A little help from my friends...

Random Thought of Children,
24 x 30 inch, Mixed Media on Canvas.

Last night I delivered the painting I am donating to Vintage Albuquerque's fund raiser for youth arts programs.  This is a collaboration with my two children, Tinsaye (7) and Isabel (13).  I delivered it to Kate Gerwin at Casa Vieja.  My wife and I then had dinner in the bar.  We get ready to leave and Kate had comped our meal.  Thank you Kate!  I am a bit intimidated as Vintage Albuquerque has some high dollar artists donating to their fundraiser, but none featuring children's work.

Tomorrow is the Templeton Family Reunion in Love Grove, Texas.  How I so wanted to go this year.  But time and money proved an obstacle.  I spent many a summer and holidays there in the Texas Hill Country.  We'd visit my 100 year old great grand mother in her cabin, heated by wood, cooked on wood, well pump handle at the kitchen sink, outhouse out back and those willow chairs on the porch where she'd sit and dip snuff.   I was a teenager before I learned you could buy drinking glasses and not rely on used Garrett Snuff jars.

Wild Horse Harry,
30 x 24 inch, Acrylic on Canvas
(sold)

Our ferrier is coming this morning to trim the horse's hooves.  He is quite a character.  He is called Wild Horse Harry.  Story goes he got his start trimming hooves on bucking broncs in the rodeo.  You don't appreciate his skills as a horseman until you ride in a buckboard with him and see how he quietly commands a team of Belgium mares with just soft voice commands.

Work on paintings continues.  I hate it when the masking tape fails to mask, now I have to adjust.  I am working extremely hard to raise my game.  There is a level of professionalism and quality I don't consistently attain.  How I respect those who seem to do it with ease.   Since I am doing more and more transparent work, I have been experimenting with lots of techniques.  I am slowly switching over and using more and more soft body acrylics.  If anything ever sells, I'll stock up and expand my pallet of soft body paints.