Travels to the Edge

Jury's Top 60 Award....

2010-04-18T15:57:00.021-05:00

Out of the 392 paintings selected for Salon International 2010, the Salon International Jury chose what they considered to be the top 60 pieces. My piece "Radiance" was one of the 60 chosen. I considered just getting in this show an award. I don't have the words to express how I feel about being in the top 60. I am thrilled....

"Radiance"

We left for San Antonio about 9am Thursday, the 8th. It took about 8 hours because we wanted to take the back roads. It probably took a couple of hours more than had we gone through Austin, but then again Austin has some of the worst traffic conditions in the country, so who knows. The wild flowers, and especially the blue bonnets, were in full bloom. There were interesting sights other than the flowers. I do wish I'd taken a picture because we saw "Mater" parked at a gas station in one of the little towns we went through. I'm not kidding! Someone had taken their old pickup and made it look like the character from the movie CARS.

We arrived in San Antonio at the home of our friends about 5pm. For dinner Mike and Elizabeth took us to one of their favorite restaurants. Of course I can't remember the name but they specialize in Persian food. Before the meal they brought out a huge piece of flat bread and a dipping sauce made with spices and olive oil. The spices smelled heavenly. The salads were beautiful and everything tasted wonderful.

The following day we went to the missions. There are a lot of them around San Antonio with remarkable history's. The largest being San Jose. While there, John said he saw a woman over in a corner painting. That perked my interest, but when I looked she was gone. A little while later I saw her so I walked over to say Hi. Life can be so funny. Can you believe it? I knew her and of her. Well, we'd not actually met. She was in charge of bringing artists in to do demos for the Richardson Art Society so we'd exchanged emails. Unfortunately she was out of town when I did my presentation, but just about everyone in the Dallas/FtWorth area knows Cecy Turner. She said she was in town for the Salon International banquet and artists reception. Small world. After exchanging a hug I left and continued to take pictures however very few turned out. The light wasn't great for picture taking but the weather was wonderful for wandering around San Antonio. It was unusually cool which I appreciated very much.

That evening John, Mike, Elizabeth and I went to the awards banquet. This was the first time I'd ever been to the Greenhouse Gallery however I've known about it for years. This is also the first year they'd had the banquet at the Gallery so everyone who attended got to see the show before dinner. They gave us an hour to look then gently prodded us toward our tables. Who cared about eating. I've seen a lot of art shows and all of them are incredible, but I've never seen one that had nothing but oil paintings. There was just something different about it, the paintings seemed to glow. Maybe it was the varnish. Anyway, seeing them for real and not in a magazine or on the internet makes a huge difference. I was impressed. After seeing the quality of the work I was embarrassed. I could not see my work as qualified to hang there with all the rest. I never did get used to it. I also met quite a few people who's names I was familiar with but for some odd reason could not picture their work. Anyway, as I said, who wanted to eat. Surprisingly enough the food was remarkably good. The judge was Everett Kinster. He was a hoot, funny and entertaining. I did not envy him having to pick winners from this show. Not only was it huge and impressive, 392 paintings, but he had to narrow it down to a few. Many of the winners were not there nevertheless the banquet was full to capacity. Whew!

The champagne artist reception was Saturday from 5 to 8. That was fun. The gallery was packed, people were milling around and paintings were selling. One couple bought six that I know of. Who knows where they stopped. Again I met some wonderful people. By 7:30 our friends and my exceptional husband were exhausted, as was I, but they had to drag me out. I still never felt like I saw the whole show.

Sunday morning John loaded the truck then asked the dogs (our Yorkshire Terriers) if they wanted to go home. Bossy Belle insisted, but she's demanding about everything and Bazil in his easy going way had to be helped into the truck. We decided to go through Austin on the way home, we'd seen enough flowers, but it was still early Sunday when we went through. I tell you, I'd hate to see Monday morning on the Austin freeway. We got home at a decent hour but I came down with something Monday and started sneezing my head off. I felt lousy for days. I'm feeling better now, a week later, and it's raining so here I sit. By the way, I'm no longer on the edge, I'm somewhere completely different, and quite frankly, I'm glad to be here.

Hope you are all doing fine and painting happily...

It's titled "More Than Coming And Going"

2010-03-11T14:39:00.006-06:00

This is my latest oil painting. Well actually I finished it a month or so ago. I'm well into another one. Anyway, this one is 24 x 36" and if you didn't know it, it's Venice. I've never attempted to paint anything this big but I managed without having a complete breakdown. Just kidding. I really did enjoy painting it. It was the 18 x 24" of a house boat in Seattle that turned me upside down. Funny how when you do something that's really difficult, but you keep at it, everything seems downhill after that. I planned to take it to Southwest Gallery but decided to enter it in a show first. I'm waiting to hear back.

So what am I painting now? Cows...I know, I go from Venice to cows. There must be a story behind this right? I was on my way to Plano one Tuesday to teach my class when I happened to glance over my right shoulder. What I saw was a photo op that I could not resist. And let me tell you, sometimes you only get that one opportunity. The sun was coming up, there was a heavy fog, the colors were beautiful, I was in awe. What's more, I have not seen those cows in that pasture since, much less fog, so I'm happy, and it's smart, to have a camera with you everywhere you go.

Because of that day however, I bought a new camera. My little Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX3 has always served me well but I realized a 3X zoom was not enough. I'm actually working from the photo that taken from the greatest distance and it's not very good. So I bought another Lumix. I got a DMC ZS3 which has a 12 X zoom. Woo Hoo! So if those cows ever come back I'm ready. Other than being a little bigger and a little heavier it fits in my purse just fine.

As soon as I'm finished with my cows, I will post it....stay tuned.

I am soooooo excited....!!!!

2010-02-03T16:30:00.014-06:00

As you can well see I have not posted here for quite some time. It's not that I have not been painting, I have been, diligently, I just wasn't pleased with the results for about half of 2009. So what was I to say and what was I to show?

The biggest problem I discovered was I'd been fighting myself. It wasn't until I decided to let what I know about colored pencil transfer over into what I did "not" know about oil. Once I decided to approach oil like I do colored pencil, oh my, things got much easier.

So even though things have appeared quiet, a lot has been going on. One year has passed since I started this adventure. At last I am comfortable. I'm no longer perching precariously on the edge and I have a sure path to follow. That kind of change is always exciting but that's not why I am posting and that's not why I said I was "soooooooo excited". I am sooooooo excited because two of my paintings have been accepted in the very prestigious Salon International 2010.

I have viewed this show on line for years but could never enter because it's a competition for oil paintings only. When saw the deadline for entering was coming up fast I had a choice to make. I still needed to tweak "The World Outside Your Door" and lacked a few days finishing "Radiance". I felt a bit rushed and not really ready but I've always believed there's no time like the present and nothing ventured nothing gained.

