Taste of Marfa

I just read a great article in the New York Times about the delicious food found in Marfa, Texas. There are also some great photos by my favorite local photographer, Allison V. Smith. Check it out! Here is my Food Shark pencil drawing that I did last year.

Magnolia Painting

This is my latest painting. It's a Magnolia blossom....which happens to be the state flower of Mississippi. I'm giving this painting to my grandmother for her 90th birthday which is on Saturday. Grammy grew up in Mississippi before coming to Texas. It measures 12 x 12 on canvas. Happy Birthday Grammy!

McKinney Artist Studio Tour

Oil paintings and pastels by Pernie Fallon

Oil paintings and pastels by Pernie Fallon

Photography and pastels by Guy Giersch

Wonderful watercolors by Molly Goodall

Sunday afternoon I drove over to McKinney to check out the McKinney Artist Studio Tour. It was a tour of local artist's studios. The artists open their studios for two days and let you get a peek into their creative spaces. Here is a listing of some of the artists that participated. I started out at the Laura Moore Gallery in downtown McKinney. It is really a great little gallery with some outstanding shows that come through monthly. Above are some of my pictures from a few of the artist's studios that I visited.

Frisco Art In The Atrium Opening Reception

Last night was the opening reception for the Art in the Atrium show at the George A. Purefoy Municipal Center in Frisco, Texas. We had a great turnout for the event. I would like to thank all my friends and family that showed up to say hi and check it out. If you were unable to make it last night, no worries, the artwork will be up through August 2010.

Get Your Wurstfest On!

Wursthalle

In the Big Tent

Serious beer drinkers...or just good scavengers

We just got back from a fun weekend down in New Braunfels, Texas. We made the 4.5 hour drive down to visit Wurstfest. It is the biggest and best German festival in Texas. We had a great time. There was plenty of great food, music, and beer. Pork chops on a stick, funnel cakes, sausage on a stick, fried pickles, reuben sandwiches, and potato pancakes were a few of the items available in the food department. It was absolutely packed on Saturday night, but that made it even more fun. Here are a few links to some of the bands we saw play there : Die Schlauberger & Terry Cavanagh and the Alpine Express These guys tore it up! There was fun to be had by all!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner #1

"Going Home" 6 x 8 oil on panel - Veronica Funk

So I'm reading my daily blogs a few nights ago and I get to Simple Pleasures and I notice that my name is on a piece of paper in one of the pictures. I scroll down to find a nice shout out for Junky Trinkets from Veronica Funk followed by news of me winning a drawing for one of her paintings on her Etsy site. Above is the painting I chose. VF waited until she received 25 followers on her blog and then had a drawing with the names of the followers. She is planning on having another giveaway when she reaches 50 followers. So the sooner you start following her the sooner you have a chance to win a painting like me! She has a great blog and some really nice paintings to look at. Thank you Veronica for a great giveaway! .....what a great idea.

Small Works Show

I am participating in a small works show with about 12 other artists at the Frisco Arts Center in downtown Frisco. The show will run through December 9th. There is an opening reception this Saturday evening from 6-8. The gallery will also be open the day of the Frisco Community Parade - Saturday November, 14th from 10-12. Come by and check it out! Above is my small works panel.

Happy Halloween - 5K Day

Today was the race I have been semi training for over the last few months. The recent early morning storms and wind have put a damper on my training consistency over the last 3 weeks. Anyway, I ran the Gary Burns Fun Run here in Frisco this morning. It is a huge race with tons of participants. The weather was beautiful and crisp. Perfect running weather! I set a goal of running it under 26 minutes. Mission accomplished! My time: 25:57. I even did it wearing the ridiculous outfit above. The wig got a little hot towards the end. There were many people that didn't quite know what to think of me. Perfect! I was playing head games to psyche them out. I had a great time. My next race is December 13th, when I run a five mile leg on a relay team in the Dallas White Rock Marathon. I've never run more than 3.5 miles. This should be interesting.

PS. The fu manchu was real. The star hand tat...sharpie art. Oh, and I placed 2nd in the jean shorts division. My friend Seth beat me by a couple of minutes.

Diamonds In The Sky

Diamonds In The Sky - Holga - 120 B&W

Big Halloween weekend coming up. I've got a 5K that I'll be running on Saturday morning. My goal is to beat my best time of 26:36 from my last 5K. The course is flat - so that is an advantage. I've decided to run in my Halloween costume just because...I thought it would be fun. I'm going as a redneck....I'm hoping my jean shorts don't chafe me and my mullet wig doesn't blow off - disadvantage.

Ryan Bingham - "Country Roads" Video

Here is a new quick little 5 x 7 watercolor painting that I did today. I think it's a fitting image to go with Ryan Bingham's new video for Country Roads. I like how at point 1:36 in the video, the lead guitarist pulls out the Holga for some pics. My worlds are colliding.

Walking To The Sky

Walking To The Sky by Jonathan Borofsky at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas. Holga - expired 220 color film.

Frisco Grain Elevator

The Frisco Grain Elevator on a cloudy afternoon. Holga - 120 B&W

Holga Images Are In - Vol. 1

A Texas beer collection on a picnic table at Gruene Hall

Double Exposure from the Nasher Sculpture Center

Double Exposure of Gruene Hall

Black and White of the Frisco grain elevator

I got my first Holga images back today. It was like Christmas morning tearing through the package that held the CD and negatives. I am very happy with the outcome. I'll post a few of the good ones over the next few days.

Frisco - Art in the Atrium Show

Frisco City Hall and Library

Well, I just received the news yesterday that four of my paintings were selected for the Art in the Atrium Show in the Frisco City Hall / Library Complex. This show will run through next August. I am very excited about the opportunity to have my paintings on display for the public to see for this year long show. There will be an opening reception on Wednesday, November 11th from 7-9 PM. If you are in the Dallas area, I'd love to have you stop by and say hi. Above are the works that were chosen. They should look familiar if you've been following a while. I'll pass along more info as we get closer. I'm still waiting on my Holga negatives/CD to arrive....hopefully this week. I can't wait!

Frisco Arts Festival

The first annual Frisco Arts Festival starts this evening and runs through Sunday afternoon. I'll be at the VIP reception this evening, working the VAGF tent tomorrow from 7-10 PM , and I'll be a volunteer greeter on Sunday morning from 9:30-1:30. I decided not to participate in this year's show simply because I don't really have a complete body of work for a show of this size. I did donate the above painting, Steal the Sideshow to the Visual Arts guild of Frisco for sale. We will split the profit if it sells. The weather is supposed to be great! It should be a busy but fun weekend!

First Rolls of Holga Film Have Been Shipped!

I mailed off 2 rolls of film today to get developed. I am only getting them processed for the negatives with the images on a CD. No prints yet....I want to scope them out before I spend the money on prints. Here is a good link to a gallery of Holga pics. Hopefully I will have some gems as well!

New Landscape Painting

As promised, I began a painting today. I had a little time because of the holiday....so I took advantage. Here is where I'm at with it. The painting is pretty much finished. There may be a few touch ups here and there, but for the most part its about complete. This painting is acrylic on 20"x 20" canvas. Above is a step by step look at it coming together.

So Long Cubbies

Well, baseball season if officially over for me. The Cubs didn't make the playoffs. Too many injuries at the wrong time during the season. Oh well, as any loyal Cub fan will tell ya, "Next year is the year." Above is one of my favorite signs in my studio. The Old Style sign...the official beer of the Chicago Cubs. So long Cubbies, I'll see ya in February! Thanks for the great 3 games in June!

New Landscape Painting Rough Draft

I had a little time today, so I drew out this small 9 x 9 sketch of a landscape that I intend to paint next week. I used a photograph from my Colorado trip last summer as a reference. I've got about seven 20 x 20 canvases sitting around the studio that are calling out to me. I am going to try and build up a bold sky with some nice cloud formations. I'm also thinking about a little red underpaint to create some interest. I'll post the progress next week. Stay tuned.

Nasher Sculpture Center, Primo's, and Nadeau Imports

My favorite sculpture at the Nasher

Life imitating art

On the lawn at the Nasher

Primo's #9

Nadeau Imports

Usually when we head into "Big D" we like to make the most of our time....today was no exception. The family and I went to the Nasher Sculpture Center for their Target First Saturday event. It's free admission from 10-2! We walked around and enjoyed the architectural exhibits and all of the permanent collections. I even took some pics with the Holga. We had beautiful weather in Dallas this morning. After the museum, we hit up Primo's Tex-Mex for a great lunch. Our final stop before heading home was Nadeau Imports. Nadeau is a great little hidden furniture warehouse with some really cool stuff that kind of fits our style. All in all a great day!

How In the World Did You Find Junky Trinkets?

I set up a little counter on my blog back in January to keep track of how many visitors I get on the blog. I'm not trying to break any records or anything like that....I was just curious. I look at the data every once in a while to see the Google search results that direct traffic to the blog. These are the things that people type into Google that are looking for something and end up clicking on a link to this blog. These results can be hilarious! Here are a few of the keyword gems that you can type into Google and somehow end up here:

la confesion tejano

deeperstar

Was Georgia O'Keefe a mother?

Tejano mullets

How to draw an old junkie with hair

Mullets in Lubbock - personal favorite

Coolest building in Lubbock, Texas - Hmm, what is the coolest building in Lubbock?

I seem to have the market cornered with any mention of Tejano mullets.

New Artist Trading Cards

Above are some new ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) I finished today that I'm going to donate to my local art guild. The guild is going to package up some of the member's ATCs to trade at the upcoming Frisco Art Festival. ATCs are pretty fun and quick to do. They are a universal size of 2.5 x 3.5 inches. They are perfect for my short attention span. You can use any media that you want on them.....the sky is the limit. The only catch is that they have to be 2.5 x 3.5.

Texas Doodle Drawing

Texas doodle drawing done on a 4"x 6" notecard with black and red sharpies. I'm digging the overlapping bullseyes in this one.

Lone Star Bottle and Washers

This is a sketchbook entry from last year. A mystery drink and a favorite game.

My Green Chile Cheeseburger

So this evening I finally made some green chile cheeseburgers like I mentioned that I was going to give a try a few weeks back. They turned out pretty swell. My next food fixation is shrimp and grits. I've got a couple of recipes I'm looking over before my attempt. I'll let you know how it goes. We had some in Birmingham, Alabama during spring break and they were incredible!

Cousin Eddie Arrested in Marfa, Texas

Breaking News! Randy Quaid (Cousin Eddie) was arrested in Marfa, Texas. I find it funny that one of my favorite comedic actors was arrested in my favorite west Texas town. Coincidence? I think not.

