The Unveiling!

Finally, the time arrived for everyone to see "Art Rhythms", the painting for the Cibolo Arts Council Fall Festival of Arts. And this weekend the festival is here. I've received lots of wonderful comments about the painting/poster. People love finding all the 'hidden' musical and art symbols and seem to find new ones with each viewing. It was a challenge but great fun to create this piece.

From My House to Goudargues

On my first painting trip to Europe, I joined a group and traveled to a tiny village named Goudargues in Provence. The small stream was channeled into a miniature San Antonio like river walk through the center of town. Huge, pruned Plane trees shaded the cafe tables that bordered the water. We were the only tourists in town and stayed at a very small hotel. The hall light switches reminded me of something from a WWII era movie. They would only light for a few seconds as you passed down the corridor and then, you would press the round button for the next section.
One day we stopped at a neighboring hill town called Cornillion which afforded a wonderful vista of the entire valley. While others sought out a shady spot to sketch, Jane Jones (our instructor) and I could not pass up the opportunity to paint this scene. I tried to imagine living in a fairy tale like setting such as this,,,imagined living in the small farm house below with its orchards and gardens. How peaceful, and how special to have a life centered around the small village. The twin steeples of the church dominated the town center and will always remind me of Goudargues. One day I might be able to go once again "From My House to Goudargues".

Spoleto and Beyond

I like to create my watercolors from sketches that I've done on location. Last year I spent two weeks in Italy with a painting on location workshop. We home based at the La Romita School of Art in Terni and went out each day to visit the small hill towns of Umbria. Spoleto was one of the larger towns we saw. This view was from a road up above the Duomo and afforded a view of the town beyond. It's called "Spoleto and Beyond". The July/August 2007 National Geographic Traveler Magazine featured this view on their cover. It was fun to know that I'd been there, sitting in the sun, sketching and enjoying the moment.