"The World Outside Your Door"

"Radiance"

Anyway, here's the letter I received:

Dear Friends,

I want to take this opportunity to say that each one of you who submitted entries to Salon International 2010 is to be commended for your part in creating the largest number of entries submitted in any single year in the nine-year history of the event - almost 1,300 entries!

You are also to be commended for creating the strongest group of entries in the history of the event. Of course, this creates a much more difficult task for the Jury and Judge, but that’s a good thing! Because of the strength of the entries the Salon International 2010 exhibit will be the largest ever - almost 400 paintings! This exhibit will be truly spectacular. I promise you it will be a visual overload!

Again, I thank each one of you for your part in making all this happen and for creating another successful Salon International exhibit. Together, we will continue to grow this exhibit and to make it the largest, most respected and most prestigious of the juried exhibits.

Warm Regards,

Jim

So there's been a lot of screaming, jumping and yahooing around here the last few days. I call it the happy dance. I'm sure it's a sight to see. My husband seems to like it......he followed me back to my studio and said he wanted to see it again.

Now it's time to get them framed, boxed up and shipped out to San Antonio. The exhibit opens and will be on the web site April 10. Woo Hoo!

Habits for Success....

2009-03-21T08:46:00.008-06:00

I copied this quote from a Robert Glenn newsletter and thought you might benefit from it as I did. It struck a chord in me especially since I've been frustrated because I have not been painting. I haven't been able to find the time. Maybe this is why.... "I am your constant companion. I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden. I will push you onward or drag you down to failure. I am completely at your command. Half the things you do you might just as well turn over to me and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly. I am easily managed--you must merely be firm with me. Show me exactly how you want something done and after a few lessons I will do it automatically. I am the servant of all great men, and, alas, of all failures as well. Those who are great, I have made great. Those who are failures, I have made failures. I am not a machine, though I work with all the precision of a machine plus the intelligence of a man. You may run me for a profit or run me for ruin--it makes no difference to me. Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place the world at your feet. Be easy with me and I will destroy you. Who am I? I am a habit!" by popular business coach John Di Lemme

When I get new students I know I can not count on them until they make a "habit" of coming to class. If they make class a priority they generally stay, if not, they drift away. I see that and I know that.

For the last three years or so it's been easy for me because I love what I do. Loving what you do can certainly be an incentive. I'd be in my studio at 9am and many times I would not leave until 9pm. Not that I was doing art for 12 hours, please don't think that, but it was always something art related. Now I seem to be doing stuff that's art related but not the art. It's interference...I'm letting unimportant things interfere with my time...well some of them are important, like taxes.

Part of the reason it worked for me was because I always knew what I was going to do next. In fact I usually had the next piece started before I finished with the one I was working on...so I never stopped. I had momentum built. I was focused and ready before I ever walked through my studio door. But now it seems like there's always something other than art that has to be done which keeps me from getting back in the habit. I'm not complaining, at least I hope I'm not complaining. I have a great place to work, the light is great, I'm happy, healthy and comfortable...it's just...gettin back in the habit and doing the things that have worked for me in the past. Why does that seem so difficult? I ask the question but I know the answer. Hummmmmm, habit. I'm in the habit of doing other things.

Anyway, I'm determined to get back in the habit of doing art. I do think determination is a huge part of it. Once I made the decision to become a professional artist I never lacked in determination. I guess that means it takes a decision, determination and commitment then the habit develops. Sounds good to me! So I'll be back on track soon. There's just a few other things however that I...."have" to do....hahahahahaha

Esoterica: John Di Lemme was a 24-year-old stutterer working in his family art gallery who dreamed of becoming a motivational speaker. Over a seven-year period of hardships, challenges and obstacles, John focused on his dream and ultimately built a marketing team of over 25,000 representatives in 10 countries. His idea was simple: with the right habits one could see progression to a higher state. In the words of the great art mentor and teacher Robert Henri, "If a certain activity, such as painting, becomes the habitual mode of expression, it may follow that taking up the painting materials and beginning work with them will act suggestively and so presently evoke a flight into the higher state."

My studio's new look...

2009-02-21T16:46:00.006-06:00

It's been so long since I've posted anything on this blog you are probably wondering what happened to me. It all started when I said I wanted to replace the floor in my studio. You know how one thing leads to another. Before the floor could be redone I was told the ceiling should be painted and the walls, then the floor...

So in early November I moved everything out of here. Let me tell you, I knew ahead of time that I had a lot of stuff but I was still amazed at the amount of stuff I had. The worst thing was it had no place to go where it would be organized. You know how it is, you put it somewhere then you can't find anything or it's buried under tons of other stuff. In order to get to something I had to move something, then if I wanted out of the room, of course I wanted out of the room, I had to move things back. Before I knew it, it was Christmas. That was not a problem. The problem was my husband and I got sick over the Holidays. Sick enough so that it took about six weeks before we were better. During that time John worked on the studio some but the going was slow. After I felt a little better I made a concerted effort to get back in here but everything had changed. I didn't have a clue where to put anything, further more thinking about where to put it took a lot of effort and a lot of time.

As you can see I finally did find a place for everything and I could put my hand on anything except for my trash bags. I looked everywhere for days but could not find them so I gave up and bought more. Yep, you know it, as soon as I used one I found where I'd put them.

At last everything has a home and I am delighted with the results. I absolutely love to be in this room. Hope you like it too...

As you can see, this is where I keep my magazines, props and colored pencils. I bought the Prismacolor display case when an art store in the DFW area was going out of business. It sure has come in handy.

My oils are in those cute, ice blue ,filing cabinets. They come in four or five colors but I picked that color because, well because I liked the color. I was also concerned that red or green would somehow reflect color in the room. Anyway, I found them at the Container Store in Plano. They would also be great for storing colored pencils.

This is my office space. The photo below shows where I spend a lot of my time, at my drawing table.

My drawing table is solid wood. It originally belonged to a Jr College. I bought it at an antique store in Gilmer, Tx years ago. The store was closing for the day and they did not want to move it back inside. I think I paid $10 for it. The top of the table raises to about a 45 degree angle. I work on a drawing boards so I can turn the picture upside down, sideways and any other way I can get to it to work more comfortably. You can see two of them in the upper right hand corner of the picture.

Online magazine article....

2009-01-19T16:07:00.000-06:00

The following is an article that appeared in the January 2009 issue of the online magazine CreateBetterPaintings.com. I am really sad to report this wonderful magazine will not be published any more. I feel so cheated since I only found out about it about two months ago. Anyway, I thought you might enjoy reading the article....Linda

LINDA LUCAS HARDY: SMALL TOWN GIRL

Living in a tiny town with no professional mentors around may seem like an obstacle for an aspiring artist, but Linda Lucas Hardy reveals how any artist can still make it big in spite of limited resources.

