Read about my life, art, and tips for new artists in my interview with Voyage Dallas:

The last few months have been a whirlwind of classes, homework, and more classes!

I was fortunate to receive a Capacity Building grant from the city, which I put toward three classes and three workshop at the beautiful Laguna Gloria art school. I studied Children’s Book Illustration, Intermediate Ceramics, and Landscape Painting, and am taking workshops on artwork documentation, writing, and grant writing. Whew!

And in addition to these formal classes, I’ve been attending the free professional development classes being offered at the Dougherty Arts Center and at Big Medium. If you’re an artist in Austin, you need to check these out!

I’m still getting my pottery back from the kiln and don’t have a ton of photos to share yet, but here’s a few I’ve taken during my time at the school:

I’ll have photos of my final pots when I get them all back sometime in the next two weeks.

For the Children’s Book Illustration class, I’m also lacking a quantity of images, but I learned so much in this class and am very much looking forward to spending more time with watercolor paint (a new medium for me).

The Landscape Painting class was a bit of a surprise for me. The description included “abstract painting” and I arrived expecting to push my work to a very flat, abstract place. Instead, I was pushed to paint in a more impressionist style! That means more-visible, looser brushstrokes, mixed colors, and an emphasis on light and shadow. It took me a few weeks to get loose and dive into this style which I’ve never used before. It was challenging, but very rewarding.

Next up: the West Austin Studio Tour! Now that I’m done with my classes, I have time to prepare for the annual free art show that takes over Austin. I’ll be showing and selling my work (including my new ceramic tumblers) at the Blue Genie Big Top from 11am-6pm on May 11-12 & 18-19. Come check it out! There will be about 60 other artists in the same spot, and there’s a brewery at the end of the parking lot that serves some pretty tasty giant pretzels. Sounds like a good day to me!

Just before it started getting chilly in Austin, my boyfriend and I took a weekend trip to Wimberley, a small town that lies about an hour southwest of us. We stayed over at a friend’s ranch near Blue Hole Regional Park, which was much expanded since I last visited. I was impressed at the extensive hiking trails and manicured fields, but nothing can beat the beauty of the spring-fed swimming hole, which gives this park its name.

Only a few swimmers were brave enough to dive into the cold water, but they kept the rope swing swinging. Unfortunately, I had not brought my swimsuit and had to be content to only take photos. But I’m glad I did because by the time I got home I knew I needed to make a painting of Blue Hole.

Next time I’m bringing a swimsuit!

I’m happy to say that I achieved a goal I set for myself earlier this year: I finished fifteen six-inch-by-six-inch paintings about Texas. All of these paintings are the result of my traveling, hiking, and camping across the state. They are landscapes and creature portraits, discovered through exploration.

I so much enjoy adventuring around Texas that I expect I’ll continue that work with an emphasis on city and state parks. I’m considering ways that I might partner with parks institutions to use my art to further education, community outreach, and conservation efforts.

I count myself lucky to have grown up next to an untouched forest, and raised by parents who allowed me the freedom to explore it on my own. My father had been a biology teacher and enjoyed telling me the names of plants, birds, and animals. My environment was rich with life, and I saw it.

I hope to bring that life to you through my art. I hope to remind myself and others that finding something new, a new perspective, a better mood, clarity, can be as simple as going for a walk.

Speaking of going for a walk… three of these paintings are currently on display as part of the “Let’s Take A Walk” group show at Art For The People on South 1st Street in Austin. If you’re in town, you should check out this little gallery/shop for holiday gifts (it is jam-packed with art and housewares from fifty Austinites). Come out and support your local artists.

Happy holiday-gift-hunting!

I talked in my last post about wanting to be more free in my art, more playful. I think I accomplished that a few days later when I began working on a bigger version of the prickly pear painting. I worked day and night, totally absorbed in the beauty and electricity of these colors!

Something about the art I saw in Santa Fe helped me process what I had been doing in my series of six-inch-by-six-inch paintings of Texas landscapes and critters. I realized that I had the skills to go bigger, and that it was time to let go of the constraints I had placed on myself when I picked up painting again.

I’ve been working hard and have learned A LOT about what it is to be a full-time artist in Austin. I know that there is still so much more to learn, and no one has the answer. There just isn’t a right way to do this. But I love a challenge and learning new skills, and I’m finding the process rewarding.

My most recent victory: finally getting a good camera and figuring out how to photograph my art.

There’s a lot of information out there about how to take quality photos of art, and I found this page from the University of Colorado Boulder to be the most helpful and simple.

Just look at the difference a good camera makes:

I’m currently photographing all the art I’ve made over the past few years so that I have a good record of it before selling. This 11″x14″ painting of a grackle was made last year.

Another unexpected victory: stumbling upon art grants offered by the city of Austin. I haven’t applied yet, but there are two that I’m interested in.

The Capacity Building Program offers up to $1,000 for artists to take classes, attend workshops, purchase software, or pay for a membership with a professional organization.

The Community Initiatives Program helps artists partner with non-profits to fund public events like performances or exhibitions.

