch the big, stinking deisel monsters rip the trees out of the ground. Yep, I s'pose I'm a tree hugger. This view still beats the heck out of the streets of Dallas. For anyone remotely interested, here is what's being offered to the new next door neighbors.

progress

Tragically, this is the new view from my windows. The era of a bucolic pastural vista is winding down. It's the passing of the priceless to the common.

comfort zone

I swore I wouldn't stress over Christmas this year. As always, I took the route of making gifts instead of spending money. This year was cookies. Batches of cookies that had to be boxed and mailed to other places. I made 2 batches each of Nestle tollhouse cookies, molasses crinkles with sugar icing, and cinnamon snickerdoodles (my personal favorite). Along with this endeavor, I had project deadlines, a nasty cold, a birthday, and a dear, wonderful friend visiting from Dallas for Christmas. So finally when it was all over, I drew this in a wonderfully mellow sense of satisfaction. I stressed, but not as much as Christmases past.

Happy Holidays to all!

candy bar

Ink, Photoshop, Moleskine and a splash of humor.

a color study in light and dark

Well, today is my birthday. Number 46. For as long as I can remember I've been drawing this motif for friends or family birthday cards. It would be interesting to see the collection of them all. My favorite one was for a birthday party. Back before computer graphics, I worked with 35 mm film slides. I created multiple slides and projected them all over the walls. It was really great to walk into big room lit with candles everywhere. Make a wish!

Pop-Up Cookies

3D Pop-Up art, painted with gouache in a Moleskine sketchbook. The layers are Bristol Board glued to the page. I had a hankerin' to do another 3d piece, so cookies seemed appropriate for this time of year. No baking required.

Pop-Up Cookies

A close-up image.

morning coffee

Hot coffee on a cold morning in the city.

swimming the stream

Going with the flow of progress. I'm thinking of making a series, a visual story. Yes, I think I will do this.

a study of palms

The random grouping of palm fronds have such a natural patterns, which is so rythmic and harmonious to me. When I first arrived in Florida recently, the sound of wind through the fronds added to the rythm. It's a wonderful reminder of how much I love the coast.

moon flowers

I found these moon flowers in Florida, right in front of a boat pier. They were indeed reaching up to the moon. I listened to The Marriage of Figaro while inking this drawing.

a walk in the woods

After a hard freeze, I wanted to see what it looked like in the woods. I found this tiny plant with great autumn colors.

the march of the trees

This hill is close to home so I see it every day. The Live Oak trees look like cartoon animals marching up and over the hill. It's a real visual treat to live in this part of the world.

Missis Sippi

Sorry folks, but I couldn't resist this cheesey pun.

lemon tree

These are really big, and very juicy lemons. They're also very tart, so they're perfect for a lemon merangue pie. Punta Gorda, Florida.

Florida farmers' market

This was an unusually cool Saturday morning in Punta Gorda, Florida. The variety of clothing was entertaining.

Florida palms

I'm in sunny Florida for Thanksgiving. I love the sound of wind in palm fronds. It's cool here, but it looks and sounds tropical.

crepe myrtle bouquet

This is the first and only oil painting I've done. I think I was 17 years old.

kid art

I painted this little watercolor (8 x 10) when I was ten years old. It was one of my first paintings. At that time, our family lived in southern Virginia.

the shoefly

The shoefly is a practical insect, some would say 'set in his ways'.

llama love

She's been sheered. He's in love.

portrait of an artist's self-portrait

I listened to a story on the radio about this painting in a Barcelona museum. It's an artist painting a portrait of himself as an old man. The artist is looking over his shoulder, directly at the viewer. While listening to the description, I sketched this. I missed the name of the artist and the museum, but I'd love to see the painting.

still life with steering wheel

The rough sketch was done while waiting for the mechanic to bring a new alternator belt. I couldn't drive, so I sketched instead.