We've all heard this story: Young woman loves art but gets married and starts raising a family instead. Art gets pushed to the back burner until the children are older. And finally she has time to focus on mastering her craft and building a career as an artist. Most such women then rely on their fellow artists and local arts organizations for additional help. But what happens when that same woman finds herself living in a town of only a thousand residents with no other professional artists to turn to for education or advice? Linda Lucas Hardy would say that it's still entirely possible for a woman like that to succeed as long as she has drive, passion, confidence, and ambition. She is that woman, and she's living proof that dreams can come true.

Reaching Out for Education

When the youngest of her seven children started school, Linda found she finally had time to get back to the passion that has held her captive since her own childhood: her love of art. A neighbor suggested they take a class together at the nearest community college, and Linda jumped at the opportunity since it was a long distance away and they needed to carpool.

A year later, a new community college opened up closer to home, which made it much easier for Linda to continue taking college courses in art. Naturally, juggling her art with caring for her family required a great deal of perseverance. Ultimately, it took her eight years to complete her formal education, but it was worth it. Along the way, Linda discovered the medium of colored pencil, which has since become her favorite. "I love the control that colored pencil offers," she says, "especially because I also love well-defined realism. I am a pencil artist, plain and simple. Now I can't even talk without a pencil in my hand."

In addition to her formal education, Linda has continued to pursue informal opportunities to learn, primarily through taking workshops with artists such as Carrie Ballantyne and Sherrie McGraw. As they do for all of us, taking workshops usually means travel, which is a sacrifice of time and money for most artists. But Linda encourages all aspiring professionals to take workshops since they offer a chance to develop and enhance skills, get other types of advice from modern-day masters, and network with peers.

Finding Her Personal Style

However, to some degree, Linda believes, all artists are self-taught in that much of what we learn is what we discover in the course of doing our own work in our own studios. Linda's methods are a product of trial and error, working with various materials, making mistakes, and learning to solve problems that then become good practices. "Mistakes bite hard," she says. "I don't like them. Nobody does. But if you pay attention, a medium will teach you." By doing her own work on her own time, she's established, for example, that she prefers to create artwork using exclusively Prismacolor wax-based pencils on fine, 800-grit UART acid-free paper.

Once, in the process of trying to disperse the wax bloom that often emerges most visibly in the darker pigments of wax-based pencils, Linda went over the pencil with an old, stiff brush. Not only did it get rid of the bloom, she discovered that the brush helped to work the pigment down into the fibers of the paper, thereby eliminating the fine specks of white that often show through even multiple layers of pencil applications. Now Linda uses a brush all the time to achieve that smooth, polished look that is the hallmark of her personal style. She starts by transferring her image with graphite transfer paper, then works each area separately from the darkest areas to the lightest values, developing each area to a fairly finished degree. A final finessing of the details and highlights followed by a coat of Krylon UV-resistant spray complete her paintings.

Landing on Still Lifes

Even when it comes to her choice of subjects, Linda feels that her small town life has somewhat limited her ambitions. "What I'd really like to paint is people because you can express so much emotion in figurative work," she confesses, "but in a small community like mine, I've found it very difficult to approach people and find models. Most people don't understand what I want from them--they feel they have to pose for me, as for a portrait, when what I want is something more candid and real."

Once again, though, she hasn't let this obstacle stop her. "I've had to learn to make do with what I've got or I can't do anything at all," she says, now laughing. "Pears and apples don't ask you what your motives are or look at you real weird, so it's been easier to work in the still life genre." Interestingly, Linda has now developed a signature series of works involving fruits and vegetables wrapped in plastic bags, which are just as much about the human experience as any figurative work could be. She explains, "The plastic bags remind me of the facades we all try to hide behind. We think we're doing such a good job of masking our little deficiencies and minor little secrets, but in actuality, we're all exposed."

Over the years, Linda says, she has shot and stockpiled literally hundreds of photos that she would like to develop into paintings someday. "I'll never run out of ideas," she says. "I use this very easy and free software program called Picasa, which is available through Google, and it's just great for storing my digital images and doing a few modifications to them before I paint them."

Showing What She's Made Of

Eventually, Linda acknowledged that she was going to have to take some initiative if she was going to get her artwork into the public eye. Since there weren't any local opportunities, she cast a wider net. She noticed, for example, that the Bosque Conservatory in Clifton, TX held an annual competition. For several years she studied how that competition was run. Eventually, she entered and won, learning--much to her surprise--that she could have three works accepted instead of only one.

They say that knowledge is power, and Linda went about learning as much as she could about the art business through all sorts of varied avenues. She joined a regional arts organization, and listened to her peers there. She also tapped into the power of the Internet and the national artists' magazines to find competitions to enter. "I often didn't have the money to enter shows, but I did it anyway," she says. "I decided to enter the big money shows in particular, not because of the awards offered but because of the level of competition. I knew that if I got in, it would validate my work."

One of her earliest big goals she set for herself was to gain the recognition of her fellow colored pencil artists by getting involved in the national organization called the Colored Pencil Society of America. She was terribly disappointed when she was not accepted into the CPSA show the year it was held in Fort Worth, Texas, which was probably the closest it will ever be to her own home, but she made sure she attended the exhibition. "That was the first time I had ever seen other artists' colored pencil work!" she notes. "I was like a kid in a candy store." Today she exhibits with them regularly, and last year she won the CIPPY award and the EXXPY award--the two highest awards CPSA offers--in the same year, which was the first time ever that someone had done that. "What thrilled me more than anything was when I was invited (they invited me) to teach a workshop at Nationals," she says, still relishing the moment. "That made me cry. Somehow that validated me and all that I've been trying to accomplish."

Chances to sell her work in her own town are non-existent, so here, too, Linda has had to take the initiative to find gallery representation. She took herself down to the oldest and largest gallery in Dallas. "While I was there, I asked the salespeople if they took colored pencil art," she recalls. "They said no, but just to be polite the director suggested that I bring some pieces in ‘some time.' When I got home, even though I didn't really feel ready, I thought, well, when is ‘some time'? So I set up an appointment to take my work in the following Friday!" Linda ended up leaving several pieces at the gallery that day, only to have to wait two long months for a decision from the director. In fact, it wasn't until she tired of waiting for an answer as to whether she was going to be accepted and went to the gallery to retrieve her paintings that the director agreed to sell her work. She's been represented there ever since, and was recently invited to show her work at a second Texas gallery as well.

Learning to Fly

"Living in a small town and being virtually the only trained professional around has meant that I have had no mentor, no sounding board," says Linda. "Everything I've done, I've been flying by the seat of my pants because I haven't had anyone to guide me." Yet by paying attention, asking questions, networking beyond the confines of the city limits, and most of all persevering steadily and enthusiastically, Linda has made a successful career out of her love for painting. "I have such an amazing passion for art," she says. "I can't really explain it, except that it's something that I can't not do. I can't live without it."