Story here:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-a0466.us--people-randyquaid-2009sep25,0,6727264.story

New Commission

Here is a current work in progress that I am doing for a friend of mine. It is an 11 x 14 Ebony pencil drawing of his father. He will be giving this to his dad as a birthday gift. I still have some work to do on this one as far as some of the value ranges go. I'll post the finished product when its complete.

Contour Line - Chuck Taylor

Here is a contour line drawing I did as an example for my classes today. My students are each drawing their own shoes for a little project. This style of Chuck Taylors were issued to our basketball team in 8th grade. That was 1985. Nothing beats a nice pair of Chucks.....although they are not the most comfortable shoes in the world nor do they have any ankle support....I still like em.

New Painting Possibilities???

Between Del Norte and Salida.

Crazy signage outside of Happy, Texas. My picture doesn't quite do it justice.

I've now kind of gotten back into the swing of actually working again after that 3 month summer break. I'm getting the itch to start some new paintings and I'm thinking I might want to do another large scale landscape of some sort. I took tons of pictures while I was in Colorado that I thought would be good to go off of as references. Above are some of my favorite possibilities. Who knows, maybe one of these will be on a canvas soon.

Ryan Bingham and Johnny Burke in Denton

Bingham busting out on the mandolin.

Bingham setting up for his next song wearing his usual hat, blazer, and Chucks.

Johnny Burke...this guy tore it up too!

Last night I had the opportunity to see Ryan Bingham play at the Rockin' Rodeo in Denton, Texas. Wow! is all I can say. Johnny Burke opened the show. I had never heard of Johnny Burke before last night, and I must say, he was dang good. He had some great songs and a lot of energy. My buddy and I worked our way to the front row on the left side of the stage and had a perfect view of the show. It was a rowdy crowd....just the way I like it. It was hot and it was loud. I may have dropped a couple of pounds or at least sweated off the nachos and fried pickles I had at Sweetwater Grill beforehand. Ryan came on stage about 11:20 and played a solid set until 12:50. He absolutely tore it up! I know that I have posted a few times about the greatness of Ryan Bingham, but he is truly the hottest thing going in the Texas music scene. There is no other show right now in Texas that rocks as hard as he does. He is the real deal. Check out the pics above and the video below.

Hey Hey Hurray!

Texas Tech Football Schedule on a Homemade Chalkboard

Take an old frame.

Paint it white.

Buy a piece of masonite board to fit.

Spray paint it with black chalkboard paint.

Write your favorite team's schedule with chalk (neatly of course).

Display for all to see.

Hope your team wins some games.

I got me a Holga

Last weekend I was visiting with a friend of mine at a cross country meet and I asked him if he had taken any good pictures lately. He said that he taken some nice pictures with his Holga camera. A what? a Holga. Cool. What is it? He told me about how it is a cheap little plastic toy camera that takes some really cool lomo style photos. My interest was sparked so I went home and researched them online and bought one a few hours later off of Amazon. It was $27.00. I finally got it last Friday and took it with me to New Braunfels to snap some shots....one problem though...no film. Saturday morning I went down to the local camera shop....Landa Foto, to see what they had. The guy looked at me and kind of laughed when I asked him if they had any 120 film. He said, "we don't even develop 35mm here anymore, its all gone digital" Then he said, "let me check in the back just in case". He reappears with 5 rolls of expired 220 film. I told him I would take it. It cost me $5. I loaded the film after I read some articles about riggin' my Holga to take the 220 film.....it's supposed to take the 120. I got it all set up and went out to Gruene Hall to take some photos. I took about 15 shots. The Holga is a old school camera, you have to hand roll the film. Since I used the 220 film I had to count clicks in between shots since 220 film doesn't have a paper backing with numbers. I haven't been this excited about a new toy in a long time. From what I have seen on the Internet the effects that you get from these cameras are really great. The only trick may be finding a place to get my rolls developed. I will surely post my first few Holga images as I get them back. My mind is spinning with ideas for this camera. Please let me know if you have any experience with one of these and any pointers that you might want to share. The Internet is full of groups, blogs, and websites about the Holga. Who knew? not me....now I do. Hopefully I'll be able to get some great pics from my new toy camera.

Johnny Unitas Watercolor

Here is a Johnny Unitas watercolor painting I did a little while back. I really like the nostalgic feel of this one.

Old School Football Player - Pencil

Here is a sketch I did two years ago of an old Frisco High football player. It is 5 x 7 and done in pencil.

Hog Tide - Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Alabama Crimson Tide - Prismacolor Pencil

In the spirit of college football starting this week, I present a colored pencil drawing that I did eight years ago. It won the Collin County, Texas Art Show - Overall Drawing Division five years ago. I won $50. It is the only artwork that I've ever entered in a contest. So I'm one for one. It now hangs in my son's room above his bed. A few of my buddies that are big Arkansas Razorback fans have color copies. This is probably my favorite sports drawing that I've ever done. This one took a while to complete.

Frisco Water Tower Painting Update

Going back to work this week has really cramped my blogging style. Here is the new painting as of Friday evening. All it needs is a few small touch ups, some weathering, and a varnish coat. By the way all is right in my world as of today......Texas high school football has officially begun. Go out and support your local teams!

Touchdown Tuesday - Eddie George

Here is an old one I did back in the day....at least 10 years ago. It's an oil pastel painting of former Tennessee Titan running back, Eddie George. I may throw some more football art in the blog as we get close to the start of the season.

Green Chile Time!

Me and Bobby Flay a few years back at a book signing.

Bagged and ready! Did I get enough? That is the question.....

Buckhorn Tavern green chile cheeseburger

Late August means two things: football is about to start and Hatch green chiles are ready to be harvested. We picked up 6 pounds of roasted green chiles at our local specialty grocery store last week. I spent about 30 minutes taking the charred skins off and bagging them in portion sizes. We use green chiles a lot especially in the fall. There are some awesome recipes that include these chiles. Our favorite side dish is the green chile rice casserole. It goes a little something like this:

1 can cream of celery soup

1 pint of sour cream

1 1/2 c. of instant rice

4-6 oz. of green chiles

shredded cheddar cheese

Spray casserole dish, mix first 4 ingredients, top with cheese, bake at 350 for 3o minutes.

There are also some great green chile stews out there and don't forget the green chile cheeseburger. My boy Bobby Flay and his recipe got beat a few weeks back in a throwdown by the guy at the Buckhorn Tavern in San Antonio, New Mexico. My mouth was watering like crazy watching that episode. Look for this episode on the Food Network and record the reruns. I'm gonna give this recipe a whirl once football season gets going.

Hair bands, mullets, etc. - Def Leppard, Poison, Cheap Trick

Waiting for the encore

Poison busting out "Talk Dirty to Me"

Carrie and I during the show

Last night my wife Carrie and I met up with some friends for the Def Leppard, Poison, and Cheap Trick show at the Superpages.com Center in Dallas. It was a pretty fun time! All these tunes took us back to our high school days. All the bands played their big hits and there was rarely a lull in the playlists. Def Leppard did bust out the " here's one off our new album" but it was only a quick pause in the action. Like most of the shows that I've seen at Superpages.com it was packed and lively! 24 oz. beers were $12. Hahaha....are you kidding me??? I bought a 12 pack of Shiner Smokehaus for $11.99 last week which we worked on in the parking lot before the concert. We had some interesting tailgating neighbors.....but that is a whole story in its self.....funny stuff. Overall, very entertaining and fun show. It was a good end to the summer. Enjoy the power ballad below.

Mike Leach - Texas Monthly Cover

Looky what arrived in my mailbox today! The one and only Mike Leach on the cover of the great Texas Monthly magazine. This is a really good article. It gives you a sense of what is going on the most innovative college football coach's head. The funny thing is that a lot of it is not football. As a Texas Tech alum, I am very happy to have him as our coach and I am also very excited about the future of our team. Two weeks until college football! Oh yeah, in this same issue of Texas Monthly, they have a great little article about Marfa. You can even take a few video tours on the website.

On some other notes, the painting is just about finished.....just a few minor touch ups and we'll call it done. We're also heading to Def Leppard, Poison, and Cheap Trick tomorrow. I'll be sure and post some good mullet pics from the show.

Some More Summer Tunes - Ghostland Observatory

Photo by Chad Wadsworth

The last few months I have really gotten into listening to the band Ghostland Observatory. They are definitely in a category of their own. They have a great sound! Heavy beats, techno vibes, and a bunch of funky audio stuff going on. They are a two man show which is unbelievable once you hear them. GO is made up of Aaron and Thomas and both from far West Texas....San Saba and Pecos to be exact. They now call Austin their home. I have downloaded a ton of their music and I've been cranking it up in the studio this summer.....a lot! Check these guys out and see what you think. They're playing in Dallas on Halloween night.....now that may be a show to see.

David Jonason - California Skies

Marin Hills 24" x 36"

I received my Michael Hollis Fine Art Gallery postcard in the mail last week and I was instantly sucked in. The featured artist is David Jonason. He has a new exhibit called California Skies that is really great. His work has a Cubist feel to it and his use of value is impressive. On his website you will find many architectural paintings of some famous buildings. David captures two of my favorite things: big skies and architecture. What a find!

Where it's at....

I know you may be getting tired of looking at the progress of this one, but I don't have too much else going on right now. I'll be starting back to work on Monday......summer of JEB officially over. Oh well, sometimes I find I have even more time during the school year to work on mini projects and get ideas for artwork. I am always inspired by my students! As for the painting. I was thinking that I was going to be finished when I got to this point, but I am now thinking that I need to paint in the remaining rings to enhance the shape of the water tower. I'm also throwing around the idea of another transfer, oil pastels, stencils, or running paint. I don't want to over work it though. Oh the decisions.

Estate Sale Finds - Michael Jordan Posters

Here is the pick up from today's estate sale. I paid $2 each for these gems. I was a big MJ fan growing up, so this was a no-brainer. Back to painting tomorrow. I'm going to try and finish my current painting this weekend.

Tuesday Tunes - Ben Kweller - Changing Horses

I've been listening to this new Ben Kweller album, Changing Horses a lot this summer. It's got a nice twang element to it. My kids love the song "Fight", and they even know all the words now. Hilarious. If you're not familiar with Ben Kweller maybe this old tune will ring a bell. The album cover above is pretty sweet too if you ask me.

Painting Update # 4

The new painting as of Monday afternoon.

Adding Some Blue

Progress through Sunday afternoon.

