Update

I have not been keeping up my blog lately, but will try to improve in the future.  It has been a busy year this year.  Mostly I visited with my friends at the two senior groups I belong to: Kyle Seniors (KASZ) and Buda Seniors (Onion Creek Senior Citizens).  We play games and have many activities such as a poker night, a bingo night, exercise classes, movie night and line dancing.  Keeps me busy. I also particapated in the Buda Fine Arts Festival where I showed my work with 4 other artists from the Artists of the South Corridor group. 

Painting

I am painting again and will have something to show in a couple of days.  I am so excited to be back to my oils.

Onion drawing

Onions

I created this onion picture for the cover of the Onion Creek Senior Citizens membership directory.  I enjoyed working with grafite again and may do more in the future. 

A few more cruise photos-Turtle Farm

More Turtles

There were many turtles and I took lots of shots of them.

More Cruise photos

Lookin down from the top deck of the ship

Docked at Cozemel, Mexico

Docked at Grand Cayman Island

These are some of the photos Richard took of our adventure.

On the beach at Grand Cayman Island

Chicken on Grand Cayman

 Trees on Grand Cayman

More photos of our cruise.  These are of Grand Cayman Island.  The top one is a small look at the beach though twisted trees, then a photo of one of the chickens.  There are chickens running loose all over the island.  They are wild and very pretty.  There is lots of dense tree growth.  The island is very warm and it rains alot.  Really enjoyed this adventure.

We ended our tour at this local brewery and had samples.  Very tasty dark beer.

This is the oldest house on the island, made with mud and sticks.  Seems the little pigs had the right idea afterall.  This house has withstood many hurricanes that have wiped out more modern houses.

Caribean Cruse

Boat in Jamaica harbor (Look at that water)

Coming into Jamaica

Sandstone formations at Hell, Grand Cayman

The Turtle Farm

Richard holding baby turtle

Today is the day for photos from our Caribean cruse.  The weather was warm and the sea was beautiful blues from lightest aquas to navy blue.  We had smooth sailing most of the time on our way to Jamacia, but the sea around Grand Cayman Island was very rough also around Cozemel and on our way back to Galveston. We went on a tour of Grand Cayman and had to take a small boat from our ship to the island because the ship cannot dock on the island.  The sea was very rough and I had a terrible time getting onto the small boat and getting back onto our boat, but I made it and everyone cheered.  On the island we visited a Rum factory, turtle farm and a brewery.  Grand Cayman is a beautiful island with many trees and many beautiful expensive homes.  There are also many resorts and "off shore banks." 

More photos later

Four Fishermen

24x36 $500

The boat really interested me and was a joy to paint.  This is the first time I painted men and it was a challenge. 

We are all packed and ready.  We leave in the morning on our Carribean cruise and I am very excited.  Hope to send lots of beautiful photos back to everyone.  Be watching for them.

Sunlight on Palms

20x16 Oil $250 available

I had a great time painting this palm tree trunk with the overlapping fronds and shadows in a close-up.  A slightly different view from paintings of the tops of a palm or side views. The many palms in Texas gives me lots of opportunity to paint them.  We have a small palm in our yard, but it is not the one I painted here as it is only about 6 feet and suffered greatly in the drought last summer and now the freezes this winter.  If our palm comes back from the weather distress, maybe someday it will be the subject of one of my paintings.  Besides palm trees, I especially like painting our great live oak trees.  The live oaks are dark green all winter adding green to an otherwise drab winter scene, then in the spring they turn brown and lose their leaves only to put on new leaves before summer.  The live oaks are a staple subject of Texas Hill Country painters along with Bluebonnets and other wildflowers.

Irises and Lemons

Oil 20x16 available $250

I really love painting Irises.  This painting hangs in my kitchen so I have some flowers while I'm cooking.  The jar the flowers are in was especially fun to paint.  Welcome to my kitchen, one of my favorite places.  Besides painting, I love to cook.

Carribean Cruse

On February 21 my husband, Richard, and I will be leaving from Galveston on a Carribean Cruse.  Going to Jamaica, the Caymon Islands, and Cozemel, Mexico.  We are going with a group of 110 seniors, from Kyle and Buda, Texas, who are mostly friends of ours from the area.  We are planning many sessions of 42 and Mexican Train dominios games. I will be taking many photos to share and to paint from when we return.  It should be a great adventure and lots of fun.  Richard is going deep sea fishing in Cozemel while I have a Swedish massage.  I don't know the difference between a Swedish and an American massage, but will find out I'm sure. I will keep everyone informed from the ship as to how the cruise is going and send some photos as I take them.

Blooming Beauty (oil 20x16)

$250 available

In Texas the blooms of the Prickley Pear are especially beautiful.  The above is a sample of the yellow variety.  We also have some pink and red blooms.  I am very fond of painting cactus blooms.

Green Orchids

Green Orchids

We were in the greenhouse business for years and I owned a florist shop, my favorite job ever. I do so love flowers and love to paint them. Here is example of my flower paintings. As we no longer are in the flower business, I have been raising orchids for a few years with mixed success.

Just Fishing (16x20 oil) $200

We were visiting Lost Maples State Park in the Texas hill country when I snapped this photo of two small boys fishing.  I really loved the way they looked so I painted this picture of them.

Starting a new blog

Reflections (oil on canvas)

I am starting again.  Hope to be more successful with this blog.  I painted this from a friend's photo.  My son, Mike on seeing this painting said he was reminded of a poem he had written.  The poem follows:
     
      One lone bird flies close to the sun, thirsty,
      Below, a river with hardly a threatening wave.
      This bird slowly descends, giving its flight
                     to the current.
      The bird's reflection ascends
      There above the surface of the water, the bird's flight
                     levels.
      With the tip of its beak, the bird touches the river's surface
       Bird and reflection drink water and body.

      Leave the posture there, in motion, not flying away.
      The effort in the bird's wings,
      poised in that kiss, drinking each other in balance.