Wimberley Market Day

A giant flea market with over 400 booths, held on the first Saturday of the month in Wimberley, Texas. This event, sponsored by the Lion's Club, has been a town tradition since 1964. The website photo gallery has some nice images of what Market Days are all about.

Market Day

Bags! One must have a bag for Market Day. I seriously doubt that people remember coordinate their outfit with these loud flower and plaid pull cart bags. The combinations were highly entertaining!

Market Day

My guess is that this lady is from Dallas. Texans from around the state poke fun at other Texas cities. Dallas is endearingly known for its ladies' high fashion and Big Hair, in thanks to the international Apparel Mart and Mary Kay. Don't worry lady, I won't tell anyone you accessorize in Wimberley.

Market Day

No good flea market worth its reputation can go without food concessions. The early morning crowd goes for the breakfast tacos and coffee. The afternoon shoppers have hamburgers, hot dogs and barbeque sandwiches. A very popular booth is the kettle corn and roasted peanuts folks. Personally, I am an early morning breakfast taco kind of girl.

swish!

Clarence, today's catalyst for swishy action lines.

the screen door

lawsuits

Today's postings are playing with words and action.

bandsaw

the pasture

The grasses are seeding and turning colors. The Blue Stem grass turns a rusty red, which gives the the nickname of "turkey foot" grass.

The cactus are easy enough to avoid in the pasture, but you have to pay attention. I was poked in the leg recently, they do hurt.

Boo!!!

honkytonk bar pool game

Anywhere, USA

If you were blindfolded and dropped into the middle of this scene, you'd have no idea if you were in Waco, Texas or Arma, Kansas. I think it's kinda scary.

I designed this logo for a new store in Wimberley. They have all sorts of jellies, pickles, salsas, jalapenos, picnic supplies and more. It's a great collection of gourmet food from Texas. The owner did a fabulous job of pulling this store together.

store front

Along with the logo, there is outside art. The past 3 days I have been up on a ladder painting four awnings across the front of the store. There are fruits, vegetables, mugs of beer and glasses of wine. So far, three of them are finished. Today is a rain day.

ladder cam

Over the weekend, th weather was perfect. The humidity was low, the temperatures were in the 80's and the sun was shining. The town was bustling with tourists.

awning art

One last awning to paint. When the rain stops, I'll be back on the ladder. This has been a really fun project. Thanks, Maggie!

springtime in autumn

Along with a 2 year drought, this summer was the hottest on record in the Austin area. The landscape has been brown, dusty and dead for months. Now with cool weather and rain, everything is springtime green. In the next couple of weeks we'll have the first freeze and go back to brown and grey for the winter. I love changing seasons.

downtown Dallas

When I lived in Dallas, I had repeating dreams of sliding down the long, steep angled part of I.M. Pei's Fountain Place building. I always managed to wake up before landing on the ground.

downtown Dallas

Waiting for the bus. I believe this is Ross Avenue and Ackard Street.

Lunch

Brushpen and Photoshop.

Cheers!

Brushpen and Photoshop.

Sioux Gallery

The Sioux Gallery is one of many shops on "The Square" in Wimberley, Texas. This is the original center of town from back in the pioneer days. The Square is now quaint and funky restaraunts and shops for the tourists that visit the area. Most of the buildings are made of native limestone rock. More drawings to come in this series.

The Square in Wimberley , Texas

Left side of a panoramic drawing. This is Wimberley, the a quaint small town with loads of natural beauty. There is no real downtown, but "The Square" is a quircky collection of mostly old buildings for tourist shops and restaurants in the center of town. The Cypress Creek Cafe is one of the original buildings from the times of the pioneer days of the 180o's. Most houses and buildings are built of limestone rock which is very prevelant in this area. Having lived in lots of large, cosmopolitan cities in my life, Wimberley is the perfect small town. I've lived here for 6 years and I do love it here.

The Square

Right side of a panoramic drawing. Wimberley, Texas

Pool Closed

Too cold to swim, the end of the season.

flowers

Moleskine pocket sketchbook, brushpen and color pencils.