Painting Update and McKinney Historical Run 5K Results

I ran a 5K this morning in McKinney, Texas. I finished 181st out of like 700. My time was 26:36 which I am happy about. The course had a few more hills than I was expecting but overall it wasn't too bad. Above is where I am at with the new painting. We will see where it goes from here. Tonight I will be at an opening for the Visual Arts Guild of Frisco members show. I've got a couple of paintings in the show. The reception is tonight from 6-8. The show will run through August. It's always fun to visit with local artists and see everyone's stuff.

New Painting - Frisco Water Tower

Wow the 201st post! Who said Junky Trinkets wouldn't make it past 50 posts? Above is my background for my new painting I am working on. I am going to incorporate a lot of the background into the design of the painting. I have the silhouette of the Frisco water tower drawn in and will probably leave it open to the background. I've got some creative ideas planned for the paint around the tower. I'm kind of going to be loosening up a little and try some new things. I have really been inspired by some paintings I saw in the galleries in New York City. I'm very excited about the possibilities for this painting. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

I'll be running a 5K in the morning and I'm looking to beat my time of 27:58 which I ran in my last 5K back in March. I'm feeling good about it, so we will see.

Marfa NYC

Most everyone who has read this blog before knows my love of Marfa, Texas and the Big Bend region. Well apparently someone else has that love as well but they live in New York City. There is a restaurant in the Lower East Side neighborhood that has a theme of everything Marfa, Texas. Crazy! The name of the restaurant is Marfa NYC. I passed by it and took some pics. They are only open for dinner and we didn't make it down for a taste. The menu looks great! They even serve $6 Lone Star Beer. Maybe those New Yorkers don't know they practically give away the National Beer of Texas down here in Texas. You used to be able to get a 2o pack for like 10 bucks or something. Hopefully Marfa NYC will still be around on my next trip up there.....I'll be sure to drop in for dinner.

New York City Food

Bleecker St. Pizza slice!

Pommes Frites with ketchup, mayo, and onion sauce

Katz's Reuben with pickled green tomatoes...oh mama!

Lamb gyro....words cannot describe the utter greatness of this!

As most of you know I'm a big food guy. Whenever I travel I research the best places to eat in that particular city. I save Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the DVR and write down the names of the places on the show for future trips. Our trip to New York City was no different. We wanted good pizza, fries, and a Reuben sandwich. We managed to conquer all of those easily in a city that has more restaurants than I've ever seen in my life. They even have four entire city blocks dedicated to restaurant equipment only.....Bowery St. Alright here is the quick rundown of some of the highlights.
Pizza - Bleecker St. Pizza in West Village -voted best pizza in NYC by the Food Network. It was dang good. We also had sushi at a place in West Village called Oyishi, it was cheap and very tasty! We had a Reuben at the famous Katz's Deli in the Lower East side.....it was outstanding. Right after taking that down we walked to Pommes Frites in East Village for some fries. They are served in a cone and have 32 dipping sauces to choose from. We actually met some friends on Friday night that were on their way back from Europe for drinks at Matt's Grill. Seth and I were drinking Saranac Pale Ale, it was really good!! One of my best meals was a lamb gyro from a street vendor down by City Hall. It was unbelievable! We finished the last night off at Rare Bar and Grill in the Village. They had delicious burgers and a chipotle mayo that was just awesome. I know this is a lot to digest in one post. You would have thought I would have gained weight after this trip...but when you walk 4-5 miles a day luckily you burn it off.

More NYC Pics

The Algonquin Hotel - Our home for 4 days.

The Empire State Building

Fedoras and scarfs seemed to be the hot items with all the street vendors...I fought off temptation....my wife, not so much.

Kings of Leon at the Today Show. I think I like their older stuff better...all in all pretty good.

My favorite Georgia O'Keefe painting ever! and I got to see it in person...pretty cool!

26:19 - After 10 days off, I didn't feel so bad. 5K on Saturday in McKinney!

New York in Black and White

Men playing a game at the park in Chinatown

Flatiron Building

View of the city from on top of "The Rock"

Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge

I don't really have the time to go into all the details of our sweet trip to NYC at the moment, but I did decide to post a few of my favorite "artistic style" pics. That means...black in white. Enjoy! Our trip was awesome!

Painting Update #3

I added a little oil pastel to highlight and darken some select areas. I think I'm about finished. I'm going to let it sit a while and revisit it next week with a clear head. I can't wait to take some pics in NYC. I'll post about the trip when I get back next week.

Digging Up Santa Fe

San Miguel Pastel


Santa Fe Watercolor

The Dallas Morning News had an entire section in yesterday's paper about one of my favorite places to visit, Santa Fe, New Mexico. You can't beat the natural beauty, art galleries, and restaurants in Santa Fe. Here are some old paintings I dug up with the Santa Fe train logos on it and a pastel of San Miguel Mission Church, said to be the country's oldest church structure. Speaking of favorite places to visit, my wife and I are leaving on a trip Wednesday morning to New York City. We can't wait to experience all NYC has to offer and hopefully make it one of our new favorite places to visit!

Deathray Davies at Sons of Hermann Hall

Double-Wide decor

Deathray Davies

Last night my brother and I were able hang out in some of our favorite spots in Dallas. I'll give you the quick rundown. We had some burgers at the Lakewood Landing. They were good as usual. Then we headed down to the Double-Wide for some cheap PBR. If you've never been to Double-Wide then you need to go check it out. It has wood paneling, stuffed animal heads on the wall, bed sheet curtains, felt paintings, and bad TV. The TVs had WWO wrestling on last night...in Spanish.....classic! One time I was there they had footage of tornadoes on constant loop....even better. After a few drinks we headed over to Sons of Hermann Hall to watch the Deathray Davies play. DRD is one of my favorite bands and they have been on quite the hiatus as of late so it was good to see them back on the road. It was a great show.

Painting Update #2

I added the sky and painted in the grain silo yesterday. I'm happy with it so far , but I'm not sure if it is living up to the vision I had before I started. Sometimes that happens in the art world. It did give me a few ideas for the next one I start.....so that's a good thing. I'm gonna dabble a little more and see if I can't spruce this one up some. I am very happy with the underpainting on the silo...I like that effect.

26:43

Buried Treasure - Digging Deeper - Star Chart Collage Revisited

Here is another buried treasure from my blog. This is all a part of the Buried Treasure experiment put together by Seth Apter at The Altered Page. It is a great opportunity to see some great artwork and great posts from bloggers all over. Check out the full list of participants here.

Here is the original post for the image above from New Years Eve 2008:

This is a collage I did a few years ago. It is a combination of a star chart from an old atlas and some magazine clippings. The movie scene clipping is James Dean in the movie "Giant".......filmed in Marfa of course. Have a great New Years Eve!

Painting Update #1

Yesterday, I drew in the grain silo and painted it in with a red-orange. I'm going to block in the sky soon and then begin the detail work on the silo.

New Painting - Frisco Grain Elevator - Step By Step

#5 The backing is finally off. I accidentally tore up some of the logo while I was removing the paper. That is okay in this project because I'm going for a banged up rustic look and it will be painted over anyway. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and not worry about those little things!

#4 Once the logo has been attached to the collage and has fully dried, I wet a small rag and soak the back of the transfer paper. I then rub the paper backing off very carefully. You have to keep it soaked to get good results.

#3 After both are dry, I take the logo and place it face down on the collage. I then put a piece of transfer paper (wax paper) on top and begin to heat it up and iron the logo down to the collage.

#2 Coat the collage with Golden Polymer Medium. I also coat a reversed image of the Frisco railroad with the GPM. This logo is printed on a special Acrylic Transfer paper I ordered from Jonathan Talbot.

#1 Glue down old maps, train schedules, book pages with Golden Acrylic Gel.

I'm beginning to work on a series of Frisco, Texas inspired collage paintings for an upcoming show in the fall. I started a small 12 x 12 collage painting Monday night. I wanted to start smaller for some practice before I moved to the larger scaled ones. Above is the step by step process of the early stages. I have no secrets, so use these techniques if you like or let me know if you have any better ways of doing this. Let me know if you have any questions. I learned these techniques from a book by Jonathan Talbot.

New Shelf

Normal setting

Lounge vibe....

Here is my new bookshelf with the LOUNGE sign giving off it's lounge vibe. The record player has a new home as well as the albums. Finally this room is straightened up. I'm starting a new painting tonight! I'm excited!

Estate Sale Finds #2 - 2009

I hit a couple of estate sales yesterday in the north Dallas area. At the first sale I picked up about 10 old maps of Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado from the 1950's. They have some great collage potential. At the second sale I bought an entire box of 1960's train schedules from around 30 or so different railroads. There were 167 in all! I plan on selling some of these in lots on EBAY and using the other ones for some new artwork I'm planning out. I also bought an old Scrabble game. There are tons of crafts that you can do with those old Scrabble pieces. Overall it was a successful outing. Thursday and Friday mornings are the best for estate sales in Dallas. I love the thrill of the hunt.

Buried Treasures #2 - El Cortez Casino Sign Watercolor

Here is a buried treasure for the Altered Page special - Buried Treasures

Here is the newest painting in my 5 x 7 watercolor series. It is a painting of the El Cortez Casino sign. It is also one of the inspirations for my "El" painting that I'm working on.....well not actually working on, but one I've started. Scroll down if you haven't seen it yet. Like I've said earlier.....I really like these small paintings. They are a blast to do and take no time at all to finish.

Buried Treasures #1 - Horseshoe Lounge Collage Painting

This is a painting that I did about a year and a half ago. It is a painting on an old Texas map. I glued the map down on to an 8 x 10 canvas using acrylic medium and then drew out the sign. I think the map background adds a cool and unique look. The Horseshoe Lounge is a little dive on the south side of Austin. I've always liked the sign, and thought it would make a great painting. It was my first attempt at doing the old neon signs. I have done quite a few more since. I'll post them later. Slaid Cleaves has a song called "Horseshoe Lounge". It is usually in my head when I look at this work. Good stuff.

Summer Gumbo

It was 104 yesterday here in Dallas...and no, it's not a dry heat. I decided to make a huge pot of gumbo. I have had a recipe that was burning a hole in my pocket ever since I got it in June. My cousin's girlfriend...well fiancée now is from Lafayette, Louisiana and she made up some gumbo while we were in Colorado a month ago. It was delicious! Some of the best I've ever had. I of course hounded her for the recipe. She was nice enough to share it and write it out for me. I decided last night was as good as any to give it a whirl. It was very easy to make and turned out great. I may play around with some of the ingredients to put my own spin on it. I think I'll have some for lunch today too. E-mail me if you would like to try it for yourself....I'll send you a copy of the recipe.