Jennifer King
Editor-in-Chief
www.CreateBetterPaintings.com

The New Reality - The Frontier of Realism in the 21st Century

2009-01-12T10:39:00.003-06:00

R. W. Norton Art Gallery, Shreveport, LA

Yesterday my husband and I drove to Shreveport, LA to see the International Guild of Realism's traveling exhibit titled ''The New Reality: The Frontier of Realism in the 21st Century". Not only were we impressed with the show we were very impressed with the Gallery's permanent collection. Even though it's called a gallery it's more like an art museum. So if you live anywhere near Shreveport it's definitely worth the trip. If not you'll find the current tour schedule at the bottom of my post. Maybe it will be somewhere near you.

My piece titled, "Now You Know" which is on exhibit.

''The New Reality: The Frontier of Realism in the 21st Century" International Guild of Realism

“The New Reality: The Frontier of Realism in the 21st Century” is the first traveling museum show of this century to not only look at the state of Realism painting around the world, but to also compare those artworks with their historical predecessors.

Fifty-six artists are represented with sixty-five paintings from the United States, Canada, The Netherlands, Korea, Russia, France, Iceland, Romania, Norway, and Finland in this juried show organized by the International Guild of Realism. The exhibition looks at such media as oil, acrylic, egg tempera, graphite and colored pencil to give viewers a snapshot of how Realism artists are approaching their art form today.

Each artist was asked to identify one historical painting that can be used by museum attendees to compare and contrast today’s work with the pioneers of this art technique. The artists cited such predecessors as Ingres, Da Vinci, Dürer, Vermeer, Harnett, Constable, Memling and Dali as starting points for their current work as they explored still life, landscape, figurative and even trompe l’oeil art forms. In some cases, the contrast between the old and the new is startling; in other cases, one can almost see the apprentice soaking up the Old Master’s techniques for modern visuals.

Each of the sixty-five contemporary paintings can be directly compared with an historic Realism painting. Each wall label features an image of a related historic painting.

If you'd like to see some of the pieces on exhibit CLICK HERE Not all the pieces shown were in the show but quite a few of them are.

Keeping it Real: “The New Reality: The Frontier of Realism in the 21st Century December 16 – February 15, 2009

This is the first traveling museum show of this century to not only look at the state of Realism painting around the world, but also compare those artworks with their historical predecessors. Fifty-six artists are represented with 65 paintings from the United States, Canada, The Netherlands, Korea, Russia, France, Iceland, Romania, Norway, and Finland in this juried exhibit organized by the International Guild of Realism. The exhibition looks at such media as oil, acrylic, egg tempera, graphite and colored pencil to give viewers a snapshot of how Realism artists are approaching their art form today. This month the R.W. Norton Art Gallery is hosting, “The New Reality: The Frontier of Realism in the 21st Century”, a juried collection of paintings by the members of the International Guild of Realism. The title of this exhibition cannot help but raise the simple question, why the “new reality”? What happened to the old one? The prevailing view for centuries was that art was the result of careful craftsmanship representing a heightened reality to evoke an emotional response and/or express a theme or story. Then came the Romantic Age, and with it the reassessment of the artist as less a craftsman than an (often misunderstood) individual with a unique form of expression. Artists began to take a more painterly approach to their work, using loose brushwork and bold colors to develop expressive, individualistic styles that resulted in works like Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People and Turner’s Ulysses Deriding Polyphemous. As photography usurped the role of replicating reality, painters like the Impressionists began to refine art to its essentials, focusing on the manipulation of color and light. The Modernists who followed them pared the image down even further, focusing on elements of form, volume, line, and color to the point of abstraction. Then, in the early 20th century, the Dadas, with Marcel Duchamp’s readymades and other innovations, refined art to the realm of the metaphysical – art was no longer about the object, or even the depiction of the object – it was about the concept in the mind of the artist and the interaction between that and the audience.

As execution became less important to the process, craftsmanship of the kind expected from artists ranging from the Old Masters to 19th century academics often fell by the wayside. However, in the late 20th century, a backlash against abstract and conceptual art began. Many artists began to embrace concepts and techniques borrowed from older masters. Thus was born the International Guild of Realism in 2002. The founders began by clarifying the number of styles they felt fit under the realist umbrella, including classical realism (ranging from the Renaissance Old Masters to Courbet) and extending to contemporary styles such as trompe l’oeil, photorealism, surrealism, and super-realism. The one thing common to all of these artists is the element stressed by Guild member Benjamin Orozco Lopez of Mexico: “The most important thing about the Guild is that we are a big group of artists who glorify the values of craftsmanship, which has almost been lost in modern painting.”

For this exhibition, selected artists are required to cite the example of an Old Master or other Realist painting which helped inspire their own in either theme or technique. However, while they may borrow their style or technique from the Old Masters, they are all determined to create an expression of their own contemporary world, including other styles of art as well. Kolbjorn Haseth, for instance, admits a debt to abstraction as well as realism in his landscape, The Colour Gray: “The massive rock on the right meets us like an abstract image, and had to be balanced with a more interesting area to the far left . . .” And while George Gonzalez’s still-lifes and trompe l’oeil paintings capture contemporary, often mundane objects, he also draws inspiration from a diversity of predecessors ranging from Mannerists to surrealists.

Other Guild artists have more allegiance to specific schools of the past. Damon Denys admits, “My first love was the paintings of the British classicists and romantics of Victorian England,” while Bryce Cameron Liston is equally clear about his debt to academic artists: “Inspired by 19th century artistic values, I traveled abroad to study first hand, the works of artists such as Waterhouse, Bouguereau, Gerome and Tadema. It is important to me to keep alive what these and other artists like them were doing.” Another inspiration for the new realists is the 17th century golden age of Dutch and Spanish masters. A still-life artist like Grace Kim echoes the concerns of the 17th century Dutch masters, saying, “Although my subjects are often what appears to be simple flowers and fruit, I always see something unique and beautifully complex and intricate in all that exists in this world.” Cuban artist Jorge Alberto admits, “My paintings spring from a life-long fascination with lighting and how light affects mood . . . I take inspiration from the 17th century painters, like Caravaggio, Velasquez and Ribera, emulating the strong use of lighting contrast so evident in the work of these masters.”

In their veneration for the Old Masters, some of the Guild artists even borrow their materials. Mark Thompson specializes in egg tempera work and etchings, admitting, “I have long been fascinated by the beauty of line and the work of the Renaissance and pre-Renaissance masters. Etchings are essentially the distillation of balance and rhythm, volume and line in a medium over 400 years old.” And artist Lee Alban actually grinds his paints from powdered pigments and prepares his canvases by hand the way the Old Masters did. Still others have learned how to incorporate the Old Masters techniques into new media. Arlene Steinberg works in colored pencil, but that hasn’t prevented her from taking inspiration from the technique and styles of Renaissance painters.

