VISIT TO NEW BRAUNFELS TEXAS

We recently returned from the Austin area on a scouting trip for a possible move.  In the end we decided we loved New Braunfels and surrounding area...a fun town, a great art community, and my brother and his family are there...so, eventually we will relocate to that area.  These are some fun things we encountered on our trip.

My sweet husband is so patient with me as I try selfies with my regular camera!  Since my arms are so short, he always is front and center!  But I think he's adorable and wonderful!  We are sitting under bat bridge in Austin, waiting for hundreds of thousands of bats to fly out from under the bridge at dusk...it was interesting...but we couldn't see them as well as they looked no matter my photo...check out below.

People line up all the way down the bridge and wait...

This was the best photo I could get...those little black dots..yep, bats...kinda spooky pic; like Halloween!

These birds were EVERYWHERE down there...sure would love to know what they are!

This is beautiful Landa Park in New Braunfels...several lakes come together here.

I loved this park...even though the trees are different, it felt like home!

This dude was eyeing me for quite awhile...he didn't bite, but I think he was hoping for some food!

This was an opening to Black Panther Canyon...it went on for miles...BEAUTIFUL!

The best part of course was family...my beautiful neice, Kaitlinn who guided us through the canyon.

I adore my brother...and of course my wonderful husband too!

My sister in law, Lori and I cried when I left without a house purchase!  We have always been able to laugh like kids when we were together...we SO look forward to having a life of lots of laughing very soon!

I am working on some fun Christmas Crafts for a two month show at the AAR RIVER GALLERY in Westminster...so it is a busy time in my studio!  STAY TUNED!

HAPPY CREATING!

"ROCKS AND CLOUDS" MIXED MEDIA LANDSCAPE © SAUNDRA LANE GALLOWAY

"Rocks and Clouds"

12"x36"

Mixed media on 1.5" deep gallery wrap canvas

$650

Available through my website

Rocks and Clouds emerged from my desire to play with a composition I created a few weeks ago in another painting that has since sold.  I wanted to see how I might handle clouds with pattern in the sky.(I also added the honeycomb in the foreground as well to keep a unified effect)..I started out with outlined clouds, but kept working to this conclusion for this painting.  I don't know just how I will change, but I know that I am changing in some ways I am enamored with color and wanted to explore it a bit more.  "Rock Cliffs" sold at Summer Art Market. 

What I know at this point is that I prefer to use bright color than realistic color in many instances.  As I continue to grow and move as an artist I will play with my "new" found interest and see how it fits in to numerous situations with numerous subject matter.  A note to all those who may be in the beginnings of a "growth spurt"...DO NOT FEEL TRAPPED!  Don't feel like you are married to ANYTHING at this point!  Let inspiration lead you to experiment with ideas that come to your mind...NOTE the things you like and any other "growing pains" that happen that give you another idea...go down that road...EVENTUALLY it will find a space that feels happy...and YAY!

What I am working through in my mind is the fact that I love all the paper that I added in my work behind the scenes...I think I miss the volume that shows through...so my next thing to explore is to bring back a bit more in certain places...MAYBE...there is nothing lost if you learn and end up in a place that feels good.  YOU WILL EVENTUALLY end up in a place that feels good if you keep at it.  FOR ME...I have no choice...I am drawn to create, so eventually I will end up in a happy place and settle in until the NEXT growth spurt...REMEMBER, it is all a journey and there is beauty in every stage!

HAPPY CREATING!

"PINE CANYON" UPDATE © SAUNDRA LANE GALLOWAY

"Pine Canyon"

36"x12"x1.5" deep

Mixed Media on gallery wrap canvas

$650

There is not much updating to this painting except to add more highlights than previously existed on the trees up top.  I knew at the time of painting that it needed highlights to unify it MORE to the rest of the painting, but there was so much paint on it every attempt to blend just disappeared! HA.  It was fine like it WAS, but it is much better like it IS.  Just goes to show, a little can go a long way!

 You can see here the highlights within the tree that help to describe the lights that are happening in this landscape...they are subtle, but if strong sunlight was hitting from the left, it would show up more than previously described.  

Like I said, it is simple, but just gives a bit more information.

"Pine Canyon" is painted on it's sides.

And there you have it...I'm MUCH happier with it...so, as always, there is a reason some paintings come home with me!

HAPPY CREATING!

"PINE CANYON" ORIGINAL MIXED MEDIA LANDSCAPE © SAUNDRA LANE GALLOWAY

"Pine Canyon"

36" x 12" mixed media on gallery wrap 1.5" deep canvas

$650 + $25 shipping 

Available in my WEBSITE

Pine Canyon is a break out painting for me.  It is STILL playing with paper and texture and pattern, with a bit more abstract and more color!  At first it may be so strange to see something so different from some of my previous work like my Mountain Meadow through Aspen Eyes, but it still holds some of the same elements...just a bit less realistic, and more toward the abstract.  Much of this painting is done with pallet knife, the rocks just demanded it of me!  I still have paper and pattern and texture, I've just ramped up the color and contemporary feel I think.  My 101 Pet Portraits project helped me to feel better about playing with color.

Remember, an artist MUST grow to stay alive and keep the inspiration flowing.  I STILL love working with my aspen like in Mountain Meadow through Aspen Eyes, but I also have a great need to change a bit and grow, and this painting is the beginning of that process.  Either method is valuable, and each will appeal to a different collector, but both hold value in the process of creating art from the soul!

This gives you an idea of the size in relation to furniture and such.  The chest is a nightstand size.

This painting was created on a gallery wrap 1.5" deep canvas.  I enjoy making the cradles, but also love painting on canvas at times.  You can see I've painted the sides, so it can be hung as is, or for the collector that loves frames, that can also happen.  They make frames that work for these deeper canvases...a floater frame would work well for this painting as well.

I still LOVE pattern as much as texture...so I've added it in the sky.  This gives it a contemporary feel. And, I love working like this! 

to me, once I layed in the rocks up higher, it didn't need that full disclosure all the way down.  The abstract feel of this is very exciting!  You can see I've got a bit of paper under the paint...a tiny bit of writing shows through, and you can see I've repeated the hexagon pattern down below in a much more subtle way.

I will have this painting in person at SUMMER ART MARKET this June 13-14 if it does not sell before, so I hope you can find me at booth #54!

HAPPY CREATING!