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Texas Land

11”x14” oil on panel plein air

“If you grab enough Texas land, something good is bound to happen.” – James Michener

I got to spend a delightful afternoon painting with my friend Helen! The bluebonnets were spectacular:)
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Willliam Foley

14”x11” oil on panel . Baylor Hospital, Dallas.
If you look carefully, you can see a glimpse of the many people William touched with his music today. 🎶 🎼 🎵 it was so fun to listen to him play as I painted!
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Mark Landson and his Viola

11”x14” original oil on panel – second attempt

I painted Mark at Baylor hospital in Dallas. He played the Viola while I painted, it was delightful!

I painted mark from life, and then managed to bump my easel and cause my panel to fall off my easel. There is now a copy of that painting on my shirt!
This was the first painting. Since I smeared this painting when I dropped it. I painted it again. Between songs, I asked Mark about his practice habit. Ever since I read Twyla Tharp’s “Creative Habit” book, this is one of my favorite questions to ask writers, artists, and musicians. He told me that he still practices everyday, and today he needed to learn a piece of music he composed. I wondered what that would look like for me as an artist…

When I “compose” paintings in my mind…there are lost edges, creative color, and bold brushstrokes. I don’t worry so much about the details, but about the overall mood. In my landscape paintings I am often successful in painting the image in my head. I struggle to do so with people. So on my second painting of Mark, I tried to painted him the way I see the finished painting in my mind. Since I worked from a photo, I snapped a photo mask free! It looks pretty rough up close, but I am delighted with the painting, it is pretty close to how I composed it in my head!

If you would like to hear more of Mark’s music, you can watch Mark playing for TED x with tap dancers ! P.s. I love to tap dance:)