While many if not most of these artists draw from the distant past, there are some distinctly 20th century forms of realism, the most prominent of which is the one wrought by a 19th century invention – the camera. Photorealism requires the painter to create a work so detailed and precise that it replicates the effect of a photograph – craftsmanship of a very high standard indeed and which draws perhaps more than the others on the availability of modern inventions and techniques. Kory Fluckiger, for instance, “has developed his own technique of watercolor painting in which he airbrushes the background to highlight the colors in the foreground, so that the painting appears to be a magnificent photograph.” Fellow photorealist Anne Kullaf has found her work compared to Edward Hopper in its grasp of light as well as its ability to raise the mundane world to the sublime nature of art.

This is only a fraction of the artists whose unique visions and superb executions are represented in the exhibition. Fifty-six artists from nations including America, Canada, The Netherlands, Korea, Russia, France, Iceland, Romania, Norway and Finland have contributed 65 paintings to the show. While they all share a common goal, each of them has a unique vision and style in which to depict the world around them. Charter member Lorena Kloosterboer explains that while abstraction and modernism have dominated recent art, she, like her fellow realists reject the idea that their work is “unevolved”, declaring, “One only needs to visit one of our exhibitions . . . to appreciate the incredible array of exceptional Realism.”

With this in mind, the R.W. Norton Art Gallery invites you to join us for “The New Reality: The Frontier of Realism in the 21st Century.”
Everl Adair, Director of Research and Rare Collections

Museum Tour 2008-2010 of Art by Realism Guild Members - Current Tour Schedule

Wichita Art Museum
Wichita, Kansas: April 27, 2008 through June 22, 2008

The Springfield Museums
Springfield, Massachusetts: July 13, 2008 through September 7, 2008

The Springfield Museums
Springfield, Massachusetts: September 28, 2008 through November 23, 2008

R.W. Norton Art Gallery
Shreveport, Louisiana: December 16, 2008 through February 15, 2009

J. Wayne Stark Gallery, Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas: August 9, 2009 through October 18, 2009

Museum of Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas: November 8, 2009 through January 3, 2010

Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
Wausau, Wisconsin: June 27, 2010 through August 22, 2010

Indian Hills Community College
Ottumwa, Iowa: September 12, 2010 through November 7, 2010

You are invited to join Ann Kullberg, Pat Averill and I in May on an Alaskan Cruise...

2009-01-09T11:02:00.004-06:00

Come join Nationally acclaimed colored pencil artists Ann Kullberg, Pat Averill and I on a 7-night Alaskan Inside Passage Cruise aboard the Star Princess May 24 - May 31, 2009. The class size is firmly limited to 30. This Alaskan cruise fills quickly so book soon!

COLORED PENCIL ON THE HIGH SEAS WORKSHOP - $1029 - INCLUDES ALL THREE WORKSHOPS

(inside cabin/double occupancy. Group rate available for guests not taking workshops.)

For more information CLICK HERE

To register or for cruise information: 1-800-253-0116

To see how much fun last years Caribbean Workshop Cruise was click HERE!

2008-12-15T10:24:00.002-06:00

I hope each and every one of you have a joyful Christmas & and Happy New Year!

I like what I do and I like the way I do it, but is that enough?

2008-11-12T08:39:00.005-06:00

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about what appeals to me in the work of others. Of course that's very broad. However in doing that I started thinking about my own work and whether or not it would appeal to me...as if I were not me but someone else. I really haven't gotten very far along that line but I'd like to know what it is about the works of others and if those things are appealing enough to cause me to change the way I do things. I have reached the conclusion that I need to go further with this line of thinking and perhaps move a little closer to the edge. I doubt I'll ever go over but I'm convinced I need to take a look...

Update...

2008-10-09T18:35:00.007-05:00

At long last the Small Works North America 2008 Exhibition is up, minus a few pieces that is. Apparently they've been waiting on some of the artists to give them the asking price for their work. Anyway it is on line now if you'd like to see. Small Works N A

"Two States of Being" - 8 x 10"

2008-10-02T14:32:00.002-05:00

I've been invited to participate in an upcoming show at the Wally Workman Gallery in Austin. This is the first of three, maybe four, pieces I'll be sending.

"The One I'd Choose" - 8 x 10

2008-10-02T14:27:00.004-05:00

Like the painting above this too will be sent to the show at Wally Workman Gallery in Austin. I am very pleased with how they both turned out....

I am so excited....!!!!!

2008-09-30T21:19:00.018-05:00

I got an email tonight saying, " Congratulations! Your painting, ”Lost In a Dream” has been selected as part of Greenwich Workshop Gallery's 2008 Small Works North America Exhibition and Sale." Was I ever surprised. One of the reasons for my surprise is that I'd inadvertently submitted the same piece twice which prevented me from entering another one. After that I was locked out. Because I couldn't go back I wasn't sure if I'd finished the entry process. Also the notification date came and went six days ago. Now you know why I was so surprised and happy when I heard back from them. The really scary part is I was about to delete the email because it came into my mail box in the spam folder.

This certainly is not my first competition, far from it, but it is the first "oil" painting I've entered in a juried show. I couldn't be more pleased!

The show was supposed to be on line by October 1st but they must be running behind. If you'd like to see the show click the link below...if it's not up keep checking back. They will eventually get it posted.

Small Works N A

"From the Garden of Dreams & Desires" - 11 x 24

2008-09-29T07:40:00.007-05:00

I taught a workshop in Ohio in early June. The Peonies were just beginning to bloom so the hostess of the workshop put a few in a vase so we could enjoy them during our lunch. After wards when everyone had gone back to work, with a purpose, my camera and I and went back upstairs. The light was streaming through the window. Because the table cloth was pink the colors were amazing. I took dozens of photos. I especially liked this shot because of the shadow so I cropped it down for emphasis. I could not get the colors exact for posting so if the shadow in the painting appears to be warm and red on your monitor, it's not, it's very cool. To counter balance the coolness in the shadow I painted the foreground a warm pink. My husband doesn't particularily like the colors but I love them....

"Sentimental Reasons" - 9 x 12"

2008-09-15T20:29:00.005-05:00

Cherries! I just want you to know I have painted cherries and I have not been successful so I've continued to paint cherries and I'm still painting cherries. Oh yeah...I can paint a cherry now. It's funny how you think you know what something looks like, especially something so simple, but I learned something, I had no idea what a cherry looked like.

"Go Your Own Way" - 9 x 12

2008-09-15T20:22:00.008-05:00

I feel like the slowest painter in the world but maybe that's only when it comes to actually finishing one. I finished this one and the one above but have eight others I'm working on...hum....maybe that has something to do with it. Anyway I guess eventually it will seem like I finished all eight at once. I'm going to say the same thing about grapes that I said about cherries...I'm going to keep painting them until I know what they look like.