Tomorrow Seth Apter of the very cool blog The Altered Page is doing a feature called Buried Treasure. He will be showcasing numerous art blogs and posts from the past. Be sure and check it out. I'm going to put an older art post or two on my site for tomorrow for the project.

25:28 - The hill was tough today. I'm hoping that the 5K course in McKinney is flat....I don't think I would know what to do if I didn't have to run up a large hill to start my run every morning.

Lone Star Beer Bottle Cap

Here is a watercolor painting that I did many years ago of one of my old Lone Star Beer bottle caps. I found this under some old books while I was cleaning. What a gem!

17:22 - 2 mile run today. Felt very sluggish. I played some basketball Sunday night....legs felt a little heavy. I did register for an upcoming 5K race in McKinney, Texas on August 8th. I now have something to shoot for and a time to beat. I like the t-shirt design and the fact that the race is in the historic district.

Studio Clean Up Day #2

Tomorrow's work...need any sports pages from any big Texas Tech victories? I got em.

The corner of doom.

Am I the only one that has 4 shoeboxes full of postcards, coasters, ticket stubs, decals, and other small paper items? I love these boxes.

The new bookshelf.....can't wait to fill it up....neatly of course.

Well I decided to go ahead a dig in a little today and see if I could make a little progress with cleaning up my studio/office. I tackled two more sections today. I was trying to organize some of my books. I have a lot of books that I keep around for future collages. I also have tons of art, sports, Texana, and history books that I enjoy having around for my personal use. Around lunch time today we went over to IKEA, which is about 5 minutes from the house. It's our annual trip to browse. I caved in a bought a new book shelf for my room to help "clear the clutter" if you will. I put it together in about 2o minutes and then I started going through my other bookshelves to divide up the books. Tomorrow I'm going to hit my newspaper, magazine, and program collection. I'm also looking for stuff to possibly sell on EBAY. Above are some pics of the new bookshelf and some of the paper stuff I'm going to sift through tomorrow.

7-11 - Free Slurpee Day

Don't forget to go pick up your free 7 .11 oz. Slurpee at 7-11 today. We've gone twice already....and it's only 5:19.

7/11/09 - 25:50 - Felt sluggish today, but my time was the best yet....even after that huge Tex-Mex dinner at Luna De Noche last night....yum!

Lone Star Texas Flags - Cleaning Out the Studio

I'm in the process of cleaning out and organizing my studio/office....ugh. All of you artists know what I mean. I have so much stuff packed away because I may use it sometime.....yeah right. I got to one corner of my room today and I did actually find some stuff to trash.......but this was the easy corner....the least cluttered. This is going to take a while but I'm determined to comb through the unwanted or useless stuff. Today I found a ton of old paintings and drawings from 10+ years. The pics above are some of my favorites that I haven't seen in years. I'll post some more old school stuff later on...this might be fun to reminisce.

The The King Bucks - Dallas, Texas - Honky Tonk Music At It's Best.

Tonight I went and watched The King Bucks play at Hank's in McKinney. All I can say is wow! I saw these guys open up for Ryan Bingham back in May at the Granada and I liked what I heard....so I went back to make sure my ear was correct. It was. The King Bucks play old school honky tonk music that I can't seem to get enough of. They are all very talented musicians that share the spotlight throughout the show. To all my Dallas area readers...if there are any out there.....get out and see these guys....you will not be disappointed...and let me know if you go because I'll go too.

I promise that next week I'm going to start a new painting. I've been entertaining my two children all week, which can be a challenge at times.....but fun of course! Next week I should be able to get a little more time for art in my life. Seems like recently all I've had going on is food, music, and food. Which is not always a bad thing!

Colorado Purchase - Elk Antlers

While we were in Castle Rock, Colorado we did a little shopping at The Barn.....you know looking for junky trinkets and such. My wife and I had been talking recently about finding some antlers to put up in our house.....to kind of give it that Georgia O'Keefe vibe. I wanted an old deer skull with antlers, but Carrie wanted just antlers. We found a good compromise in Castle Rock at The Barn. A huge rack of elk antlers mounted on the wall. They were a little bigger than we had originally planned on, but he price was right and I thought they looked cool. The picture above is the rack a few weeks ago when I bought them. I'm going to take all the fur off of the skull before we hang them inside. I'll post a pic of the antlers in their final indoor resting place once I get it finished.

7/8/09 - 26:27 - One full minute off of Monday's run. Don't think I can keep that going too long before it levels off somewhat.

Chicago Hot Dog

One thing that I was most looking forward to when I visited Chicago was having an authentic Chicago style hot dog. I can now mark that off the list. If you are unfamiliar with the Chicago style hot dogs....here is a quick run down.

Steamed poppy seed hot dog bun
All beef hot dog- Vienna Beef
Yellow mustard
Chopped white onion (raw)
Neon green relish
Sport peppers
Tomato wedges
Crisp kosher dill pickle spear
Dash of celery salt

I had my dog within the confines of Wrigley Field and it was delicious!

4th of July - New Braunfels, Texas

Tom Gillam at Gruene Hall on July 4th in the afternoon.

Me and John Evans.....I knew I should have worn my other glasses!

The John Evans Band - or J-E-B

The 4th of July Parade

Tubing the Comal River....and no those are not my feet.

My family and I just got back from visiting the folks down in New Braunfels, Texas. It was a great week. It was over 100 degrees everyday. Some of the highlights include:

* Seeing the John Evans Band perform for free at Billy's Ice House.

* Going to Gruene Hall to catch Bo Porter on Thursday afternoon and Tom Gillam on Sat.

* Tubing the Comal River - very refreshing. If you've never done it....what are you waiting for?

* The New Braunfels 4th of July Parade and fireworks...this town knows how to celebrate.

* Hitting the San Marcos outlet malls with my wife.

* Celebrating my 37th birthday on July 5th with my family...mom's homemade ice cream was

off the hook!

I'm also determined to get into my running routine again. I have a 3.15 mi. course that I jog around my neighborhood. I'm going to try and post my time everyday that I run this course. I try to do it every other day. Maybe this will hold me accountable for going.

7/6/09 - 27:28

Week Off

I'm hanging out in south Texas all week with the family. Enjoy the your 4th of July. Next week, I'll get this thing rolling again.

Estate Sale Finds - #1 Summer 2009

I've been out of town for the last few weeks and I haven't been able to get out to many estate sales this year like I usually do in the early part of summer. This morning I woke up at 6 A.M. and split for an estate sale I read about in the newspaper. It was supposed to open at 8 and I wanted to make sure I got there early....I did...try 6:45. The good thing was that they were already open. So I didn't have to mill around, listen to my ipod, read the paper or anything like that. The guys running the sale were major collectors and had some very unique items. I found some really great things and the prices were very reasonable. I picked up some old railroad paper stuff - schedules, maps, letters, and magazines. I'm going to be using some of these in my new paintings as backgrounds. I also picked up about 50-60 old postcards from New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado. One of the coolest things that I got was a bag of hundreds of old black and white photographs...some of these are from the early 1900's.....very, very cool. Finally, I snagged some old beer coasters, old travel guides, and a few Arizona Highway magazines from the 50's. Total cash money spent for the day $35. Not too shabby. This trip today has got me fired up to do some more junkin' in the upcoming weeks. The pic above is the booty from today.

Cave Hike - Little Squaw Resort

View of the cave from the cabin

The cave, or as we found out...the overhang.

The view of the cabins from the cave rim.....yes, it was way up there!

My cousin Andrew and I took on a challenge while we were in Colorado. There is a cave that is at the top of a very large mesa across from our cabins. It appears to be so close and easy to get to. Wrong! The climb was very steep and there was shale all the way up which made it very tricky for finding good footing. It was absolutely exhausting...and I'm in decent shape or so I thought. It took us about 40 minutes to reach the cave and about 15 minutes to get down, using the slide technique. Above are some pictures from our mini adventure. The view from the top was worth it though.

Chicago Dinner #2 - Lucky's Sandwich Company

Man vs. Food hype!

$7.00, are you kidding me?

Where is the bottom of this sandwich? Hint, you can't see it.

After the Friday afternoon Cub's game which had an hour and a half rain delay, we walked down Clark St. and slipped into Lucky's before the rain started up again. Lucky's is the home of some of the biggest sandwiches that you have ever seen. They are packed with meat and cheese along with a couple of handfuls of fresh cut french fries and cole slaw. The best thing about them is that they are only $7. They have a challenge that if you can eat 3 of them in an hour you get your picture on the wall of fame along with some other goodies I'm sure. Adam from the Travel Channel show "Man vs. Food" knocked it out with no problem on an episode earlier this season. I opted not to try the challenge but I did knock off one sandwich in about 20 minutes and it was delicious! This was a great after game meal.

Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine

2009 issue

1960 issueMid June means one thing to Texans.....well maybe two. The beginning of stifling heat and the arrival of Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine. This the bible to everything Texas football. It has a write up on every high school, college, and pro team in the state of Texas. I look forward to it every year. I even collect the issues. The first issue came out in 1960. I have this issue proudly displayed in my office. I have 46 of the 49 issues. I'm missing 1961, '62, '63. Here is a run down of the coverboys. I can find them on EBAY or here but I'm not quite ready to drop $300-$500 per issue. I'll keep looking for them at estate sales and see what happens. In the mean time go pick up you copy today and get schooled on your Texas football so you are ready to go in the fall.

Chicago Dinner #1 - Giordano's Stuffed Pizza

When you go to Chicago, you've got to get ya some deep dish pizza. We settled on Giordano's over a couple of other recommended pizza places. It was an hour and a half wait, but well worth it! After 45 minutes of waiting you place your order. We went with the supreme of course. When you are seated, the pizza is ready. It seemed a little confusing to me, but hey had this system down. The pizza was outstanding. I could only eat two pieces.....what seemed to be about 5lbs. worth. It was even better warmed up in the hotel microwave the next morning for a pre-breakfast snack.

On a side note, check out Veronica Funk's blog. She's gonna give away a great painting to some lucky person...maybe even you.

Back In The Saddle - Cubs Win! Cubs Win! Holy Cow!

Rain delay

Cub fan and a Bud man!

Fukudome 4 for 5 Saturday!

Historic marquee

Can you say extra innings? Oh yeah!

