Life has intervened

I haven't posted here in a while.  I was diagnosed with colon cancer and after weeks of testing and getting past my daughter's wedding and reception, I'm now ready for surgery tomorrow.
I have been blogging that journey at www.cancer2curedjourney.blogspot.com  I hope you'll follow along with me.
Best regards,
Jo

One Woman Show at River's Edge Gallery in Kerrville

I'm so excited to announce that my art will be on display at River's Edge Gallery in Kerrville for two months.  It will start with an Artist Reception on Friday, April 27th, from 5 to 7pm  and Saturday, April 28th, from 10am to 5pm and the art will be there until the end of June.  This mixed media painting, Sunflower, will be a door prize for one of the lucky visitors during the Artist Reception.

If you're going to be in the Hill Country during that time, please stop by for a visit.  If not, check out my website at www.texasgalgallery.com and don't forget, my mini originals are always available at www.myotherstore.etsy.com .

Ever had one of those days?

I'm not sure whether to blame the outcome of my baking on absent mindedness or being fuzzy headed from allergies.  I decided this past weekend  to make the Peach Cobbler Cupcakes mentioned on another website.  The first time I made them, they were delicious.  Always wanting to improve on perfection, I decided this time to use fresh peaches that I roasted in the oven with a little butter and brown sugar to strengthen the peach flavor.  Didn't work.  I should have known better than to buy peaches this early in the season.  They were pretty much flavorless but since I didn't have anything else, decided to use them anyway.  Then for some reason, when I sifted the dry ingredients, I sifted the sugar along with the flour, baking pd and salt.  Uh Oh!  How in the world was I going to cream the butter and sugar if the sugar was already mixed with the flour?  So I decided to substitute oil for the butter, just throw everything together into the mixer and have a go at it.  Batter was delicious.  Then I made the struesel topping.  Did I put it on before I put them into the oven the first time I made them?  Couldn't remember.  So, first batch I topped before they went into the oven.  That meant the struesel settled down into the batter before they were done.  So for the second batch, I baked them first and at the 10 minute mark added the struesel.  Okay, they looked good but no peach flavor, weird consistency and they stuck to the paper liners.  What's the moral?  I'm not sure.  Maybe it's to not bake when my mind is all fuzzied up from those darned little pollens floating around in the air.  But now I have a challenge and that's to make those darned cupcakes over, getting it right this time so I'm sure they're as good as I remember from the first time.  When that happens, I'll post pics and the recipe for you here. 

Whisper Portrait

Whisper Portraits

It's easy for me to get into a rut painting only those pieces in demand by the galleries that carry my art.  When I take a break to work with other techniques and media, I get to have huge fun while stimulating my creative juices at the same time.   These two are paintings in watercolor of a beautiful face on heavy watercolor paper.  Once dry, I collaged over the painting with imported rice paper, some with flecks of gold, and then highlighted with oil pastels.   The result is an ethereal looking portrait of a gorgeous face behind a sort of textured veil. 

I just posted these two from my personal collection today for sale on www.myotherstore.etsy.com.

Thanks so much for taking a look.

Little Black Dress and Big Pink Drinks Party

How fun does that sound?

I'm all dressed up and waiting for a ride to head out.  Never go empty handed so I made this adorable little purse cake as a gift for the hostess.

The invitation was pink and black and lime green so the cake is on a lime green plate.  It looks sort of yellow in the pic.  Not sure what to do about that as I'm not up to par on photoshop.

Anyway, it's a luscious fudgy chocolate cake with vanilla bean buttercream.  The rest is fondant.  It's so humid here with flooding rains, I was afraid the fondant wouldn't set but it did.

So here it is...........

The rope edges are a little uneven so my next investment will be an extruder so I can do that edgings more uniform.   Can't wait to do another one!



Don't Look Back

A few days ago I was thinking about how much I love my art and how much I love to bake and how blessed I feel to be able to work daily at something I love so much.  Then my mind wandered back to childhood, taking art classes and then stopping.  And my mind went back 15 years to when I first began to bake and decorate cakes and shortly after starting I stopped to focus on earning my living at other things.  I began to feel a deep sense of regret of all the time wasted when I could have been developing my skills and how much farther along I would be if I had continued to study and practice with no interruptions.  I almost began to feel defeated.  In an instant, God placed an image in my mind of Lot's wife turning her head to gaze back over her shoulder and huge neon words flashed behind my eyes.  "DON'T LOOK BACK!"  It was almost as if He was yelling those words at me so I would pay attention.
Then this morning I was reading in the 4th Chapter of Psalms.  God tells us to keep our gaze fixed directly ahead of us and not to sway to the right or to the left.  Again..... don't look back!
What an awesome God we serve that he is so faithful to open our minds to what we need right when we need it, if we let Him.
ThankYou Father for a great day.

"Solitary"

I first began to paint a solitary oak tree after making several trips to Positive Images, the gallery in Austin that carries my work.  I always stop in Ellinger which is a spot on the highway with only a BarBQ restaurant and a gas station/bakery/grill/curio shop.  They make wonderful poppy seed kolaches so that is a scheduled break in the drive.  Hmmmm.   Haven't made any kolaches in quiet a while.  Maybe soon.  I usually park on the side which faces a huge vacant lot with a magnificent oak tree standing alone in the middle of the lot.  It just seemed to call to me to paint it and, to me anyway, it had to be the focus of a minimalist composition.  If you're new to my work, you'll soon find out that a horizon is almost always prevalent.  It represents hope and new beginnings.  This version is painted on a 10x30 canvas with the sides and a small edge painted black so no frame is needed.  The size of the canvas makes it perfect for that spot where nothing else will fit but is desperate for a statement piece.  Even though I use really vibrant hues and very energetic brushwork, the composition conveys a feeling of quiet and peace.  I have posted this piece for purchase on www.texasgalgallery.com .  If you're interested in a smaller piece or a mini, check out www.myotherstore.etsy.com . 
Have a blessed day.
Jo