31 January 2009

Canton First Monday Trade Days - Part 2

The Booty

Raymond's latest masterpiece

The junky stuff I like!

Wow. My feet are sore. We must have walked 6-7 miles today. Renting a scooter might have been a good idea!................NOT! No, seriously....we had great weather, great exercise, and great deals on our trek to Canton First Monday Trade Days. A few odd things I observed:
1) a dressed dog in a baby stroller.
2) people eating plates of spiraled french fries at 9 AM.
3) animal print and rhinestones on just about everything
4) booths named Funky Junk, Dressin' Gaudy, Eclectic Sisters, and Hippy Chics
5) camouflage nightgowns for women

We had a great time. We spent about 6 hours on the grounds and hit just about every row of shops. I visited with Raymond Sanchez, the license plate artist mentioned in a previous post for a little while about some of his new ideas. He's got some big plans up his sleeve....I'll keep you posted. Check out his U.S. license plate map above......awesome! and SOLD!

As for our booty from the trip :
1) handle for my jalapeno pepper roaster
2) some old print blocks - letter "m" and a Texas flag block
3) old typing book - for future collages
4) Dover books - Cathedrals and Japanese Motifs
5) old door panels - to make signs with
6) flying pig made out of scrap metal - gift....shhhhhhh
7) jewelry, flowers, canisters, and some tasty dips ( my wife's purchases )

Great trip.......can't wait until we go again.

30 January 2009

Friday Favorites - Canton First Monday Trade Days


Finally. My wife and I are going to get back out to Canton, Texas for 1st Monday Trade Days. It is the largest outdoor flea market in the U.S. and is about an hour east of Dallas. We haven't been out there in about 2 years or so. They have more stuff than you can shake a stick at. They have tons of antiques, crafts, food, junk, collectibles, and art. It can literally take days to see it all. We're heading down tomorrow morning without the kids to shop til we drop. We've got a pretty good grasp on the place so we know a good route to follow once we are inside the gates. I look for collectibles, materials for art projects, and unique trinkets. My wife likes the home decor stuff and antiques. Don't get me wrong there is a ton of crap there too......you got to know when move on. I'll fill y'all in on the trinkets we pick up this weekend.

P.S. We like to snicker at all of the able bodied people on scooters that are smoking and drinking 64 oz. Dr. Peppers and eating funnel cakes......hence the picture above. There are lots of those people around Canton.....it makes for a good laugh. You gotta watch them because they'll run you over!


29 January 2009

Throwback Thursday - Blue Masonry Star

This is a painting that I did probably 7 years ago of a masonry star. It was my first attempt at painting a masonry star. It was also one of my very first acrylic paintings. My son has it hanging in his bedroom. It is on 18"x 24" canvas.

28 January 2009

Wednesday Works - Cowboy Sketches



Well, it's an ice day here in Texas so no school today. I'm gonna keep it simple today. Maybe I can actually get some painting done.......but watching my 6 year old while my wife works may throw a wrench in that. I see Legos and The Brady Bunch in my future....which is fun too. These are some sketches I did on the same day I did the mission sketches....while sitting in a meeting. I'm thinking about doing something on a large scale with the cowboy theme. I guess we'll see.

27 January 2009

Tuesday Tunes - Kelly Willis "What I Deserve"


I discovered Kelly Willis back in college probably around 1993. I immediately was hooked on her sound. I bought her back albums and began to go see her live whenever she came in town. I've probably seen her live about 10 times. I could go on and on with stories about run ins with her at shows and stupid things I've said to her.....but I won't. My wife can attest to that. She did ask me for the time once at Gruene Hall amidst hundreds of fans......we had a moment. Seriously though, Kelly Willis has the best voice in music in my opinion....raspy, twangy, & soulful. I don't listen to many female singers, but Kelly Willis is my all time favorite and probably always will be. She is married to another one of my favorite singer/songwriters - Bruce Robison. This album, What I Deserve is a good one! You won't hear Kelly on the radio....she doesn't fit the crappy Nashville mold....thank goodness. Check her out, you will not be disappointed.