Well, I just got back in town this afternoon. I have been in Chicago since Thursday morning. I went to watch my beloved Cubbies play and of course bring some Texas mojo to Wrigley Field. I'm excited to say that I was 3-0 at Wrigley Field. Every game was a walk off win. Two of the games went into extra innings......free baseball in my book. It was the last time since 1946 that the Cubs had won 3 walk off games consecutively. It was also one of only 6 times in the last 60 years that any team had won consecutive games after trailing by 4 or more runs going into the eighth inning. Losing 5-1 in the 8th to the Sox, won 6-5. Losing 7-0 to the Indians, won 8-7 in 10. These were some of the most exciting Cubs games back to back ever and I feel lucky to have witnessed them live. Above are a few pics from the ballgames. I'll talk about the food and drinks later on this week.....needless to say I need to run tomorrow. This was probably the best sports trip I've ever taken.

Snow in June

View of the snow from the cabin

View at the end of the Rio Grande Reservoir

Moose near the cabin.

Last week at this time we were enjoying some huge snow flakes along the Rio Grande in Colorado.....boy what a change in a week. We finally made it back to Dallas this afternoon. It must be like 100 degrees or something...ugh. We are now all unpacked and I'm about to pack again for my next adventure. I'm heading up to Chicago in the morning to take in 3 Cubs games at Wrigley with some friends of mine. Should be a great time! I'll share some stuff next week about the trips.

Colorado Bound

I'll be in the mountains of Colorado for the next 10 days. So don't expect much from JT in the next week or so. I may share some small blurbs here and there from my mobile phone. Above is a pic of my home for the next week. It sits about 100 yards from the Rio Grande.

Friday Night Concert - Eleven Hundred Springs

Friday night we met up with some friends and took the kids out to our local summer concert series. It was a blast as usual. It didn't hurt that one of my favorite bands was playing.....Eleven Hundred Springs. There was a huge turnout, there must have been like 1000 people out there. The weather was great, the music was great, and everyone had a fun time. Above is my daughter in the mosh pit.

"Rolling Out" is Finished!

My new painting, Rolling Out is now complete. Today I put on the rust and banged it up a little. I'm gonna do a few sweeps through and check for any tiny detail corrections, but for the most part, I'm finished. It's acrylic on a 20" x 20"gallery wrapped canvas. I'm very pleased with how it looks. I love to use bright reds in my paintings...they really pop!

Summer Break Is Here!

I put some more detail work into the "El" painting. I haven't decided on a title for this piece yet, but it will come to me soon I'm sure. I still have some wear and tear work to put on the sign....I need to make it look a little rusty and beat up. Well, tomorrow is my last day of school....so I'll be able to get some more artwork created when I'm in town this summer. Summer vacation is definitely a huge perk of the job! I must say I'm very excited about the "Summer of Jeb" Part 13 that is upon me.

Texas Music Magazine

One of my favorite magazines that I've been getting for years is Texas Music. It is a comprehensive look at music throughout the state. It has great articles, interviews, reviews, and news from all your favorite Texas musicians. It even comes with a CD in each issue. The CD usually contains some up and coming Texas artists with a couple of old-timers thrown in there as well. The magazine comes out 4 times a year. I look forward to it every quarter.....it makes for a few hours of quality reading! Go grab a copy and see what you think.

Speaking of great Texas music. Ryan Bingham's new album Roadhouse Sun is out today. Listen to it here, and then go download your faves. That's what I plan on doing this afternoon. Or even better, if you are down in the Big Bend region tonight, go check him out with the awesome Flatlanders at the Starlight Theater in Terlingua....or in Lubbock on Wednesday, June 3rd. Sorry Mike, can't make it...have fun and give me the rundown!

El Sign Painting - Update

I made some progress today on my El painting. I began adding the light bulbs, holes, shadows and so forth. I've still got quite a few detail stuff to work out, but overall I'm pleased with my progress today and the overall look of the painting.....it's getting there. Here's the story behind it if you missed it.

Truck Bed - Little Squaw Resort

Here is an image from our Colorado trip last June. We stay in some cabins along the Rio Grande about 30 miles from Creede. It is an old Ford truck bed that was transformed into a trailer. We started packing today for this year's trip. Next week at this time we will be there. There is no cell phone service or Internet, so junky trinkets will close up shop for a few days beginning this weekend. Getting away from technology for a while is actually pretty nice. We will have our XM radio there in case we need some tunes or if I need to check the Cubs scores.

Friday Favorite - Susan Bennerstrom Part 2

Susan Bennerstrom has new work out. She is wrapping up a show at the Terrence Rogers Gallery in Santa Monica, California this weekend. Such simple subject matter....huge results! One of my all time favorites! Check it out.

North Texas Sky

Here is a small 6 x 9 oil pastel landscape that I did today. It is based on the sky I could see yesterday from my window at work. The sky was filled with small clouds that had purplish shadows. I have quite a nice view from my window at work...if you look over the parking lot.

Wednesday Confession: Tejano Music & The Texas Tornados

I have a secret. I like Conjunto/Tejano music. I sometimes twist my radio dial to the local Spanish station and crank it up. Well, maybe not crank it, but listen to it at a normal decibel level. All you need is an accordion, a 12 string guitar, a bass, maybe an organ, and some drums.....and there you go.....of course some of the lyrics need to be in Spanish too....that helps. Today on my way to work I plugged in the Best of the Texas Tornados CD. This group consists of Augie Meyers, the late Freddy Fender, Flaco Jimenez, and the late and great Doug Sahm. There is just something about this group that screams out south Texas. Each of these guys has had success in other projects or solo careers before forming the Texas Tornados. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail on these guys because it would take more room than I'd like to use today. This was a very talented group to say the least. Doug Sahm is about as Texan as you can get. Flaco is basically the king of Conjunto music (that dude can play the accordion!) Of course how can you forget Freddy Fender? the #1 hit "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" & my favorite, "Rancho Grande"...classic. This is great summer music. Pop open a Dos Equis and enjoy.

Track List (Click to Listen):

1 Who Were You Thinkin' Of?
2 (Hey Baby) Que Paso
3 Wasted Days and Wasted Nights
4 Guacomole
5 La Mucura
6 Adios Mexico
7 Mentiras
8 (Is Anybody Going To) San Antone
9 A Mover el Bote
10 Una Mas Cerveza
11 Soy de San Luis

Sketchbook Entry - Interlocking Sculpture

This is a sketch I did a little while back of a small sculpture. I think the image came from a Collector's Guide from a few years ago. This would look cool in my future prefab modern home in Colorado.

Memorial Day

This is one of my favorite photographs of all time. If you haven't read Flags of our Fathers, I strongly suggest it. It will put things in perspective. My grandfather fought at Iwo Jima so it really hits home for me.....it's amazing that I am even here.

"Steal the Sideshow" - Del Mar Theater - Santa Cruz

Steal the Sideshow

One of my photos of the sign

My new painting, Steal The Sideshow is now finished....finally. I've been piddling with it for months.....or more like letting it sit around for months. The painting is from a photograph I took two years ago in Santa Cruz, California of the Del Mar Theater sign. I cropped it down to just two letters, the "M" and the "A" of the word MAR. The painting is acrylic on a 12" x 12" gallery wrapped canvas with an 1.5" edge. Now on to the next painting that has been sitting around.

Saturday Nights in the Hill Country - Gruene Hall

There is no better place to be in Texas on a Saturday night than Gruene Hall. I wish I was there right now. Above are a few pics from last fall of the historic dancehall in my hometown. Happy Birthday Carrie!

Friday Favorites - Dwell Magazine

I've always had this thing for architecture and design as far back as I can remember. I went to Texas Tech University and finished 2 years in their architecture school before I decided to switch majors and get into education. I'm also a huge fan of architectural artwork. I love to look at paintings of buildings, bridges, and homes. One way I get my monthly hit of architecture is through Dwell Magazine. Dwell focuses on modern architecture and design. Now some of the stuff in Dwell is a little too modern for my taste, but a lot of it is really appealing to me. I'm not a minimalist at all....I can't be, I'm an artist and I have trouble throwing things away.......so I can't always relate to some of the homes that have like one white vase on a white table. I have recently been dreaming up ideas about placing a cool modern style prefab home in the middle a Colorado mountain valley or somewhere in the Big Bend region. That would be cool! Maybe some day. I've been getting Dwell for about three years now and I look forward to it every month. It's a great way for me to keep up with what is going on in modern architecture through their interesting articles and outstanding photographs.

Marathon Truck - Marathon, Texas

Here is a photo I took a few years back of an old broken down truck on the side of the road in Marathon, Texas. I love this photo. I had it as my screen saver for years. It captures how wide open the land and sky is out there.

Del Mar Neon Sign Update

Well, I finally got around to working on one my unfinished paintings yesterday. I've been putting it off because I was dreading the small detail stuff. I still have a ways to go, but I did put a little dent in it. I did a few posts about this same painting a while back that are here and here.

Did I just have the best pizza in Dallas? - Louie's Dallas, Texas

Louie's on Henderson

Thin and delicious

Saturday night before our trip over to the Ice House Cultural Center for the photography exhibit we made a pit stop to meet my brother for some pizza. The place we chose was Louie's. We heard about Louie's on the Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. This is one of my favorite shows. I've seen them all and take mental notes for future trips. Well, a few months ago they featured Louie's and the people they interviewed on the show were raving about how good the pizza was....saying it was the best in Dallas. We had to try it and did. Louie's is a small, dark, and cozy place. It was packed at 5:30. It's got and old school feel with a lot of Chicago memorabilia on the walls....my kind of place. We ordered one pepperoni and jalapeno pizza and one sausage pizza. The crust is buttery and super thin. I must say, it was awesome! We all kind of looked at each other and said, "Why haven't we been coming here the last 13 years?"....we've been missing out. Word to the wise, Louie's doesn't take Visa or Mastercard, just cash money and American Express. When you are in Dallas, you must check out this legit hole in the wall. Then you can ask yourself, "Did I just have the best pizza in Dallas?" It was pretty dang good to me. We will be back, that is for sure.

Ice House Cultural Center

Last night my wife and I were able to get out and go check out a great photography exhibit at the Ice House Cultural Center in Dallas. My friend, Pernie's husband, Guy was a part of the show, so we wanted to make sure and check it out. It was a real cozy little gallery down in Oak Cliff in the middle of a neighborhood. The exhibit consisted of black and white photos from local photographers. There was some really nice work there. I took a few pictures from the show and also tried my hand at some black and white images on my way back out to the car. We also had some outstanding pizza before the show off of lower Greenville. I'll dedicate a post to that later.

