town hall meeting

Discussions about the town's growing pains. We have an abundance of concerned citizens that willingly participate in the future plans of the community.

deer on the golf course

There are too many deer in the Texas Hill Country. Their only predator is the automobile. It's not uncommon to stop your car while a herd slowly wanders across the street. While sketching this herd, they just stood there with mild curiousity, waiting for a handout.

the tire store

In the waiting room of the local tire store is a horse saddle on a saw horse. While watching my money turn into a round rubber tube, I wondered if it's cheaper to ride a horse.

the gas station

A rancher with his Australian shepard, filling up the gas tank early in the morning. People around here love to drive their pickup trucks with their dogs in the back. Some of the dogs balance themselves on the roof of the truck while moving at 50 miles an hour down the road. They are usually leashed, but still...?!?!

big gnarly live oak tree

This is one of those scenes that wouldn't work as a photograph. I left out the port-0-potty and the overturned trash can, and toned down the rundown shack in the background. This tree is really beautiful with its battle scars. It must have some stories to tell.

a small house on a big hill

Very close to where I live is this little garage size house on top of Skyline Ridge. The west-facing porch overlooks all of Wimberley Valley. This seems to be someone's vacation cabin, which is rarely visited. Because of the great view, I love to come up here. At night the sky is spectacular. It would be the perfect little art studio.

fun with pens and paper

Some rough sketches for a client project.

Suburbia

This weekend I listened to a man talking on the radio. He said that he would never walk into a forest because it would scare him. The only way he would walk into a forest is if he could see a Starbucks.

We must have our "natural" surroundings manicured, fluffed and coifed. Take out those wildflower weeds, replace them with petunias and neatly trimmed holly bushes. We don't need any of that uncontrolled wild stuff in our yards!

I'd rather walk in the forest without the Starbucks.

winter grapevines

Playing with photoshop.

winter grapevines

Without the distraction of leaves, these bare grapevines caught my eye. The curly pieces cling and twirl around each other like excited children on a field trip.

view from above

Down below in the valley are cattle ranches and pecan groves. This is a quick sketch because it was cold and windy up there. It doesn't capture the real beauty of the vista.

climbing the ridge

There is a very steep ridge cut by the Blanco River here in central Texas. I followed a deer path through the woods up the hill. The rocks are like small mountains jutting up from the ground.

the local garden store

In Central Texas, cactus thrive. They are very invasive and difficult to get rid of. I was surprised to see the local nursery selling cactus when they are everywhere...for free.

the local landscape

I dropped my pencil

I dropped the pencil, bent down to pick it up and noticed how nice the leaves nestled it. I went back to the house and grabbed another pencil.

Color study with photoshop.

swimming

The water is made of EnviroTex Lite resin. It's original purpose was probably for bar tops and tables, I use it for lots of art projects. The resin is very durable and makes a great "water" effect. Another quircky art piece finished.

fish art finished

Made of rubber fish, cabinet door, glass "bubbles", spray paint, acrylic paint, glue and EnviroTex Lite resin.

mmm...donuts

moleskine and photoshop

longhorn cattle

Yesterday I came across this pasture of lazy longhorn cattle. The cow in the background is actually dozing with her head on the ground. They are well taken care of, I suppose it is just another example of complacency.

wires

A quick color study.

Wires

Creekhaven Bed and Breakfast

Wimberley is a popular tourist town, there are many bed and breakfasts.

split tree

This tree was probably struck by lightning at an early age. Both sides are alive and healthy. It looks like it has been affected by extra strong gravity.

a texture study

Cedar fence and pampas grass. In this area, cedar is everywhere and not highly desirable because of it's irritating pollen. So the scrub trees are cut down and put to use for posts and fences. The bark is rough, therefore very textural. When lit with dappled sunlight, it has a high contrast camouflage appearance. The addition of the grass was a interesting challenge for a black and white texture study.

f.y.i. Due to rain, the pouring of very thick polyurethane "water" for the fish art is on temporary hold. Patience is indeed a virtue.

cedar fence

This is the fence with the sun and shadows. It was definitely a challenge to render this in black and white.

Blanco River

The river that runs through Wimberley. I just wanted to post this because it is such a beautiful river.

fish art

The past couple of weeks I have had an underlying boredom with the daily black and white illustrations. The complacent ritual needs a change. I decided to take short a vacation back to my old roots of wildly colorful 3-dimensional mixed media art pieces.
This is made of a school of plastic fish (a thriftshop find), a cabinet door, glass "bubbles" , glue, masonite, spray paint and acrylic paint. It has been a great release to put physical as well as mental muscle into this. Although it's not finished, it was quick with lots of energy. It's not great art, but, man, it's been fun! This is just what I needed. Next step is a very thick coat of clear polyurethane to give it that water look.

fish art close up

I just love their expressions.

small town diner

No warm hello, or sad goodbye. No judgments or praise. No advice of where to go or how best to get there. No Sunday picnics, no friend, or family. No time clock to rule the day, the week, the year. No hand of a lover, or glimpse of an enemy. Just quietly passing through.

old barns

The property where I live was a cattle ranch in the late 1800's. Some of the barns are still standing. The base of the structures are rock, the roof and sides are corrugated tin. Rocks are on the roof to hold it down during strong winds. The barn on the left was used for blacksmith work. Wimberley, Texas.

coffeeshop carrot cake

downtown San Antonio

A quick sketch while standing on the sidewalk in San Antonio. This is beautiful city is perfect for a sketchcrawl. There are plenty of outside places to sit and sketch, the architecture is stunning, and the culture is very diverse.

beverages

The final page of moleskine #7 for 2008. This page progresses throughout the life of this sketchbook. The art includes snippets from coffeeshops, restaraunts, an outdoor market, a truckstop, and other places where there is nothing to do but sit quietly. We all know how difficult it is to be quiet and patient when we're a bundle of nervous energy... this is a manifestation of those times. Like a little kid, I am thankful for pencil and paper at these times.

Happy New Year!