Done at last

Well, I finally finished my 3 paintings for the Bass Concert Hall show. Just in the nick of time. I'll post pictures of them after they have been scanned. I took photos, but they didn't turn out very well, so I'm not going to waste time posting them here.

What a relief to have this accomplished! I had no idea that it would take me so long to paint a 30" x 30" painting. I hadn't even painted a full sheet watercolor for a long time. (22" x 30") Now, here is my dilemma; I still see myself as a watercolorist, but now I love how big & bold these paintings in acrylics are. What to do? Will my watercolors become bolder from my exposure to the acrylics? I guess we will see when these new paintings are hanging in the gallery (or the Bass) and I can get feedback from the public. Time will tell.

MS150 Weekend

This was my birthday weekend, as well as the MS150 Bike Ride from Houston to Austin. My daughter and her family came over for both events. We played games, went to a movie, ate lots of wonderful Austin food and then met our friends Cheryl and Andy Neil (who rode in the MS150) at the Finish Line. This is such an awesome annual event. The riders all raise money from their sponsors , friends and business associates to help eradicate Multiple Schlerosis. There were 13,000 riders this year. All shapes and sizes, ages and ethnic backgrounds riding 150 miles to make a difference for people with MS. I especially appreciate their efforts because my oldest daughter happens to have MS. This year the weather was cool and rainy, so our friends said it was an easy ride . . . . compared to some of their previous rides over the last 8 years. It is a completely awesome experience to see all these riders passing the Finish Line, most of them grinning from ear to ear at seeing the huge crowds waiting to greet them. My thanks goes out to every single one of them, whether they made it all the way or not.

Whew, what a week!

I have hardly had time to do anything but paint all last week and the weekend. I'm still working on my 3-30" x 30" acrylics on canvas for the Bass Concert Hall. The acrylics are pretty new to me, so this has been a real challenge. However, having the challenge has forced me to "put up or shut up", and I have learned to find my own way with the medium. If I hadn't pushed myself to do it, I would probably never worked with the acrylics enough to get proficient with them. I will post my results as soon as I have all 3 of them finished. I'm getting very close to completion, so watch for them here.

Okay, I will admit it here and now. I am pretty excited about these three pieces. They make my watercolors feel a bit quiet and safe. I'm certainly not ready to quit the watercolors. They have been my medium for over 30 years. It does feel good to have more tools in my box. I'm thinking this is going to break me out of some mighty deep ruts. And, that is a good thing.