I spent a good portion of Saturday drivingaround Austin, TX on a Modern Home Tour.  We probably looked at about 16 homes in all.  Neutral colors and elements of nature were infused with most homes along with lots of natural light. While most homes were interesting very few struck a chord with me or so I thought.   In the middle of the night I awoke to images of lines and colors flowing through my head.   One of the colors that really stood out was a sort of key lime pie color.  Not quite lime green but close.  As far as color on the walls most were a very basic subdued tones.  What did provide color was the art hanging on the walls.  It just goes to show how much a piece of art can do to  liven up one’s home.  Which makes me happy when I think how my work can really make a room come together.  I took a few pics of some of the homes and the furniture and accessories in some of the homes.  One of the coolest pieces of furniture was this sort of bean bag coffee table.

I have done some more detail in the canopy section of the tree but I have not taken any pics of that portion yet.   Stayed tuned for more photos at the end of the day after I have worked on it some more.

I am still tying to figure out my New Years resolutions but am happy when I think about 2009 as it was  a good year.  My second daughter was born and I had a successful year with my art.

A  few of the highlights were as follows:
An exhibit at Bass Concert Hall, Painting in the juried 32 nd annualAustin Visual Arts Alliance show, East End Gallery exhibition,  displayed numerous works in various locations throughout the Central Tx area.  I also found a printer(Winberg Gallery in Georgetown)  to produce my fine art reproductions(Giclees).  Started this blog, learned how to tweet and book da face..lol…Facebook which was a challenge for me.  Hell 10 years ago I didn’t know how to turn on  a computer let alone surf the web.  Now I am riding the crest of the wave and hanging 10 fingers on the keyboards. 

 So when I think about how far I have come and where I am headed I get excited!  I think 2010 will be an even better year than ’09.  I hope  you will follow my blog and my journey to being a full time artist.  Thanks to all who read these words and taking the time to view my artwork.  I am honored and blessed to have such great fans, friends,  and family.

So the other day when I left work I managed to not hit any traffic lights. And no I don’t mean “crash into”. You know, I flowed right on through without having to stop. And no I am not color blind nor did I run the traffic lights. Ok so with that said, it got me thinking. “What would my ART life be like with no stop lights?” I think it would be mean no interruptions when I’m painting.  No getting up to let the dog out and then back in. No shooing the cats off the dinner table. No answering the phone only to find out that ” this is your 23rd second notice that you car warranty is about to expire.” No daddy I need to go potty. No second child crying because she loves to be held. Or at least no spitting up on canvas while I paint with her in tow. No honey can you please get me some water. No cleaning up the mess from the cat being on the dinner table knocking over a glass of water(insert eldest daughter into this category as well). No having to get up and go pee due to drinking heavily to reduce stress from having to daddy this honey that. No having to fix i-pod after deleting all songs except the same 22 songs that kept repeating over and over again. No having to go to bed because I have to go to work the next day and pay the bills!  No being lazy or worn out from day job and whining about being tired.  Life with without stop lights would be less stressful but, then again would I be living in a real world or just a fantasy land that I created. Sometimes we need the stop lights to keep us grounded to this earth and learn to appreciate them. As I typed the proceeding line, my daughter of 3 1/2 yrs came up and gave me a hug and told me that she liked my shirt. Wow, I think someone above is listening to my thoughts and the words that I am typing. Did I mention that as she walked away she told me “I love you forever daddy.” So with that said, thank you God and thanks to my family who is allowing me to pursue my dreams of being an ARTIST with or without stop lights.

The Vineyard at Florence

Today they launched their new wines.  I even had a glass myself. 

Wine glass(The Vineyard at Florence)...photo by Doug Naugle

 I could have hung out all day and drank but thought it would be wise to come home and paint.  However I did take some pics of the winery and my art which is currently on display.   If you want to get away for the day or weekend I highly recommend the winery.  It’s beautiful and you feel like you in a another place and time.   Hard to believe its just eight miles off of I-35 and about 40 minutes from Austin.

work in progress

 do the talking.  This is the current painting I am working on.