Hill country

In the most beautiful spot in God's green earth, I love to paint.  We also like to walk and read and cook, work on house projects, and enjoy each other.  But everywhere you look, the trees and the light are ethereal. 

Massive bald cypresses hung with Spanish moss stand sentinal along the cool rivers.  Scrubby cedar interspersed with prickly pear dots the yards and grows into woods. 

I have involved all my grandchildren in painting. They have an eye for beauty and color. 

Several of my loves in one setting! 

I continue working on deer.  Several sites offer sketching tips; I am not a great sketcher! Acrylic is a very forgiving medium. So I views some helpful links, then sketched these deer in paint.

Frio River

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I'm starting this one from the fall photos we took at Thanksgiving.  

It's easiest to paint places that live in our memories, places we long to visit. 

Swimming hole

I'm continuing to work on people.  People are difficult!  Yes, yes, people in real life are trouble.  They make drama.  They are vain and self-absorbed.  But people as a subject also presents a difficulty.  They have minds of their own.  The girl in the red tank top was supposed to be a chubby grandma (like me) indulgently looking toward the larger group.  She ended up looking toward shore, closing off the group, but choosing to hold back from the group. The finished painting is not so yellow-green as it appears here.

To see the finished product: Order Prints, Swimming Hole 

She partially regrets being here.  She doesn't like it that her cell phone is in the truck, and her boyfriend is probably texting her right now.  He wasn't allowed to come along.  But she is enjoying the water and the noisy little kids more than she'll admit. And for this minute, she is swept by the surprising peace of the water and the shade of magnificent trees.

Fall foliage, Frio River

For inspiration, I have photos and memories of the most beautiful place on earth.