26 January 2009

Marfa Monday - Marfa Mystery Lights


When I used to teach Texas History to 7th graders a few years back, I would always discuss the Mystery Lights of Marfa during our Mountains and Basins unit. The kids loved it! Most had never heard of them and it really seemed to interest them. The whole mystery aspect is very appealing to 7th graders. The last time I went out to Marfa I made sure to make 2 trips out to the viewing area. It's so cool! There is a real nice viewing area set up on Highway 90 between Marfa and Alpine. You basically show up around sunset and look out at the horizon towards the south....and wait....and wait. Most people think that they see the lights....but they are car lights from highway 67. You can tell that they are car lights because they follow the same pattern....every time! Also, ranchers had reported seeing these lights before cars were invented. It's hilarious to see the tourist ooohing and aaahing over the car lights. If you are lucky enough....you will see the real thing. Which I think I did. I saw something out there around 11 PM. There were only a few of us there because it was late and it was cold!.....but we saw a flash of lights stretch out along the horizon....and we all kind of looked at each other in disbelief. This is an absolute must when you visit! It is really neat. Sometimes you see them and sometimes you don't. To read more about them....check out the link above.

25 January 2009

Sunday Funday - "Bird" Mixed Media


It's always to fun to finish a piece. I finally finished "Bird" this afternoon. It is a mixed media piece on a 20" x 20" gallery wrapped canvas. I decided to transfer the words bird, fly, sky, and soar in the blank spaces to balance it out some. Then using a combination of acrylic paint and oil pastels I finished off the color scheme. I went with a triadic scheme focusing on the primary colors with some subtle accent colors in the corners. I am very pleased with how it turned out. This is a gift for my mother-in law from my father-in law. Her birthday isn't until late March.......so no procrastinating here. I am now very excited about beginning some new projects using the same methods. I'll post them as I start them up. SOLD

24 January 2009

Studio Saturday - Bird Collage Painting 1



















If you know my mother in-law please don't tell her about this. I started her birthday painting last night. I decided that I was going to do an old book page background with a bird theme. She likes nature. I laid it out last night and attached the book pages to the canvas. The center image did not transfer as well as I would have liked.....complete bone head move on my part.....sometimes I need to be more patient. But who wants it to look perfect anyway?? It will add character in the end. No worries. I'm still in research mode as to what painting techniques and colors I'm going to use. I'll keep the progress posted as I move forward.

23 January 2009

Favoritos de Viernes - Craig Gould



Today's favorite is my artist friend Craig Gould. I met Craig a few years ago at church playing softball. Our team wasn't real good, but we had fun. Craig and I hit it off early once we both realized that we both did sports art. It is always something Craig had done on the side. He had some work in the gallery out at the Ball Park in Arlington years ago and had done some work for his alma mater: SMU (he played football there). Craig began to paint full time a little over a year ago, and has been knocking out countless paintings ever since. His work ranges from sports to landscapes and everything in between. You should see his Harley Davidson stuff! Outstanding! He has recently done some work for the TCU athletic department commemorating their legend football players. Craig is extremely talented and helps me out with questions that I have dealing with painting. I'm going to a show of his at DFW Audi tonight in Euless...it should be great. Make sure and check out his website for a full scope of his work. He does commissions as well. Above are two of my favorite pieces by Craig: "Rage" 30 x 40 oil & "Earl" 16 x 20 oil. Earl Campbell was my childhood hero. I won the 2nd grade art contest with a picture of Earl Campbell of my beloved Houston Oilers.......

22 January 2009

Throwback Thursday - Gruene Hall Collage Thing


This is an older piece I did while I was experimenting with the transfer techniques of Jonathon Talbot. I took an old book page and made a transfer of a photo I took of Gruene Hall from my hometown - New Braunfels, Texas...actually Gruene.....and sandwiched them together. I cut out a couple of characters from a magazine and glued them down as well.....covering their eyes with the names of some of my favorite Texas performers (Bruce and Willie). I really like how this one turned out! I am about to do some more work like this very soon on a larger scale, and more as a background for some of my upcoming paintings. We'll see how it goes.