Half Price Books Warehouse - Part 2

I went down to the HPBW again to look for some good collage material for some upcoming projects. I had a pretty good day. I picked up about 15-20 books today. The weather was cool and rainy, but that didn't keep there from being a decent size crowd to deal with during the hunt. I picked up a couple of old atlases, an old anatomy book, a couple plant/gardening books, and tons of old sheet music. I'm going to make a strong effort to finish up the two paintings I've started and move on to some new mixed media stuff very soon.

Boys Day Out - Golf and the Texas Rangers

Every year in May, some friends and I get together and go play golf and then go to an afternoon Texas Rangers game. Today was the day. Here are the highlights:

5:20 - Wake up

6:00-7:00 - Eat 3 pancakes, 3 fried eggs, 4 sausage links at IHOP.

8:00 - Tee off at Riverside Golf Course

8:35 - First and only par of the day on hole 3

9:10 - First banquet beer of the day.

12:00 - Finish round and change clothes in parking lot (flip flops and Cubby shirt)

1:05 - First pitch

3:17 - Rangers win on a 2 run homer in the bottom of the ninth!!! Great game!

3:30-5:00 - Traffic! (it's awful in Arlington) - took a brief nap

5:16 - Blue Moon at Stan's

All in all, another successful boys day out!

Ryan Bingham - Roadhouse Sun - Sneak Peek!

We interrupt this normal blogcast to bring you an important special announcement. Ryan Bingham's new album Roadhouse Sun that comes out June 2nd is here to listen to in it's entirety. Sweet!!! Enjoy! Listen to "Day is Done" and "Hey Hey Hurray" and let me know what you think. Now back to your regularly scheduled blog.

Danny O - Daniel O'Connor - Magazine Collage Artist

" Lets Play Two" - Daniel O'Connor

In my classes I needed a quick 2-3 day assignment to do after our printmaking unit. I came up with something rather simple that would be a good break from the usual drawing and painting assignments that we have been doing lately. Cut up magazine collages were the answer. We are using Daniel O'Connor as our inspiration. I stumbled upon Danny's work about 4 years ago while I was searching for Chicago Cubs artwork. He has some fantastic stuff on his website! Above is my favorite piece of his.....The Friendly Confines....Wrigley Field. 36 more days and I'll be there! Not that I am counting down the days or anything. I'll be at the Texas Rangers game tomorrow afternoon to get a little taste of baseball. It's our annual boys get-a-way trip. Should be fun as usual!

Travel Tuesday - Poe's Tavern - Sullivan Island, SC

I've been thinking about travel a lot lately. Summer is on the horizon and I've got some nice little get-a-ways planned in the upcoming weeks. Summer vacation is the one of the main perks of being a teacher, right? I like to take full advantage of my time off. As I thought about past summer trips, one came to mind rather quickly. It was our trip to Charleston, South Carolina. Beautiful architecture and historical sights everywhere. The food was excellent as well! One of the highlights was our evening on Sullivan Island. We stumbled onto a cool little hangout called Poe's Tavern. It was real laid back and had great food and drinks. We sat on the patio and talked while the ocean breeze cooled us off. It's named after Edgar Allan Poe, who was stationed there for a year or so while he was in the Army. If you've never been to the Carolina coast, you are missing out. It is really nice!

Old New Mexico Chapel - Sketchbook

Here is a sketchbook entry from a little while back. I basically just came up with this image in my head and put it down. I imagine this scene somewhere in the foothills of New Mexico. It measures 5 x 7. I wish I was there now actually.

Happy Mother's Day - Georgia O'Keefe Flowers

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. I thought I'd put some nice images of flowers on the post today from one of the best.......Georgia O'Keefe. Enjoy.

Old 97's - Taste Addison 2009

My sweet new shirt! Shiner Bock style!

Rhett and the boys tearing it up.

Alrighty, I just got back from the show and it was great. I mean really good. This is my band man. I don't really care about anyone else. Well, maybe Willie but you know what I mean. Old 97's played Taste Addison tonight in front of a packed crowd. The weather was perfect....nice breeze...perfect! Taste Addison is the best festival in Dallas every year...hands down. Great food, atmosphere, and of course music. Two dollar Shiners in a can.....are you kiddin'? Awesome. We've gone almost every year since we've lived in the Dallas area. We'll probably go again tomorrow. Anyway, let's focus on tonight. Old 97's played for about an hour and five minutes. They completely tore it up. I actually got to visit with Murray Hammond (bass player) before the show. We talked shop.....he said, "no new stuff tonight, is that okay?" I said, " just do your thing, I like the old stuff".....he responded, "you got it" I was in the front row of course with all the other diehards....good times. You can't beat a 97's show. I'm still pumped.

Below is the set list.

"Won't Be Home" - Leigh, you like this one right?

"Barrier Reef" - best sing-along tune as always

"Buick City Complex" - from Satellite Rides...good stuff

"Salome" - beautiful

"Crash on the Barrelhead" - Murray solo

"Dance With Me"

"Big Brown Eyes" - classic

"Early Morning" - good one from the new album

"Wish The Worst" - favorite song of the night.

"Weightless"

"Victoria"- oh yeah

"My Two Feet" - great song on new album

"Smokers" - Murray solo

"Rollerskate Skinny" - one of my faves

"The Easy Way" - favorite song of new album

"Timebomb" - always the last song

Old 97's - Wreck Your Life

Old 97's are my favorite band. I'm going to see them tonight in Addison. If you've never heard of them make sure and check them out. Wreck Your Life is their second album. It's a great album for you to get acquainted with their unique sound....classic Old 97's if you will. My favorite songs on this one would have to be, "Doreen", "Victoria" and "Over The Cliff" This CD is money! Enough said. I'll try and post some pics from the show tomorrow.

Track List:

"Victoria" - 3:51
"The Other Shoe" - 2:58
"Doreen" - 3:43
"You Belong To My Heart" - 3:05
"Big Brown Eyes" - 4:25
"Dressing Room Walls" - 3:55
"W-I-F-E" - 3:32
"Bel Air" - 4:05
"My Sweet Blue-Eyed Darlin" - 2:15
"Old Familiar Steam" - 3:58
"Over The Cliff" - 3:19
"Goin', Goin', Gone" - 3:54

Thursday Throwback Tunes - Jason Boland and The Stragglers - Pearl Snaps

I thought I'd let you in on what I was listening to today on my way to work. I listen to music on my way to work. No talk radio, no sports talk, no news radio, no financial get outta debt radio.....no talking please! I want tunes while I'm driving! The best tunes come from my CD collection or The Range. Today's selection: Pearl Snaps by Jason Boland and The Stragglers. The first time I saw Jason Boland and the Stragglers was at Bill's Records and Tapes in Dallas, Texas back in 2000. There were maybe 60 people there. Cross Canadian Ragweed was there in the audience and no one even knew who they were. Everyone knows now. I've been a fan of both ever since that day. I still think their first album, Pearl Snaps is the best. JB&S still play all over Texas......go see them! I've seen them at least a dozen times. I think my favorite JB&S show was in Austin at Stubb's BBQ back in 2002. They played inside after Willie Nelson wrapped his show up outside. It was an awesome show! What a fun night. Going to see Old 97's tomorrow in Addison....can't wait!

"And the rays of light through my Shiner Bock bottle make me wanna turn the key and put down the throttle.....and get lost down 35"

Pearl Snaps Track list:
1. Somewhere Down In Texas
2. Drinkin' Song
3. Pearl Snaps
4. Proud Souls
5. Ponies
6. Backslider Blues
7. Telephone Romeo
8. Devil Pays In Gold
9. If I Ever Get Back To Oklahoma
10. No Damn Good
11. Change In The Weather

Texas Grill - Watercolor

This is painting I finished yesterday. It was done with Pigma Microns and watercolors. It measures 5 x 7. Its the sign from the Texas Grill in Ballinger, Texas. I used to eat there a lot during my college days. It was the mid-way point of my drive from Texas Tech to my hometown of New Braunfels. They had a really good chicken fried steak as I remember. I'll never forget the time I found a large carpet ball deep fried in my french fry basket. I tossed it out and kept eating. Good times!

Happy Cinco de Mayo - Mexican Food Favorites

I've always thought it would be fun to be a food critic and give my two cents worth since I love food so much. I consider myself to be somewhat savvy in the world of Tex-Mex dining. I know you won't all agree with my choices....but it is my my blog and your comments and other recommendations are welcome....I'm always up for trying new places or debating food. Here is my list of top Mexican food places I've been to, categorized by food item.

Chips: Matt's Rancho Martinez - Dallas, Texas - Thin & salty.....perfect!

Queso: Herbert's Taco Hut - San Marcos, Texas - thick and spicy....not soupy.

Salsa: Hacienda Colorado - Denver, Colorado & Chuy's - TX - Both fresh and spicy

Salsa Verde: Luna de Noche - Dallas, Texas - Green, cilantro heavy addicting salsa

Guacamole: Red's Patio Grill - Plano, Texas - My wife swears by it!

Tortillas: Alamo Cafe - San Antonio, Texas - nothing beats a hot one off the comal!

Pastries: Mi Tierra - San Antonio, Texas - this is heaven for a sweet tooth.

Breakfast Burrito: Isabel's Cafe - Port Isabel, Texas - biggest tortilla you've ever seen!

Tacos al Carbon: Ricardo's - Allen, Texas - marinated all night in pico de gallo!

Enchiladas: Abuelo's - Lubbock, Texas - on the money and outstanding cheese!

Fajitas: Mi Cocina - Dallas, Texas - The sunset fajitas are awesome!!!! All time favorite dish!

Brisket Tacos: Luna de Noche - Dallas, Texas

Fast Food / Late night Tex-Mex: Taco Cabana - Hungry at 3 A.M.? Try the Super Tex Mex!

Now that you are hungry go out and get some Tex-Mex!

Marfa Monday - Pizza Foundation

View of Marfa from the top of the courthouse

Looking for some solid pizza in the Big Bend region? Pizza Foundation in Marfa is all you need. PF sits on San Antonio street in a remodeled gas station. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but I promise you, they serve some of the best pizza around. They have outstanding salads as well. They also are open most of the week. A lot of restaurants in Marfa are only open Wednesdays thru Saturdays. So Pizza Foundation is a great place to eat early in the week if you are around.....or late in the week....it's that good, trust me. We ate there the last time that we were in town and couldn't get over how good it was. It's a must when you stop through town.

Sunday Funday - Studio Peek - Lounge Vibe

What sits above my computer monitor on the wall of my studio? My sweet LOUNGE box lamp and my Texas Tech helmet plaque. These are two of my favorite things in my studio. Both are Ebay purchases from a few years ago. The LOUNGE sign is lit up as I write this. Nice touch.

