Blog

Let me just say right now that I love Baseball! It is my favorite spectator sport and I find it fun to listen to the games on the radio as well. I love the long season, with the chance to get to know the players as people! The Astros; Altuve, Bregman, Alvarez, Verlander, Springer, Correa, Cole, these are My Guys! And I find the strategies and all those statistics really appeal to the nerd in me. It's like a chess game, with precise hand-eye coordination, speed, strength, strategy and grace. Some of the uninformed think baseball is too Slow! What? There is a battle going on every time the ball is thrown! The Pitcher squares off against the batter and the duel is intense but, as soon as the ball is hit, the game blossoms into a team sport, Player to Player, with interaction and cooperation. A well turned Double Play has as much poetry as a ballet. It's an Art Form in motion!

I have been painting a few moments of the action from this World Series, just to capture a little of what I am talking about. I will be posting them the next few weeks. If you have a particular player or a photo you have snapped, pass them on! GO ASTROS!

Last Friday I ran a one day Workshop as a donation for the Katy Prairie Conservancy. It was a very ambitious undertaking to teach anyone to do a plein air painting in just one day, but I must say, they all did GREAT! We set up at 10;00 AM and after a short lecture and a quick exercise on color mixing, everyone got right to work! While Hawks swooped and vultures circled lazily overhead, everyone focused on the yellow goldenrods swaying in the breeze. The weather could not have been lovelier, and we all enjoyed Iris's knowledge of the flora and fauna of local Texas species. The whole idea for the Conservancy is to return the land to the original prairie grasses and conserve for future generations this unique habitat. I was struck at how dense the grasses were. It is clear how much more effective prairie grasses are for retaining water from runoff. After recent Houston floods we, unfortunately, are reaping the consequences of destroying much of the prairie. The Conservancy owns and manages 14 preserves covering more than 13,000 acres of habitat just West of Houston. Each Preserve has a unique history, geology, and wildlife community. We met at the Indiangrass Preserve, which is open to the public Tuesdays, Fridays and some Saturdays, however; it is best to look on their website for further information and directions.

What makes some people like Jazz and others Opera? Why are some of us drawn to figure painting while other see the sublime in a Sunrise or a Bouquet of roses? What is it that tells you when you are looking at a painting by Van Gogh or one by Picasso? As an artist, self expression becomes easier with practice. Truely, the more you focus on yourself and honor what makes YOU unique, the truer you can express yourself in your art. So, why is this important? There are many ways to live a life, but since we only have one chance at it, being authentic gives you a much better chance to live it to it's fullest. We are all God's Children, and each of us is given an original voice to share our gifts. Sharing yourself enriches us all. Often I hear students lament that they doubt their talents are good enough. Many get discouraged, thinking that they don't have the right to try painting because their work will never be worthy. Of what? God's Love? Alas, self doubt just comes with the territory but the courage to fail often leads to success. And love and friendship have a way of meeting along the difficult path of becoming more authentic.

The painting above is from my continued love of morning light raking over tree tops. I have been drawn to this subject over and over so I guess that means it is a reflection of my soul. Additionally, this was painted from a place in Wimberley, Texas that I have visited with my family for over 40 years. This, for me, is sacred ground. Can't get much more authentic than that!