21 January 2009

Wednesday Works - Adobe Watercolor


This is a watercolor painting that I did a while back at a watercolor class I took at the local community college. It was a one week course that met 3 hours every night for a week. It was a really cool class. I picked up some new techniques from our very talented instructor. This image is from an adobe church in New Mexico. Watercolor painting is something I really enjoy. I haven't done too many watercolor paintings lately as I've been focusing on my large scale acrylic paintings. I've got 4 commission pieces lined up in the near future. So, I'll keep y'all up to speed on those as I begin the brainstorming process.

20 January 2009

Tuesday Tunes - Inauguration Special


Favorite song lyric with the word President in it: "So we tripped the lights fantastic, we were both made of elastic, midnight came, and midnight went, and I thought I was the President. She said, "Do you have a car," and I said, "Do I have a car?" "Barrier Reef" - Too Far To Care - Old 97's

Favorite President - Sam Houston - Republic of Texas - 1836-1838 & 1841-1844

You want change?? I may change the format a bit on this blog and open it up to some new topics. Stay posted.

19 January 2009

Marfa Monday - The River Road



This is a shot I took on one of the most scenic drives in Texas, "The River Road". From Marfa you go south on highway 67 through Shafter on down to Presidio. Once in Presidio, you are on the Mexican border. Presidio is really desolate and not very scenic. We ate at an awesome Mexican restaurant in Presidio for breakfast. From Presidio you head southeast on highway 170. It basically hugs the Rio Grande river. You go by the entrance of Big Bend Ranch State Park, not to be confused with Big Bend National Park which is a little further down the road. Highway 170 will take through Lajitas, Terlingua, and end at Study Butte ( Big Bend National Park entrance). If you are ever down this way, make sure you take "The River Road" and see a part of Texas very few get to witness.

18 January 2009

Sunday Funday - Rio Grande Fishing



This is my favorite spot to fish in Colorado. This is the Rio Grande river about 20 miles from Creede, Colorado. My family has been going there since 1980. There are some big brown trout in these little pools. Here is one I caught in that spot last June.

17 January 2009

Studio Saturday - Mission Sketches



Here are some sketches I did yesterday in a meeting at work. I think I will watercolor them later. They are drawings of San Jose and Espada missions in San Antonio, Texas. If you've never been down to see the missions in San Antonio, I highly suggest it.

16 January 2009

Friday Favorites - My Cooler




One of my favorite things is my Coleman Cooler. I got this cooler a few years ago for my birthday. I then began to add stickers to the sides. I try to add only stickers of things that have a personal meaning to me. I try and make a point to get stickers from any trip or vacation I take. I also try and pick up decals from concerts, restaurants, etc. Over the last few years I have done a pretty good job of filling up the cooler. I've still got some empty spaces here and there just waiting for the right decal.

15 January 2009

Throwback Thursday - Poladroid.net



What to make your own throwbacks? This is the coolest thing I've seen in a while on the web. You can take any image that you have saved on your computer and make it look like a Polaroid image. You can also determine when to save the image, because just like a real Polaroid picture it takes a while to develop. You can save the image in multiple stages to get different looks. The images above are some Poladroid (notice the spelling) images from a photo that I took of the Frisco grain elevator. I found out about this cool site on another artist's blog site a few weeks ago. You have got to try it.

Poladroid.net Download the software and it will save an icon on your desktop to use to drag photos to.

Images above:

#1 Poladroid - shorter development time

#2 Poladroid - longer development time

#3 Original Image

14 January 2009

Wednesday Works - Forsyth Park




A couple of years ago my wife and I were trying to select a destination for a week long trip. We got it narrowed down to Savannah, Georgia / Charleston, South Carolina or Portland , Oregon. We went with the southern trip. Boy, were we pleased with our pick! Both cities are rich with history and have some of the most beautiful architecture that you have ever seen. We stayed downtown in a nice bed and breakfast called the Green Palm Inn. We did lots of walking around, took a ghost tour, a city tour, and ate at some outstanding restaurants. I also took tons of pictures. Did I mention I love to take pictures?? Savannah is a great city to take pictures. Everywhere you turn there are great photo opportunities. There are tons of old monuments, gravestones, and old homes. The layout of Savannah is incredible. Every 3-4 blocks there is square with benches, fountains, and humongous trees. The pictures above are some I took while in Forsyth Park. I took them in black and white to capture the full range of values. Maybe you remember it from the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil ?