Cottonwood Art Festival - Richardson, Texas

Me and Jennifer Cavan

Cottonwood Park

Today we hit the Cottonwood Art Festival in Richardson, Texas. This is an art festival that happens twice a year at Cottonwood Park. It is a really great festival in a beautiful setting with hundreds of artists, tons of food, and good music. We make a point to get out there at least once a year. Highlights this year included visiting with one of my favorite artists, Jennifer Cavan. She is a very talented oil pastel artist with some great southwestern landscape paintings. She also has a cool blog. Another artist that I visited with was Brice McCasland. He had some great mixed media paintings that deserve a long look. Check these artists out when you get a chance.

Marfa Water Tower - Soft Cut Block Print

Here is a small 5 x 7 print I pulled today. It is an image of the Marfa, Texas water tower. I may still work on it a little bit and clean some areas if I can. We are doing printmaking in my classes and I needed to do an example to show my students. If I print it on some altered paper or with a watercolor wash or something, I'll post those too.

Thursday Throwbacks - Red Masonry Star

Here is a red masonry star that I did about 5 years ago. It is on 24" x 24" canvas. It was one of my very first attempts at acrylic on canvas. We still have it hanging up in the house. It has a partner as well.....that would be the green masonry star. I'll post it at a later time.

Gruene Hall - Schmap Picture Selection

I received an e-mail this morning informing me that one of my photos has been selected for a short list for a Schmap online San Antonio guide. Schmap is a combination of maps, pictures, and reviews of places all over the world. Above is the picture of Gruene Hall that was selected. I took it on Thanksgiving morning 2008. It is definitely one of my favorite spots in Texas. So I guess we'll wait and see if it gets selected for the San Antonio guide.

El Rancho Motel Sign - Watercolor

Here is the latest in my series of 5 x 7 neon sign watercolors. I'm going to try and punch out a couple more this week. Stay tuned.

Ryan Bingham at The Granada Theater

It was a school night last night, but that didn't keep me and a buddy from going to see one of our new favorites.....Ryan Bingham, perform last night at the Granada Theater. Ryan tore it up and had the packed house rocking (see if you can find me in the pic 0986f in the top left hand corner-tall bald headed dude). It was truly a great show. I strongly encourage that you check out his music and see what you think. The opening bands were The King Bucks and the Rustlanders. The King Bucks were really good. They had a great sound and an eclectic mix of tunes. It was a little rough rolling out of bed this morning since I'm not usually up past 1 AM on school nights, but I bounced back like a champ and would do it again in a heartbeat. If nothing else, this got me ready to go out a see some more live music very soon.

Fried Cheese Please - Spanky's - Lubbock, Texas

Where's the first place we always stop when we arrive in Lubbock? Spanky's. They are located right across from Texas Tech on University Ave. It's been a favorite of mine since college. They are known for their fried cheese and great burgers. Here's a pic from Friday night.

Ebay Selling Highlights - Part 2 - Dallas Cowboys vs. Green Bay Packers Program NFL Championship Game 1967

I mentioned a while back that I would highlight some of my best estate sale finds in the coming weeks. Here we go! I picked up this program at an estate sale in University Park. It was in a dusty old box in the garage. I paid $1.00 for the program. It is a program from the Dallas Cowboys vs. Green Bay Packers NFL Championship Game at the Cotton Bowl in 1967. Eleven months later, these two teams met again in the same game in Green Bay in a game dubbed the "Ice Bowl".....maybe you've heard of it? Sale price for the program on Ebay= $152.50. Not a bad little profit. Estate sale hunting is a great summer job! Hopefully in the coming weeks I can get out to some sales and find some more treasures. I'll keep ya posted. I'm off to Lubbock tomorrow to see some family....I miss the good ole "Hub City"

Small Watercolor Landscape - New Mexico Hills

Here's a small watercolor landscape that I did yesterday. It measures 2.5" x 4" It is a fictional location, but looks like it could be in New Mexico somewhere. In case you were wondering, I went with the Tex-Mex last night instead of the chicken fried steak. Next eating holiday on the horizon.....Cinco de Mayo.....counting down the days!

Happy San Jacinto Day! - April 21, 1836

Battle of San Jacinto highlights that I find interesting:

1) "Remember the Alamo" & "Remember Goliad" were the battle cries!

2) The Mexican army camped with their back to a swamp...no escape route....nice tactic

3) Sam Houston decides to attack mid afternoon....during siesta time...brilliant tactic!

4) Battle lasts 18 minutes.....If you call it a battle.

5) Sam Houston's ankle is shattered by a musket ball and goes through 3 horses.

6) Santa Anna is found hiding the next day....nice leadership.

7) Mexico recognizes Texas as free and independent.

8) The Republic of Texas is born soon after and lasts until 1845...even though we were a terrible country, we were a country once....that's always a resume booster.

How do you celebrate San Jacinto Day you may ask? Food of course....Go out and get you some Tex-Mex or a big ole chicken fried steak....that's what I'm doing tonight. Remember San Jacinto!

Marfa Monday - Marfa Film Festival

NCFOM - filmed near Marfa

If you got some time on your hands next week check out the Marfa Film Festival. Good luck finding a place to stay....you might have to rough it. It looks really cool, I may have to add this event to the social calendar in the next couple of years. Let me know if anyone goes, I'd love to hear about it.

Houston Trip

Texas High School State Qualifying Art Exhibit

McClain Gallery - David Baechler- Large Green Cone for only $75,000

Rudolph Projects/ArtScan Gallery - Lillian Warren

Montrose 4411 - John Sturtvant - The Singularity

June bug plague

Alrighty, I'm back in North Texas after a quick 2 day trip to Houston. Houston is not one of my favorite places by any means. Traffic, flooding, humidity....take your pick. On Friday we were able to visit 8 contemporary art galleries in the Richmond/Montrose Blvd. area of town. We saw some great art in our 2 hours of browsing. Some of the highlights were the McClain Gallery, Rudolph Projects/Artscan Gallery, Sicardi Gallery, and the 4 galleries at 4411 Montrose Blvd. The state art competition was on Saturday and it turned out to be quite a success. Our students all received the highest rating of 4 on their pieces and were awarded medals. The state qualifying high school artwork in Texas is phenomenal. Highlights of the trip include: 1) June bug plague in Fairfield, Texas....there must have been thousands upon thousands of them at a gas station we stopped at. 2) Eating out all meals: Freebirds wins this category. 3) the art galleries. Lowlights: 1) down pours of rain, hail and flooding while driving in bumper to bumper traffic. 2) 6 A.M. wake up call 3) local radio stations. Great time overall! Above are some of the pics from the trip.

Idaho Motel Sign - Watercolor

Here is a sign that is found in Pocatello, Idaho. I found it to be a rather interesting composition. This is the latest in my 5 x 7 ink and watercolor series. I'll be traveling to Houston tomorrow for the Texas state art competition. We are taking 4 very talented students down to "H Town" to compete. We will be hitting some great galleries tomorrow near Rice University. I'll make sure and take a lot of pictures while we are there. I'll be back in a few days.

Dreamland BBQ Sauce

I mentioned a few weeks ago that we had visited Dreamland BBQ in Birmingham, Alabama. They are known for their world famous ribs. They were great! So good in fact that I decided to buy some Dreamland BBQ sauce to try and reenact the taste back here in Texas when I make my ribs. So before we left Birmingham I went into the local Piggly Wiggly and bought a jar of it. It wasn't until the cashier rang it up that I realized that I had just dropped $11 on a jar of BBQ sauce! I couldn't return it because I craved it. I mean I could have picked up a Piggly Wiggly shirt that said "What Happens At The Pig, Stays At The Pig" for $10....one dollar less. I went with the sauce. We've had it a couple of times already with some pork and chicken.....and it's good......but is it $11 good? It's a big enough jug of it....so it should last us a while.

El Cortez Casino Sign Watercolor Painting

Here is the newest painting in my 5 x 7 watercolor series. It is a painting of the El Cortez Casino sign. It is also one of the inspirations for my "El" painting that I'm working on.....well not actually working on, but one I've started. Scroll down if you haven't seen it yet. Like I've said earlier.....I really like these small paintings. They are a blast to do and take no time at all to finish.

Monday Music - Eleven Hundred Springs

I had a late night on Saturday and decided to take Easter off. A group of friends and I took a little trip to McKinney, Texas to take in an Eleven Hundred Springs concert. It was a great show as usual. I've seen these guys play 5 or 6 times and they never disappoint. The highlight was Jordan playing the fiddle solo.....lordy that guy can play! The pictures above are courtesy of the talented photographer and friend Andrea W. Easter Sunday was laid back and consisted of church, food, and the Masters....oh yeah, and trying to keep my children from eating all the Easter candy at once......it's like crack for kids. I'm finishing up another 5 x 7 watercolor which I'm really happy with....I will post it tomorrow. In the meantime check out 1100 Springs website and listen to some tunes.

Saturday Meals - BBQ Chicken

Here's a typical meal at my house on Saturday afternoon/evening. BBQ chicken...I prefer the boneless thighs personally, a little Big Bob Gibson's white BBQ sauce, and a Shiner. If you're wondering, yes we have sides as well......favorite one being: Green Chile Rice Casserole (with fresh Hatch green chile) Don't forget the stuffed jalapenos. Oh mama!

Going to see Eleven Hundred Springs tonight, should be a great show as usual! Check them out if you've never heard of them. They are awesome.

La Cita - Watercolor

Here's a little 5x7 pen and watercolor painting I did of the La Cita Mexican Foods sign in Tucumcari, New Mexico. I think I'm liking these small watercolor paintings. They don't take long at all, so I don't get bored with them.

Indian Lodge Part 2 - Watercolor

Here is the finished product. The watercolor wash gives it some spunk. I'm already working on another small - 5 x 7 ink drawing of a neon sign that I'll post soon. It's looking pretty good so far.

Indian Lodge Drawing

Here's a little drawing that I did today of Indian Lodge in Davis Mountains State Park. I looked at an older photo I had for a reference. The perspective is out of whack in some parts, but I wasn't too concerned with that when I was sketching it out. It's a great lodge to stay at while visiting the Big Bend region. I think I may watercolor it tomorrow after I put some finishing touches on it.

Psychedelic Concert Poster Update - Old 97's

Here is where I'm at on the concert poster design project. I have finished the watercolor wash and have begun to accent the poster with the Prismacolor pencils. It's starting to shape up. I should be finished by the end of the week.