"Mid-Summer Beauties" - Oil - 12" x 9"

2008-08-13T17:35:00.010-05:00

I'm really excited about this one. The shadows were a challenge but a lot of fun to do because of the many colors. I created them with a series of transparent glazes which I felt would keep them from looking heavy. The shadow from the basket photographed lighter than it it really is. I did some tweaking but still did not get it right so I guess I'll be taking more pictures.

Anyway, I think this is my favorite piece. I did paint over my name though. I'd signed in the upper right hand corner but, after seeing it on the computer, didn't like the way it looked which means I'm going to have to sign it again...somewhere more pleasing.

If you are interested in purchasing this piece please contact Southwest Gallery - 4500 SIGMA at Welch - Dallas, Texas 75244 - 972.960.8935- 800.272.9910

A couple of quotes by Rainer Maria Rilke

2008-08-08T07:56:00.004-05:00

1. Always trust yourself and your own feelings, as opposed to arguments and discussions. If it turns out that you are wrong, then the natural growth of your inner life will eventually guide you to other insights. Allow your judgments a silent, undisturbed development, which, like all progress, must come from deep within and cannot be forced or hastened. Everything is gestation and then birthing. To let each impression and each embryo of a feeling come to completion, entirely in itself, in the dark, in the unsayable, the unconscious, beyond the reach of one's own understanding, and with deep humility and patience to wait for the hour when a new clarity is born: this is what it means to live as an artist."

2. Believe that with your feelings and your work you are taking part in the greatest; the more strongly you cultivate this belief, the more will reality and the world go forth from it.

Have a really great day!

"Lost In a Dream" - 9" x 12"

2008-08-04T16:36:00.004-05:00

I cannot believe how long it takes me to do a painting. I was sure I'd have these finished weeks ago. It's not that I haven't been working on them, the problem is getting them exactly like I want them. Anyway, hooray! I've finished two! I guess you can tell I love the dramatic.

I will not be offering these on Ebay. I plan to enter this one in a competition, the rest of them, when finished, will be going to Southwest Gallery.

"When I'm Blue" - 9" x 12"

2008-08-04T16:21:00.005-05:00

Ah grapes...maybe grapes are not hard to paint but like everything else, I tend to make them difficult. Nevertheless I am happy with how this piece turned out. I'm especially pleased with the shadows.

If you are interested in purchasing this piece please contact Southwest Gallery - 4500 SIGMA at Welch - Dallas, Texas 75244 - 972.960.8935- 800.272.9910

"Just Like the Morning Sun" - Oil - 6" x 8 " SOLD

2008-07-30T10:30:00.006-05:00

This is the second orange pepper that I've painted. I thought this was such a lovely thing with the reflections and all which make it appear to be very shiny. As always, thanks for looking.

"Having Fun With Red & Green" - Oil - 6" x 8" - SOLD

2008-07-30T10:16:00.009-05:00

That's a fact...I was having fun with red & green. I actually did this piece twice because I liked it so much. I did the first one in colored pencil which you can see HERE and this one in oil. I guess I was playing with the complementary, not just in the obvious colors but mixing the two in the shadows.

"Just Peachy" - Oil - 6" x 8" - SOLD

2008-07-30T10:11:00.009-05:00

I couldn't resist this plate but I found it to be a little more difficlut to paint than I though. Nevertheless, I'm happy with how it turned out. And it looks like I'm still playing with compliments. I actually didn't realize that until I posted "Having Fun With Red & Green". I was going to hang on to all three pieces but decided to go ahead and list them on Ebay. Since I am now painting 9" x 12"s I may not be lisiting any more small paintings for a while.

Here's some exciting news....

2008-07-21T21:43:00.015-05:00

I've been invited to demo at Southwest Gallery's 2008 Summer Art Festival. Events include gallery artists painting (I'll be working in colored pencil) and sculpting on-site, as well as jewelry, a painting trunk-show, live music, food and fun!

The other artists who will be participating are: Tony Bass, Lynwood Bennett, Gene Brown, Fran Di Giacomo, Manuel Garza, Jonathan Hardesty, R. W. Hedge, Robert Hogan, George Kovach, Kyle Polzin, Tony Saladino, Paul Walden, Kay Walton, and Mark Whitmarsh.

If you live in the DFW area or somewhere nearby come visit. I'll be there Saturday & Sunday August 23-24, 2008 - from 1-5 pm

Southwest Gallery - 4500 SIGMA at Welch - Dallas, Texas 75244 - 972.960.8935- 800.272.9910

"Charmed" ~ 9 x 12" - SOLD

2008-07-09T12:54:00.019-05:00

At last. It's finally finished. I really enjoyed painting this piece. I think the title expresses how I felt the whole time I worked on it.

Workshop in Idaho, Falls....

2008-06-13T13:54:00.002-05:00

I'm off tomorrow for Idaho Falls to teach a workshop. My husband and I will be driving. John estimates it will be about 3,000 miles roundtrip so I'll be gone for a while. Belle & Bazil, our two Yorkies, are going to stay with Phyllis and her two Shelties. Belle likes it there but this will be Bazil's first time, not only there but, away from us. What can I say, I miss them already but I'm sure they'll have fun.

We are going to stop off in Wyoming for a couple of days to visit Ginger at the ranch. Last week it was snowing but she said they had hummingbirds. I can't imagine going from the sweltering 90's here in Texas to snow. Maybe I'll get to see another Spring...if Idaho is blooming this will be the third Spring I've seen this year. I was in Ohio two weeks ago and it was beautiful. Even though I'm frequently in different States I very seldom get to see much so I'm really looking forward to this trip. The batteries are charged in the cameras so I guess I'm ready to go.

You all take care and I'll post some pictures when I get back. By the way, leave a comment, I'd love to hear what you have to say....Linda

"The Time When Love Was New" - 18" x 24"

2008-05-27T18:59:00.011-05:00

Finished at last! I've been working for weeks to get this painting finished for the Boat show at Wally Workman Gallery in Austin. The deadline for getting it to them is tomorrow, the 28th. I got it framed, boxed up and on it's way yesterday. Hopefully they will get it in time. Don't you just love that blue Adirondack chair on top of the houseboat? By the way, I took the reference photo when I was in Seattle a little over a year ago. I love the flowers on the row boat but have no idea what it was going to be used for. It did strike me as being romantic so I gave it a romantic title.

"Three Pears" - 6 x 8"

2008-05-07T21:44:00.008-05:00

You never know what you might find if you move
things around in your studio. I was cleaning up the
shelf where I keep my unfinished paintings and
found this painting I had put away to dry. I had
completely forgotten about it.