If you are at all interested in either of these programs, I encourage you to visit the Cultural Arts Economic Development Department during their open office hours, 2nd & 4th Tuesdays from 9am to noon at 201 E 2nd Street. Their website is pretty confusing but you’ll find that the people who work there are very helpful in person. They want to find artists who will use this money!

…and I really need to apply!

UPDATE:

I was awarded a Capacity Building grant and will be taking three classes and three workshops starting in mid-January! Applying was easy and approval was fast (I think it was less than two weeks). I highly recommend applying to this program if you are even thinking about taking classes or purchasing a new piece of equipment.

I’ve discovered some additional resources in the last few months as well:

Texas Accountants And Lawyers For The Arts offers pro bono and discounted services to artists. They also host free workshops to answer important questions like how to register for quarterly taxes (a necessity for the self-employed).

If you purchase items for your work that are resold (like a frame on a painting) you can avoid paying state sales tax by bringing a Resale Certificate to the store. You’ll be collecting a state sales tax on the frame when you sell it as part of your painting, so there is no need to pay it twice.

If you are in Austin, check out the Dougherty Arts Center for free classes and events that bring artists together. They are currently offering monthly professional development classes which cover things like taxes, social media, photographing your work, and putting together a portfolio.

This new year seems to be brimming with possibility. There is so much help out there once you know where to look for it.

More helpful links:

Big Medium has recently started up a series of professional development workshops in Austin.

GYST: Making Life Better For Artists, has many helpful articles.

SAATCHI Art also has an abundance of articles.

And a helpful, quick article on pricing art.

The summer heat was getting to us, and we’d been talking about taking a trip, so Sean and I threw ourselves into a week-long road trip to Santa Fe. Our goal was to make it to Meow Wolf, a huge interactive art experience built in an old bowling alley. And camping in the cool mountains sounded nice.

We did so much in a short period of time, so I’m going to let the pictures tell most of the story:

Our first stop was Caprock Canyons State Park in Texas. Caprock Canyons is actually part of the Palo Duro Canyon, the second-largest canyon in the United States (behind the Grand Canyon). I hadn’t even heard about this place before researching for our trip! It is gorgeous, and this park hosts a bison herd year-round. It was too hot to stay more than a night, so I definitely want to go back to do some hiking.

The next day we drove west, stopping at Cadillac Ranch on the way. Along Interstate 40 you’ll find ten Cadillacs buried nose-first in an empty field. It isn’t worth a special trip, but is definitely an interesting stop if you happen to be passing by.

After passing into New Mexico, we stopped for a quick swim at the Blue Hole, which brought some relief from the midday heat. The water is a chilly 62 degrees, so we didn’t stay for long.

That night in Taos we ate dinner at Bella’s before relaxing in our huge room at the Casa Benavides bed and breakfast. It was a welcome treat after a stormy night of camping and so many hours in the car.

We had time the next day to wander around Taos before making the relatively short drive up into Carson National Forest, where we would camp for one night.

I liked our campsite a lot but was disappointed to see the Red River so developed for fishing. It felt a little artificial to me and was crowded on this beautiful day, not exactly the wilderness I was hoping for.

After a comfortable night in camp, we made our meandering way toward Santa Fe. Our first stop was a natural hot spring along the Rio Grande. The drive there was an adventure down rutted dirt roads that made me feel gratitude for my car’s high clearance and all-wheel-drive. You can’t really see Black Rock Hot Springs from the road and there isn’t signage (except for a small painting on the side of a the cliff), so I relied heavily on the printed directions I’d brought.

The drive out was harrowing. We had to continue up the switchbacks along the other side of the canyon, relying on directions given to me by a man who was eating a tuna salad sandwich AND a raw chili with one hand. We kept to the left and drove along dirt roads, surrounded by nothing but baking desert, for 6 miles. We couldn’t even see the highway until we were right on it, and it was a huge relief! We took 64 down to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge rest stop and paused to eat lunch and take some pictures of this scarily-high marvel.

We continued down the scenic “High Road To Taos”, stopping briefly at a couple old churches and marveling at rock formations.

Once in Santa Fe, we checked into the stylish El Rey Court, where we’d stay a couple nights. We immediately jumped in the hot tub and pool and redeemed our cocktail vouchers at the bar (included when you book online).

Santa Fe is full of good food and we came with recommendations in hand. For dinner it was Green Chile Cheeseburgers at the Santa Fe Bite and breakfast was Carnita Ranchera at Tortilla Flats (so good!)…I miss the chilies already.

The entire next day was spent at Meow Wolf, which I can’t even begin to describe here. It is huge, detailed, and enjoyable on multiple levels.

After all that action, we had to somehow make it back to Austin. I found a campsite along the way, up in the mountains in the Lincoln National Forest, where we could escape the heat. We found the campground nice but  the sites were crowded with families (we arrived on a Friday). The nearby town of Cloudcroft was full of tourists and shops selling ordinary trinkets, but the Cloudcroft Brewing Company offered tasty pizza and beer flights, which we enjoyed (responsibly) before hitting the road.