Opening Day - Sammy Sosa Colored Pencil & Cubby Tie

Baseball season is here! I am now committed to knowing the results of every one of the Cubs baseball games before I go to bed each night. There are 162 games. This drives my wife crazy....but she is used to it now. Above is a Sammy Sosa colored pencil drawing that I did of the "Sammy Leap". This is an older piece. I can't exactly remember the year I did this one. I also included a picture of my tie that I wore to school today....I found it at a garage sale 10 years ago for a quarter. It's kind of got a little 80's skinny tie feel to it.

Baseball Is Upon Us - Mark McGwire Oil Pastel

Opening day is Monday for most teams.....including my beloved Cubbies. I thought I'd dig in the archives and find some old baseball pieces that I did about 10 years ago. This one is an oil pastel I did of Mark McGwire. Watching this guy in batting practice was unreal.....he's a freak of nature or not nature.....More baseball art to come as we kick baseball season off.

Nomadas de Arte - Southwest Gallery

Some of Laurel Daniel's paintings.

Some other nice works.

More

Even More!

Shiner Bock in a can....an artform in itself.

Last night I was able to attend a great show at Southwest Gallery in Dallas. It was called Nomadas de Arte. It was a collection of en plein air paintings from over 200 artists. It was really a great show. I meandered around and studied the outstanding works for about an hour. After I looked around for a while I found my favorite painting. It was from an Austin artist named Laurel Daniel. It is called "91 Degrees and some Clouds" This painting blows me away! I really think it was the best painting there. I was even lucky enough to meet Laurel and visit for a while. She explained to me her process and the story behind the painting. It was really nice to meet her. Make sure that you visit her blog and website.....she has some great stuff. Another highlight was the drinks available at the show. They had Shiner Bock and Miller High Life in cans....now talk about old school.....ain't nothing finer than an ice cold Shiner.....in a can! Overall, it was a great show and gallery. I look forward keeping up with some of the artists at the show.

Friday's Favorite Place - Adair's Saloon

Down in Deep Ellum off Commerce St. in Dallas, Texas sits one of the coolest bars around.....Adair's Saloon. This place is awesome!....my opinion of course. Some people don't like it.....so I guess they have no taste for true Texana. It has a biker bar meets a honky tonk vibe. Every square inch of this joint is written on in black marker even the beer pitchers (is that violating some kind of health code?) They even provide markers at each table and encourage your artistic additions. My name is plastered over the walls in numerous spots from numerous visits dating back to the mid 90's. They have live music every weekend. Some of the best Texas acts have played in this little dive. They have some of the best hamburgers in Dallas.....topped with a whole jalapeno toothpicked through the top bun. They sell Lone Star in a can for like $1.50-$2.00. It is the epitome of the term junkytrinket. Make a point to stop by Adair's when you are in Dallas....and sign your name to the wall of fame.....don't be scared. Let me know when you want to go and I'll be there.

Concert Poster - Step 2 - Watercolor Wash

Here is an update on the psychedelic concert poster. Once I get the watercolor wash finished I'm going to add some value with Prismacolor pencils. Hopefully I can get this finished next week.

Wednesday Wheels - 1979 Toyota FJ 40 - Dream Car

I'm a pretty simple guy. I don't really want much or need much. I drive a 1996 Light Blue Honda Accord. It has 160,000 miles on it. It starts up like a champ every day.....I'm knocking on wood at the moment. It's been stolen from my driveway before.....only to be recovered a week later minus a CD player. It won't go away. Hanging on to this car has now become a sign of my anti-consumerism beliefs. The more miles I rack up and the more years that pass by make me want to see just how long I can drive this thing. If and when it ever dies, I will probably get a used Toyota 4Runner for like $5,000 or something.....I hate car payments. I haven't made one in many years. Now, enough about my paid for hooptie. Lets just say I wanted to go out and splurge.......what would I like? Look above. I found this gem on EBAY, the auction still has a couple of days to go. It only has 4,700 original miles on it and it can be bought right now for $57,000. This is my dream car. The 1979 Toyota FJ 40 Landcruiser. This one is about as nice of one that I've ever seen. I picture myself driving this along the back roads of Colorado, fishing gear in the back with some Willie playing on the radio, just looking for the perfect spot catch a brown trout. This will probably will never happen in this vehicle.....I can dream can't I?

Psychedelic Concert Poster - Old 97's

In my classes at school, the students are doing a psychedelic concert poster for a band. My student teacher came up with the idea for our last project on design. I'm doing one as an example to give the students an idea as to what is expected of them. Above is my drawing on the watercolor paper. Mine is not too crazy because I tend to take the safe route a lot. I'll post the progress of the poster as we move forward.

Marfa Water Tower Sketch - New Pens!

I went out and bought some new pens a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to get back to the basics and do some smaller drawings. My art time is limited balancing my family, job, and activities. I picked up some Sakura Pigma Microns on the recommendation of a fellow blogger who does the Daily Draw. These are really great pens and I can see why so many people enjoy using them. I had some back in college but I didn't really pay much attention to the brand or anything. Above is the first drawing that I did with the new pens....I think I'm gonna like these. The drawing is on a 4 x 6 note card.

My 1st Cyber-Award! - A Passion For Painting

What surprise I received yesterday when I logged in and noticed that I was awarded my first cyber-award----A Passion for Painting---- Can't wait to see my brother's comment on this. The very talented painter Tom Pohlman was nice enough to pass this along to me. Tom's blog is full of wonderful southwestern themed oil paintings. He's the real deal. Please check out his site.....it's well worth your time. Thanks again Tom. I'm glad I have a least one person reading my ramblings. Apparently there are some rules that go along with this prestigious honor....they include: 1) Mentioning the sender. 2) Listing 7 things I currently love 3) Listing some other great artists. Easy enough....I was struggling for ideas today anyway......and it's too nice outside to sit at this desk too long.

Here is my list of things I love (in no particular order):
1 My family
2 BBQ chicken with Bob Gibson's white sauce.
3 Watching the Cubs play on WGN.....7 days until opening day!
4 Doodling, Painting, Drawing
5 Hiking in the mountains
6 Playing catch with my son
7 Taking road trips west

List of great artists that inspire me: Craig Gould, Jennifer Cavan, David Imlay, and Susan Bennerstrom and check out my lists on the right.....all very talented and entertaining blogs.

Estate Sales, EBAY, and Cowboy Boots

As the weather begins to get nicer (today doesn't count.....very cold and windy in Dallas), I begin to think about one of my favorite weekend pastimes........estate sales. I have been an avid estate sale hunter for the 13 years that I have lived in the Dallas area. I get my Thursday and Friday morning papers, a black ball point pen, a highlighter, and my Dallas Mapsco and sit down for 30 minutes or so to plan my trips. I have gotten very good at this over the years and I rarely come home empty handed. A quick stop by the ATM for some cash money and I'm off. My personal collections consist mainly old Southwest Conference memorabilia, old Texas beer stuff (Lone Star and Pearl mostly),old sports magazines, art books, western stuff, and any other things that catch my eyes. I also buy stuff at these sales to sell on EBAY. I buy up Dallas Cowboys memorabilia and other sports teams stuff that I don't care much for, and sell them to diehard fans. I've got a pretty good grasp on collectibles and their values. Above is a pair of Ralph Lauren cowboy boots from the 70's that I found in a women's closet in Preston Hollow (older upscale Dallas neighborhood). I paid $10 for them even though the sign on the closet said, "all shoes $1"....I plead my case to no avail...it was still a good deal and I knew it. I got home and put them on EBAY and had like 35 bids on them.....a week later I had sold them for $127.00. I thought I would share some of my EBAY success stories periodically as the prime estate sale season revs up......the thrill of the hunt is what makes it fun!

Favorites de Friday - DeRidder

We discovered DeRidder about 10 years ago. It is the most amazing store that I have ever been in. It is huge! It has the most eclectic collection of imported goods and antiques that I have ever seen. I mean where else you pick up some antique snow skis in Texas? And be able to choose from like 100 pair. They have gigantic statues, a warehouse of armoires, stacks old license plates, antique glass, cow skulls, print blocks, and everything in between and I'm not even kidding. This place will blow you away! We got our one of a kind armoire and coffee table from DeRidder years ago......we love them. DeRidder is in Forney, Texas off highway 80......look for fighter jet out front....no I'm not kidding......you have got to see this place to believe it. Probably the best store in the Southwest in my opinion.

Throwback - Sun and Sand Motel Sign Watercolor

Here's an older watercolor image I did of the Sun and Sand Motel sign in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. I shared a scratch board image of the same sign a few weeks ago. I am planning on doing a few more small scale ink drawings with some watercolor washes.....I really like the way that they turn out.

Jury Duty = Furniture Painting

Well, I had jury duty today and I was not selected...too bad. I have never been selected in my 3 tours.....maybe next time. As soon as the word spread that I was going to be available around the house my wife pushed off one of her projects on me.....I knew this would happen. I didn't mind though. A few months back we bought this hideous side table at McKinney Trade Days for like $10 or something. It was baby blue with red and white country style stenciling on the top.....sick. We've been discussing the color to paint it and I was given the final decision this morning....so I painted it. It actually turned out looking pretty good. We are still going to distress it some, but that can wait for another day. I also went out in the rain and picked up some new acrylic paint and another set of oil pastels.....I had a gift card left over from Christmas that was burning a hole in my pocket....thanks mom! Overall it was a great jury duty day. It's nice to ease back with a four day week after spring break.

Tuesday Tunes - f2 design

F2 design is one of my favorite concert poster designers. They actually make true prints! F2 is out of Lubbock, Texas. The "hub city" baby! Above are a couple of posters from my faves. Thrift Store Cowboys is a great west Texas band that you need to explore. Get on F2's website and check out their concert posters! Sweet!

Sketchbook Entry - 100th Post!

Here is a sketchbook entry I did from last school year. It is a drawing of a guy riding his bike. I drew it from a Dwell magazine cover. Dwell is one of my favorite magazines. I look forward to it every month. It has the best of modern architecture and design. Super rad stuff in there.

"El" Painting Update

I added some shadows to my sign painting. I'm about to get started on the bulbs and interior of the letters. I'm hoping to get this one finished pretty soon. It's back to work for me tomorrow......spring break has came and went like a flash. Now I can get more focused on this blog stuff. I've got a full week ahead that includes jury duty on Wednesday..... Any suggestions on how to get out of that?

NCAA bracket so far as of 1:36 PM 33-10. 2nd place in my group behind little bro.

Tales from the Deep South - Slaw Burgers, BBQ, etc.

Sporks!!!