Dear Blog Readers,
I am back after too long with the promised painting of the spring verbena at our place.  This was done before the last posted painting and shows the small pasture at our place in early spring when the verbena were just getting started.  Note how sedate the colors and the abundance compared to how loud and lush it got later.  Actually, I like this one better.  It rings a tad truer just because it is not so garish.  But the other one is true too, just wilder color because that's the way it was.  We may never see verbena like that again.

I've been busy painting and working on sculpture and have more to show you and plan to get it on the blog faster than I have been.  I get going on the blog and then I think I am overwhelming people with too many posts, and then I get lost in what I am doing and forget about it.

I did give a demonstration last month to the Trinity Art League in San Antonio and enjoyed it very much.  I talked to the group about how to put a plein air kit together and what colors to take with you, and then showed them how I amend plein air works I have done in the field.  I was gratified to have 8 people sign up for a half day workshop plein air and seven of them actually show up.  We worked on a scene along the San Antonio River in Brackenridge Park.  It was of the old Number One Pump House which was built back in the 1800's as a source of clean water for the city.  It is now overgrown with foliage and is quite picturesque and very paintable, although we are told it needs desperately to be renovated.  I'll send that painting along soon.  I just finished the one I started at the workshop and will photo it soon. 

I am always appreciative of any feedback you have to offer.  If nothing else, it lets me know you have seen the blog.

Thanks!
Jay

Christmas on the Riverwalk

Readers,

Here we have something very different for me. This is the San Antonio Riverwalk during the holidays. I can never remember if it's actually Thanksgiving day or the day after, there is a big ceremony to light the lights along the famous Riverwalk. All the huge cypress trees are completely festooned with bright Christmas lights and it just makes for a fairyland of color.

Of course this brings out scads of people, and the boat ride people and sidewalk vendors and stores and restaurants gear up for that. Lots of activity. This was done from a photo my brother, the ace photographer, took last year. I was a little dubious about it as it is so far off my usual path. But the further I got into it, the more fun it became.

There were lots of challenges to it, some of which I did better than others. The lights themselves had to be depicted with straight color from the tubes, and then there was the light reflected on the water and then the light reflected on more absorbant surfaces like the trees and the boat parts and the umbrellas. I took liberties with some of the lighting just to give the piece a more painterly feel. Note the halos around the Christmas lights.

I have no idea what I'll do with this painting. It's little again, 8"x10" on board, but I am wondering if there might be a place for it during the holidays. Maybe there will be a contest?

Just wanted to show you something different from all the recent animals.

Jay

Tourist Art?

Dear Y'all,

If you are an artist in San Antonio, you must do at least one version of the various sights famous in the town. A big favorite is the Arneson River Theater on the Riverwalk in downtown. Not to be left out, this is my take on that famous landmark. I did this on location and with reference photos which I took myself. The work boat in the foreground was there and added an element not found in most versions of this scene, so I kept it in, just to be a little different.

The original of this is 16"x20" and is on canvas. I felt it was a good enough piece to have reproductions made and I sell those regularly at the gallery. This seems a more painterly option than the usual almost photographic versions of the Riverwalk at that gallery. People seem to like it as it sells well.

I am still getting a mixture of comments on the blog and email responses which indicates to me that folks are still having a bit of trouble with postings. It's still a mystery to me too.