The Four Elements

This is what I decided to make out of the coasters I bought at the thrift store in Austin. I thought they would look cool in a shadow box with them mounted off the surface of the back. Hope you enjoy them. They made for a fun day of painting on a day off from work!

Empty to Whole

I worked on this early this morning as a study for a larger painting I want to do for my friend who just reached his 90 day anniversary in Alcoholics Anonymous. In recovery, whether from alcoholism, perfectionsim, overeating, overspending, it seems that "wholeness" is so elusive. One must begin with emptiness and keep working at emptying out the negativity. The journey towards wholeness is so gradual that the two states seem dichotomous (thus the point of view of the painting with it's strict boundaries.) We don't see that we are growing and evolving and rely on others to help us remember where we came from and where we are going. It is only after time that we wake up in surprise with a new breath and say "Yes, I AM different now."

Painting Rocks

On our way down from the Austin hills, we stopped by the side of the road so I could take some pics of rock formations. I may have been overly ambitious trying to attempt the detailed textures but it provided a good study for me today. The painting you see is from the pic shown.

An Uncommon Incident

While driving up in the hills of Austin, we came across this peacock on the side of the road. He was absolutely breathtaking, if not noisy! You just don't realize how delicate the top headress is and how powerful the back tail feathers are until you go up close. I was lucky to get about a foot away while it was sitting on a ledge at my eyelevel. Glorious!

New from Old

Today we spent the day browsing around the artsy shops on Congress St. in Austin. I found great vintage items -- an small blue suitcase with an inner tray that would be great as an artist's tool box, a black box for holding records possibly, and a cigar box sized metal jewelry box. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with them. Also stopped by a huge thrift store and bought a pack of coasters, the lid to a steamer basket that could make a great cubist piece, and a new wooden canvas box. Great inspiration! Can't wait to get home and get working! Ironic to go on a trip just to buy an empty suitcase...