An afternoon with Sherrie McGraw...

2008-05-07T08:39:00.013-05:00

Photo 1 - The set up

Even though I did not see it, I was told she had the lights off in the room, using one lamp for her light source, when she arranged the objects for the set up. That makes perfect sense if you want to know how the light looks like when it hits the objects. She did say she takes a lot of time when she creates her set ups. "The goal...", she said, "...is the idea that inspires the painting since we are painting light. In part I am setting up the shadows so the light can be revealed. If you take time you'll know why you are doing it and what you want to do with it."

Photo 2 - Blocking in

She starts her paintings with mass rather than line.The reason is to determine what space the mass occupies on the canvas. She said, "...linear drawing is another language; the language of line. In doing mass you don't have an attachment to what you place on the canvas so you can easily remove it. If you start with line you are attached to it."

Photo 3 - Space is important. She continued, "The goal is to paint the relationship you see in all the objects rather than painting the objects as they are. In the beginning you want to lay it in so you can visualize the whole painting. Start with a neutral color so you can size and place the objects."

After the blocking in...

2008-05-07T08:37:00.008-05:00

Photo 4 - She started working on the little black vase, basically continuing the blocking in but with the local color. After that she added color to the background.

Photo 5 - In this photo she is setting the light. She said the light is used to key the background value. Everything is in relation and relationships are what you are painting. The background should be light enough so that the pot is silhouetted and dark enough so the peaches are lit up. Here she is setting up the "run of the color", the abstraction of it. Once you do that then you can make it a peach...how much color or lack of color. She said, "When you do something take the time to see what actually happens."

Photo 6 - Sherrie said, "There is no way to understand or get better if you don't organize and understand what you are seeing. You don't want to get honed in on one spot. Keep your eye on the whole setup and the effect of the whole painting."

Placing the objects...

2008-05-07T08:29:00.006-05:00

Photo 7 - Here's she is laying in local color but still determining space and mass. She talked about carving out which is moving the paint to make what's in front stand out. If you'll notice she's painting with the tip of the brush. That amuses me since I use a brush like a pencil. She did, of course, address that.

Photo 8 - She said, "Painting the parts can make you lose the sense of why you wanted to paint the painting anyway. Shapes are the language of painting." Which goes back to what she said about thinking about the whole painting all at once.

Photo 9 - Since the meeting was only a couple of hours with a 30 minute break in between I think I can safely say she did this much in an hour and a half. Of course the painting is not finished, far from it ,but she said you do this much then you spend the next day refining it and adding the details. One more thing, she said, "Painting is not a technique or a style. It's a way of understanding paint and how it works." Very interesting Sherrie. Thanks so much!

"Boat" show at Wally Workman Gallery

2008-05-04T09:01:00.007-05:00

I've been away for a while because I'm trying to finish an 18 x 24" oil painting for a gallery show which will open at the Wally Workman Gallery at the end of the month. It's been slow going and a stretch since the largest painting I've done in a while is 8 x 10". Wouldn't you know I'd pick something very detailed and complicated. Once it's completed I'll post it.

"How Sweet It Is" - SOLD

2008-04-16T09:25:00.013-05:00

I really enjoyed painting this peachy colored rose.
It has such lovely colors ranging from soft pinks
to oranges that almost glow.

"Who Would Guess?" - Oil on panel -6 x 8"

2008-04-09T22:53:00.011-05:00

A quote by watercolor artist Steve Hanks

2008-03-28T18:12:00.010-06:00

"As an artist you might get into the medium you are working in and then just get into a comfort zone and stay there, " say's Steve Hanks. "However there is something to be said about working outside your comfort zone, something about the mystery of trying to figure it out or not knowing how it works. As accurately as I paint, I need to throw myself out of the comfort zone... " Hanks finds that it's essential to his own idea of creativity that he changes his style periodically so that he won't get stuck doing a certain type of painting over and over. American Art Collector January 2008

"Sweet Dreams of You" - SOLD

2008-03-28T17:29:00.008-06:00

By the way, these are nectarines not peaches.

"Three of a Kind" ~ 6" x 8" - SOLD

2008-03-24T07:59:00.004-06:00

"Dance With Me" ~ SOLD

2008-03-10T20:27:00.008-06:00

"Dance With Me" is the seventh in the series of
paintings I'm calling "Cherry Expressions".
The shadows in this piece are very colorful and the
cherries bright and red however the background is
more of an eggshell rather than light blue or gray as
it may appear on your monitor.

"Sun Fed" ~ SOLD

2008-03-07T09:32:00.006-06:00

This was a fun piece to paint. I mixed complimentaries

for the shadows and decided to use the same

colors in the background. It gave it continuity I think

and made it quite a striking piece. By the way, these

are nectarines not peaches that's why they look smooth

and sleek .

Galleries that handle my work...

2008-03-03T21:51:00.001-06:00

I am very pleased to announce that I am now being represented by two galleries. I've had a wonderful working relationship with Southwest Gallery in Dallas for four years. As of February 28, my original colored pencil pieces can also be purchased through Wally Workman Gallery in Austin. Once I feel a little more confident in the medium of oil, I will be painting larger pieces and sending them to both galleries. I am extremely pleased with the progress I've made in such a short time which makes this truly exciting. I don't fight the brushes anymore nor struggle with the paint like I did when I first started painting, which was only about three months ago, now I get up in the morning anticipating the day. I can't wait to get a brush in my hand and I'm loving it....

"Sway Me Now" - SOLD

2008-03-03T21:40:00.008-06:00

"Sway Me Now" is the sixth in a series of painting

I call Cherry Expressions.

"From the Heart" ~ SOLD

2008-02-29T21:17:00.008-06:00

I happened to notice that one of the petals
on this delicate little rose looked a little like
a heart so I decided to title it "From the Heart".
Even though the background may look black,
it is not, it's actually very dark blues and greens.

"Long Before it Begins" ~ SOLD

2008-02-25T19:00:00.005-06:00

This is the fifth is a series of paintings
I call Cherry Expressions.

"Born to Shine" ~ SOLD

2008-02-21T22:27:00.006-06:00

I thought this orange pepper was so beautiful.

It just seemed to glow from the inside out.

"My Eyes Will See Only You" ~ SOLD

2008-02-18T22:13:00.010-06:00

This is the fourth is a series of paintings that

I call "Cherry Expressions". The title was taken

the SWAY lyrics written by Michael Buble.

"For A Moment" ~ SOLD

2008-02-14T22:35:00.008-06:00

"Hold Me Close" ~ SOLD

2008-02-11T21:23:00.002-06:00

"Hold Me Close" is the third in a series of

paintings I am calling "Cherry Expressions"

As always, thank you for looking!

