ROSITA'S BRIDGE

"Rosita's Bridge" 24" x 30" oil/linen

In San Antonio the river winds its way through downtown and serves as a major tourist attraction with many fine restaurants, shops, galleries and historical buildings. A visitor can take a guided tour of downtown on a flat boat. There are several bridges like this one that connects one side of the river to the other.

This particular bridge is named after Rosita Fernandez who was an internationally known singer during the 1920's when she made San Antonio her home. The flat stage on the right side of the painting serves as an outdoor theater for stage productions and musicals. Sandra Bullock shot a scene for "Miss Congeniality" on this stage. Rosita performed for over thirty years on the stage raising money for local children's charities.

The interesting challenge of painting this bridge is that it is in sunlight for only twenty minutes a day. The rest of the time it is covered by the shadows of the tall downtown buildings that line the river. There's another bridge to the right of this one so if you time it right you can paint both bridges from the same location. For me to get this painting and stay out of the way of the many visitors walking along the side of the river, I had to stand in the flower garden of a local restaurant. I had a nice audience of people eating on the outdoor patio right above me.

EBAY AUCTION ITEM #4

"Colorado Hillside" 8" x 10" plein air

Starting the month of July off with an Ebay auction.
I did this painting a couple of years ago during a trip to Estes Park in the Rocky Mountain National Park. I've always liked the feel of this painting with the aspen trees just starting to turn colors against the green evergreens. As with other paintings I have put on Ebay this one will
be available for about a week so if interested click on the link below.

Ebay art click here!

A DAY WITH COLLECTOR

"After the Storms" 8" x 16" oil/canvas

Without question the most pleasant surprise this
past year has been the developing relationship between
me, my art and the collectors that purchase my paintings.
Today's post is a perfect example. I could have just as
easily titled this painting "A Day with a Collector". I sold
a painting in April to a first time buyer of my art and
at the opening I had the opportunity to have an extended
conversation with them. I cherish these opportunities
to be able to ask buyers what drew them to the painting
and what was it that excited them enough to make the
purchase. And the buyer had the opportunity to learn things about me, my family, the galleries I'm in and the things I like to paint. Usually they want to know where the scene is and what motivated me to paint it.

A couple of weeks later this same buyer calls me to let me
know the farmer that owns the property behind him had
just baled his field and invited me to his home to see this
field. He had remembered from our conversation that
hay bales is a subject matter I'm drawn to and he was
thoughtful enough to call me. So I packed up my gear
and out to this field I went and sure enough, it was a
great scene. The collector watched as I set up my gear
and began painting the scene when he admitted he has
always been interested in how plein air painters do their
thing. For the next hour and half I painted and
we talked...one on one. It was an absolute rush! And I
got a nice painting and a new friend it the process.

Having collectors is a new deal to me, but the common
thread I have found so far is the collectors are interested
in more than just the art. They want to know you, the artist, as well. They feel vested in you, your art and your career. They want to know the person behind the brush and I find this kind of interaction to be motivational. I find that it is pushing me to create better art, to create more paintings and the do the best I can.

NOT YOUR ORDINARY SHRIMPER

"Polly Anna" 12" x 16" oil/linen

The Polly Anna is an Port Aransas icon. Built in the
back yard of skipper John Nixon, this unique looking
vessel started out as a catamaran. Nixon hauled the
the shrimper from his back yard to the harbor in two
big pieces and welded it together. After several trips
Nixon decided he didn't like the way it handled in open
water so out came the blow torch and he chopped it up,
redesigned the hull into a tri-hull configuration then
welded it back together.

Like clockwork, every morning at 9:00 a.m. you can take
your cooler right up to the captain's door where he parks the
Polly Anna in the Port Aransas harbor and buy the freshest,
plumpest shrimp found on the Texas coast. Nixon's Polly Anna is just one of the reasons I love going to this coastal location to paint.

EBAY LISTING #3

"Red Rock Study" 6" x 8" oil/canvas

$150 on Ebay...click here to bid

A couple of summers ago I traveled to Canyon De Chelly
in Arizona for a five day paintout with the Outdoor
Painters Society. It was two full days of hard driving
broken up with pitstops and long stretches through
west Texas with nothing to look at. Getting into
New Mexico and the red rock formations that run along
the north side of the highway was a welcome sight.
I had never painted red rock canyons before and
now that's all I was going to be painting for the next five days.

On the second day of driving I decided to stop along the
way and do a series of 6" x 8" studies to break up the
drive and, more importantly, to get some serious painting
practice under my belt before reaching Canyon De Chelly.
These small studies have been sitting on a bookshelf ever since. I've decided to make them available on Ebay. Father's Day is not too far away you know.