13 January 2009

Tuesday Tunes - Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison

Nuff Said! Right? One of the best live albums of all times...if not the best in my opinion. Johnny Cash recorded this in 1968, which was like 13 years after his song "Folsom Prison Blues" came out. I have this on vinyl and love to spin it late at night when I'm working on a project. The energy from the inmates is great! Prison guards even make announcements between songs requesting inmates by their ID #s. Too bad for them, they miss out on some of the tunes. If you've never heard this album from start to finish, I suggest you give it a spin. Watching Walk the Line doesn't count......although it's a great movie.
Here is the track list:

Side 1
"Folsom Prison Blues" (Cash)
"Dark as a Dungeon" (Merle Travis)
"I Still Miss Someone" (Johnny Cash, Roy Cash, Jr.)
"Cocaine Blues" (T. J. Arnall)
"25 Minutes to Go" (Shel Silverstein)
"Orange Blossom Special" (Ervin T. Rouse)
"The Long Black Veil" (Marijohn Wilkin, Danny Dill)

Side 2
"Send a Picture of Mother" (Cash)
"The Wall" (Harlan Howard)
"Dirty Old Egg-Suckin' Dog" (Jack H. Clement)
"Flushed From The Bathroom of Your Heart" (Jack H. Clement)
"Jackson" (with June Carter; Billy Edd Wheeler, J. Lieber)
"Give My Love to Rose" (with June Carter; Cash)
"I Got Stripes" (Cash, Charlie Williams)
"Green, Green Grass of Home" (Curly Putman)
"Greystone Chapel" (Glen Sherley)

12 January 2009

Marfa Monday - Chinati Foundation


The Chinati Foundation is a contemporary art museum located in Marfa, Texas conceived and founded by the late artist Donald Judd. It is known in the art world as the largest public museum for the permanent installation of sculpture in the world. The non-profit museum opened to the public in 1986. It was Judd’s goal at Chinati to bring art, architecture, and nature together in order to form a coherent whole. People come from all over the world to view the work here. Check out their website for all the current installations.

11 January 2009

Sunday Funday - Bottle Caps


Today I was wanting some input from y'all. I've been keeping all the bottle caps off the bottles I've had for about 2 years. A friend of mine named Seth W. kind of inspired me to do it. Seth had made a cool piece of art using his caps, kind of a colorful mosaic piece.....so I figured I'd help out his cause and save some for him. Since then I figured he probably could manage to build up his own little stash rather quickly......and I have decided to keep them for myself. Sorry Seth. I have some ideas about what I want to do with them, but I wanted to see if anyone else had any better ideas. Whenever I begin making something with them, I will for sure post pictures of the results. Let the ideas flow!

10 January 2009

Studio Saturday - Half Price Books Warehouse



OK, call me crazy, but I stood in line this morning for 45 minutes in the 30 degree weather with the wind blowing 25 mph to get some free books. I wasn't the only one. Every Saturday morning from 9-2 , the Dallas Half Price Books Distribution Warehouse opens its doors to teachers and lets them take whatever they want for free. They give everyone some boxes and open the doors! Most of the people are looking for children's books, which they have 1000's of. Everything is neatly organized. Every subject is clearly labeled and easy to find. I've been doing this for years. I usually go a few times a year. I usually have two goals in mind......#1 get some books for my classes (art, reference materials for collages, cool images etc.) #2 get some cool books for me, to add to my library of random knowledge.

Here is a small sample of some books I picked up today:

Beer Pocket Guide - Turn the dial to find the best beers with each type of food.
Ben Hogan - Five Lessons The Modern Fundamentals of Golf....I got a bad slice....help me Ben!
Back Then - A pictorial history of America's National Parks
Backroads of Texas - a book highlighting 100's of side trips throughout our great state.
Gae Aulenti - a colorful pictorial book on one of the best contemporary architects today.
Some older Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers game programs........EBAY possibilities????

For my classes I picked up 30-40 art related books and some old math, foreign language, science, and reference books with great images and text...these are great for collages!
Let me know if anyone wants to head down there again......I'm always up for it. Free books are great! You never know what you can find.