"Bright Blues & Greens" ~ SOLD

2008-02-07T22:10:00.002-06:00

I'm kind of disappointed in how this painting looks

on my monitor. The colors in the painting are

brighter. I hope the colors look bright on yours. Anyway,

I discovered this onion had sprouted so I laid it on

the bar until I could decide what to do with it...it didn't

take long. As soon as I saw those shadows I knew what

I was going to do. Everything in my house is a

potential painting. When I first painted it, I painted

it without the tile but I could not stand how it looked

so I went back and changed it. I am much

happier now with how it looks.

"Lady in Red" ~ SOLD

2008-02-04T19:38:00.001-06:00

"Lady in Red" is the second in a series of paintings
I am calling "Cherry Expressions". I thought I'd
have some fun while learning. It worked. I had fun

and I learned a lot.

"View From the Top" ~ 6" X 8" SOLD

2008-01-31T20:38:00.000-06:00

I think I'm getting a little better grasp of painting.

In fact I'm a lot more comfortable using a brush

now and I'm enjoying it more. This one is painted

on a gessoed Raymar panel which, by the way,

is the only thing I paint on now.

"Shall We Dance" ~ SOLD

2008-01-28T20:36:00.000-06:00

I decided to have some fun so I painted a series
of cherries that I'm calling "Cherry Expressions".
Most of them will have a title that came from the song
Sway written by Michael Buble. This is the first in the
series. I call it "Shall We Dance".

The shadows in this piece are very colorful and the
cherries bright and red however the background is
more of an eggshell rather than light blue or gray as
it may appear on your monitor.

"Through the Fence" ~ SOLD

2008-01-24T22:04:00.000-06:00

When I saw the glow from the sunlight as it

dappled our cedar fence I knew I had to paint

this flower.

"Red Pepper With Water Drops" ~ SOLD

2008-01-20T14:45:00.000-06:00

I had no idea water drops could be so difficult,
with a pencil, no problem, with a brush....well let's
just say it took longer than I expected.

"You Take My Breath Away" ~ SOLD

2008-01-16T12:41:00.000-06:00

I titled this one "You Take My Breath Away"

because that's the way I feel every time I look

at it. When I finished this one I felt very

satisfied. The stress was gone and I knew, at last,

that I was getting paint to do what I wanted.

Oh yes, this is the second posting. I didn't want

to lose the comments from the first post. I really

shouldn't have put the paintings on the blog

before I was ready to sell them but I was anxious

to show what I'd done. From now on I won't post

them until they are listed on Ebay. Thanks for

looking!

"Red, Green & Gold..." ~ SOLD

2008-01-13T16:52:00.000-06:00

"Blue & Gold" ~ SOLD

2008-01-09T20:59:00.000-06:00

This really is a lovely little painting. The white on

the ginger jar almost has a transparent look as well

as a blueish tint that reminds me of fine china.

And the gold has just the right amount of sparkle.

I must say, I am very pleased with how this painting

turned out.

Southwest Art Magazine - January 2008

2008-01-07T20:00:00.000-06:00

From 1987 to 1997 I subscribed to Southwest Art Magazine. Receiving my copy soon became the highlight of my month. If you had told me back then that someday my work would be in Southwest Art and that I would be considered as an "artist to watch" I know I would not have believed you. If I could have gotten the words out of my mouth, I'm sure I would have asked, "how could that be possible & when?". So you see, for me it's a really big deal and one of the highlights of my life. If you'd like to read the article click HERE. If you pick up the magazine be sure to check out the contents page...that one is mine too.

Tag I'm "It"...

2007-12-13T19:40:00.000-06:00

This has been going around for quite some time so I hope I can come up with five other people to tag. But I guess that's the whole idea. It's a really good way to get to know each other and find out who's out there doing great art. Actually I'm quite honored to be tagged because I have not had a blog for very long.

I was tagged by Pablo Villicana Lara. Pablo and I are old friends. We met a year or so ago via email by way of the International Guild of Realism. Pablo is a wonderful watercolor artist and a really great guy.

Ok, so I'm supposed to write five little known things about myself....hummmm

1. I am the mother of seven children. Four boys and three girls. Those beloved children have given their father and I sixteen wonderful grandchildren.

2. I was actually born in Arkansas but I always say I was born in Texas. Why? Because I am a Texan! Ok, so here's why...I was born in Texarkana which many of you may or may not know is a twin city that's actually in two states and two counties. Texas is on one side and Arkansas on the other. State Line Ave. runs right through the middle. Ironic as it may seem, alcohol cannot be purchased on the Texas side but it can be on the Arkansas side. Seems silly to me...I really wonder why they bother. Anyway, when I was born, there was only one hospital and it was on the Arkansas side. I couldn't have been there more than a couple of days so it shouldn't be a big deal, Right? Besides, I got to Texas as soon as I could.

3. I love mysteries. I am especially fond of Agatha Christies Poirot played by David Suchet. I'm pretty sure I've seen all sixty-one episodes, or maybe I've seen the same two dozen over and over again, but I never tire of them. My favorite Miss Marple was played by Margaret Rutherford. Click HERE to see a YouTube Video clip and you'll see what I mean. Unfortunately they've got the music too loud so you can barely hear the dialog. But believe me, she's a hoot! I think Agatha Christie disapproved of her playing Miss Marple but to me she was the best. There were only four Miss Marple movies made starring Margaret Rutherford. All four were made somewhere between 1961 and 1965. I also enjoy Midsomer Murders and the British comedies, Fawlty Towers and Keeping Up Appearances. Oh...I can start laughing just thinking about them.

4. I refer to my studio as "the Abyss". If it makes it way in here it's possibly lost forever. I have one place where I put everything that's really important, other than that I'm not sure where anything is...what's wierd is everyone tells me I'm very organized. I guess that's everywhere outside of here...ya think?

5. I didn't know I had a sister, actually a half sister, until about ten years ago. My Mother was eighteen or nineteen when she gave birth to her. I believe she was born on August 8,1943 in a Catholic Hospital in Hollywood or in LA. Her birth name was Margaret Nan. That's all I know.

Ok I've picked five other people to tag...here they are..

Jerald Schwartz
Don Gray
Oriana Kacicek
K M Withers
Cooper Dragonette

"Red, Green & Gold Beauties" ~ SOLD

2007-12-03T16:32:00.000-06:00

This is the original posting. I did not want to

lose the comments so I reposted the painting

when I listed it on Ebay.

"Freshly Washed..." ~ SOLD

2007-12-03T16:31:00.000-06:00

"You Take My Breath Away" ~ SOLD

2007-11-29T16:25:00.000-06:00

I will be offering this painting on ebay very soon.

"Little Dish..." ~ SOLD

2007-11-22T11:29:00.000-06:00

Bananas 1 ~ SOLD

2007-11-22T11:27:00.001-06:00

Bananas 2 ~ SOLD

2007-11-22T11:25:00.000-06:00