After passing through flat desert, salt flats, oil fields, near-ghost towns, and the creepily-industrial area that hosts the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (where we store radioactive waste…for 10,000 years. Yikes!), we finally made it into Texas and our campsite at Monahans Sandhills State Park.

The dunes are beautiful and soft, and it was a pleasure to watch the sun go down here, and to catch a glimmer of the milky way. It is a great place to take some photos and perhaps spot a quail or roadrunner.

This trip was very inspiring for me, especially seeing the art in Taos and Santa Fe. I feel energized and bolder and have already created two paintings based on my experiences there.

I want this enthusiasm to continue. I want my artwork to be more playful, simple, and bright. I want to give myself permission to play more.

To get some time outdoors while attempting to beat the summer heat, I recently went camping at Inks Lake State Park (any activity during the day must involve water!).

I got a walk-in campsite near the swimming area know as Devil’s Waterhole and was greeted on arrival by a roadrunner, which I took as a good sign. Also spotted near the campsite: rabbits, songbirds,  a pair of screech owls, and a squirrel who flopped lazily around the nearest tree during the hottest part of the day.

My camping trip was only for a couple nights but I managed to float on the lake, swim and hike around the Devil’s Waterhole (where I spotted a small rattlesnake), walk the rest of the very large campgrounds (which includes a dock where you can rent kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards), and fit in a visit to Longhorn Caverns on the way home.

Only six miles down the road, Longhorn Cavern State Park is an obvious addition to a visit to Inks Lake. And at a year-round temperature of sixty-five degrees inside the cavern, doing a midday tour is a great way to escape the summer heat.

The basic walking tour was just over an hour long and covered the interesting history of human activities in the cave, going back to the Native Americans. A lone tri-colored bat was spotted as well as crystal-covered cavern walls.

Part of the reason for this trip was to find some inspiration for new artwork and I have created three paintings which are included below, along with the paintings that resulted from my trip to Enchanted Rock State Park. All of these paintings are on small square panels and are part of a growing series I’m calling “Iconic Texas”.

I’m in the process of planning a longer research trip through West Texas, including the Palo Duro Canyon and the giant sand dunes near New Mexico, where I’m sure inspiration will be abundant.

Paintings from Enchanted Rock:

After finishing the Topo painting, I wanted to try doing more traditional landscapes. I was afraid to start, I think because I wanted it to work so bad. It took me a while to finally get up the courage, but a few weeks later I had three complete paintings and two sold immediately!

I want to do more landscapes and recently went on a research mission: camping & hiking at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area. It’s one of my favorite parks in Texas because of the spectacular views and variety of wildlife. The rock itself is an unusual pink granite dome that rises 425 feet above the surrounding land. Many birds and animals can be spotted in the park and my first night I was treated to a chorus of coyotes!

Over the last couple months I have been working on what may be my largest painting (that isn’t a mural) to date. It is a color-field, topographical representation of the Barton Creek Greenbelt and surrounding area in Austin, Texas.

Each color represents a different elevation and was chosen carefully after considering its relationship with adjacent colors and experiences I’ve had while hiking in the area.

The Barton Creek Greenbelt is my favorite place to play in Austin. It is where I exercise, mediate, and explore. I’m happy to have found a way to include the entire creek in one painting.

If you’re in the Austin area, stop by the Verge Arts pop-up exhibition this Sunday, October 29, from 2-6pm. I’ll be displaying the Topo painting as well as my other art, including two smaller studies I did of the topographical map. I’ll also have some stickers, buttons, and greeting cards for sale. It’ll be a fun show, with 25+ local artists, live jazz, complimentary drinks – all in the beautiful Aveda Institute building.

Also worth mentioning: my first online shop at Design By Humans. They print t-shirts, hoodies, and other apparel to order and can also do art prints, mugs, and phone cases. I’m uploading art that I have never seen printed before and I’m really excited to see people wearing it!

It’s great to see all the work I’ve been doing over the past months paying off. I can finally start sharing my art with the world!

UPDATE:

The Verge show went great, I met and spent time with some fun artists, was visited by friends and family, and even sold a few things.

It was also wonderful to share this painting with the world. Behold!

Although a tiny digital photo doesn’t do this thing justice. It is so much more impressive in person.

Currently, I have the Topo painting hanging in my living room  over a lava lamp. It feels very Peter Max.

In the time since the Verge show, I created another online shop, this one on Society6, where I can turn my art into all kinds of products. Check it out.

This August I drove across the South East for a couple of weeks, stopping in Nashville to see the solar eclipse.

The emphasis during the drive up was on solitude, introspection, and adventure. I camped alone in Lake Catherine State Park (Arkansas), Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky), and Cosby Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee).

The latter part of the trip was all about food and fun with friends and family. I drove through North Carolina stopping in Asheville, Southern Pines, Sanford, Cary, and Greensboro to visit and eat.

Then it was on to Nashville where I met up with more family and my boyfriend, Sean, who accompanied me to Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas) and then home to Austin…just in time to prepare for Hurricane Harvey.

I feel so grateful to be back home, safe and dry.

A huge thanks to everyone who met me and fed me and housed me along the way – thank you for sharing this journey with me!