PS They also have hundreds of National Geographic magazines and cassette tapes from all your favorite 80's bands.




09 January 2009

Friday Favorites - Jennifer Cavan




Today's Friday favorite features one of my all time favorite artists......Jennifer Cavan. Jennifer usually focuses on southwestern scenes from the New Mexico area. She does a lot of churches, old barns, farm houses, and mountain scenes. Her media of choice is oil pastel. As you can see from the above images, bold colors are not a problem. Jennifer uses colored paper in some of her work to give it an automatic undertone. Jennifer travels the country displaying her work at art festivals, shows, and events. She comes to Dallas a few times a year. She is a very sweet lady and is always willing to show you some hints and pointers......which I usually ask for. I've even had my classes do some Cavanesque type oil pastel landscapes as projects. She is a frequent artist at the Cottonwood Art Festival and Artfest. You should check out her website and go check her out at an upcoming spring festival.

08 January 2009

Throwback Thursday - U.S. Puzzle Map




My wife and I really enjoy going to antique stores, flea markets, estate sales, etc. It's one of the things we do together a lot. While visiting family in Castle Rock, Colorado over the Christmas break we decided to head to downtown Castle Rock to do some junkin' as we call it. In one of the antique stores we saw some really cool refrigerator magnets made out of old wooden U.S. puzzle pieces. So what do we do? Get on EBAY of course! Did I mention that I love EBAY? I always look there first for anything I want to buy. I also sell stuff. junkytrinket is my screen name. Save me as a favorite seller. Anyways, I find this old puzzle from the 1940's or 50's....end up winning it for $7.95. This map is old! It still shows the Philippine Islands on there! My son and I put it together last night and Ohio and South Carolina are missing.........oh well, I can do without Ohio, but SC....come on! Long story short.....my wife and I are going to make some state magnets. I'll post them when we finish some. Also, let me know if any of y'all are interested in any particular state. I can maybe send ya one. Sorry but I'm calling dibs on Texas, California, Colorado, and New Mexico.

07 January 2009

Wednesday Works - Los Alamitos Sign


Here is a painting that I did about a year ago. It was my first attempt of a painting on the large canvas. The canvas is 24" x 36". It was something that I had wanted to do for a while.....a bold colorful painting. Of course the subject matter was easy for me......something old and rusty. I looked up old signs online and found a couple of images of this Los Alamitos Motel sign. I had to make some changes and cropped most of the pole out. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I used a technique called under painting on this one to get the worn and peeling paint effect. I surprisingly knocked this one out in just a few hours of work. Since then, I have finished another large painting of a motel sign. Scroll down.....Lido Motel More large scale paintings are on the horizon. Aaron Brothers is in the middle of their buy a canvas and get one for a penny sale. I'm gonna try and stock up on some. I've also got some gift certificates from Christmas to burn through at select art supply stores. Contact me for more information or click below if you would like to purchase this original painting. Price $600.00



06 January 2009

Tuesday Tunes - Weezer Blue


I know, I know.......but it's so good. I can listen to this CD at anytime. I'm really not a huge fan of much of their newer stuff.....I mean it's okay. I especially like to listen to this CD during the spring and summer or when I'm thinking of the spring or summer. Cubs baseball on WGN @ 1:20 comes to mind. It was a great staple in the last years of college and still one of my all time favorites. Favorite songs: "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here" , "Say It Ain't So" & " In The Garage". I like em' all actually.

05 January 2009

Marfa Monday - Hotel Paisano




The famous Hotel Paisano in downtown Marfa. When we were there a couple of years ago, we had the pleasure of staying there for a couple of nights. The rooms were really small, but they were real nice. We were lucky enough to get one of the rooms that had it's own private balcony with chairs and tables (as seen in the picture above). I guess when you reserve your room 6 months in advance....you get the hook up. They also keep track of all of their reservations by hand in a huge book! No computers! So when you call to make reservations, they actually hand write it in the ledger. The Hotel Paisano is best known for hosting the cast of the movie Giant back in the 1956. Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean all stayed there during the filming. Ask a worker at the hotel to show you each of their rooms....it's pretty cool. It's a must see when you are in town. The lobby is decked out with a cool western decor.

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