Sunrise, Bandera, TX – imagined

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The 100K race just closed. Our last runner came in just after midnight, so we were all warm and snug this morning. I painted the sunrise from memories of what I have seen in Bandera, and what I imagined could have been. The temperature was between 29 and 32 all day and night. It rained on and off. Trail running is the only place in my life where people voluntarily push themselves to the limit, and then willing accept help from strangers when they are vulnerable. It is crazy and beautiful all mixed together. So we are headed home with a car of wet, muddy gear and family and friends that grew closer making it so.

Sunset, Bandera Texas 5:54pm

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8″x8″ oil on canvas panel

We have made an annual camping trip to Bandera, TX the second weekend in January for the last dozen years. My trail running/backpacking husband says there is no such thing as bad weather, only improper gear.

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Those funny little plus marks under the cloud are ICE! Perhaps there is such this as bad weather.
My sons are running the 25k trail run…AND I can’t bear the idea of them finishing tired, alone, and cold. So I am becoming a plein air painter that has dealt with some pretty tough painting conditions. Anyone know where to buy a paint brush with a heated handle?

Is Spring Coming?

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12″x12″ oil on panel

Is the spring coming?” he said. “What is it like?”…
“It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine…

-Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden