Linda Calvert Jacobson

New blog address

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 15:50:00 +0000

Looking for recent news about my life as an artist? Visit my website, www.lindacalvertjacobson.com, and click on the Linda's Blog link. Thanks!

REFLECTIONS ON AUGUST 2015 TRIP TO COLORADO

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 18:19:00 +0000

While I often share photos and mini-reports of our trips through Facebook, I also like to take a little time to "blog" about these sorts experiences for anyone interested in reading about it or who don't Facebook.

Wildflowers in Cimarron Canyon State Park, New Mexico.

Our most recent trip was an 11-day, 2800-mile excursion from our home in Canyon Lake, Texas, up to the Texas Panhandle, across into northern New Mexico, over to Southwest Colorado, back into New Mexico, down to Ruidoso and back into Texas and home again.

David and I packed the Transit with some of my paintings (as I planned to visit galleries along the way) and headed out on Aug. 18, a typically hot Tuesday morning.

As anyone who lives in or has been to Texas, it seems like you spend most of your time just getting out of Texas when you do a road trip. It pretty much took the first day of our trip to get to New Mexico, via the Texas Panhandle and we finally landed in Clovis, NM, for our first night. Our goal was to get as close to the mountains and, hopefully, some cooler weather, as soon as we could.

Heading north/northwest out from Clovis the next morning, we drove through miles of dry, treeless landscape but soon the views began to change...we could see the mountains in a distance. As we got nearer, the pine trees and, soon, the Aspens began to appear! And wildflowers! Yes, the late-summer blooms were showing off, sometimes sparsely, other times in abundance. It took a bit of time to enter areas where the temps were not as cruel as what we had been experiencing in Central Texas but we enjoyed even a few degrees of relief. By the time we reached Eagle Nest, a wonderful little village east of Wheeler Peak and the Taos Ski Area, we were enjoying the "mountain air."

We took the upper loop around the mountain peak to Red River and then down the other side to Taos, our layover for the second night.

St. Francis Church in Taos, NM

The next morning, we roamed around the town for a bit, getting out early enough to miss much of the tourist traffic, plus we were on a weekday, which helped. This was the first time I had ever visited Taos and now I certainly see why all of my artist friends speak so highly of it. What a charming town! And while I've seen photos and paintings of those blue doors for many years, I now "get it." They are amazing! Something about the blue against the creamy adobe is almost magical.

I found myself unable to resist taking photo after photo. But perhaps one of my favorite place was the historic San Franciso de Asis Church and Plaza, located in Ranchos de Taos. I'm including a photo of the church and of a wall facing the courtyard around the church. I love how the sun enhances the warm adobe color, don't you? And those blue doors and windows...wow.

Art is everywhere in Taos! This is a mural on Ledoux Street, which is lined with galleries and artist studios.

With some reluctance, we left Taos since our destination for the next night was Durango, CO, and we had miles yet to travel.

But the drive from Taos to Pagosa Springs was beautiful. We enjoyed rolling hills, valleys and mountains along the way. Loved seeing happy cows feeding on green pastures. While it was only August, I could almost imagine the stands of Aspen trees turning gold for Autumn. I kept telling David along the way that we have to come back to see the seasons change.

Once in Durango, we found our hotel and had just enough time for a quick peek around downtown. The next day, we checked out several galleries, then caught up with some good friends and had a wonderful visit over lunch. Since they lived there, they were able to advise us on the "must-see" things to try to get in on the trip. The couple collect art, including mine, and also gave us some leads for galleries where my wildflowers might fit well. (A side note here: We are working on plans for a show in Spring 2016 as a result of contacts made during this trip.)

Friday morning we said goodbye to Durango and headed north to Silverton for our adventure on the Millon Dollar Highway. One word to try to sum it up: Spectacular.

If you've never done this drive, US 550 out of Durango then catch 62 at Ridgeway over to Telluride, you must put it on your list. You follow switchbacks along the edge of the mountain sides where some folks a lot braver that I carved roads out of rock decades ago. Along the way, the road takes you through old mining towns, like Silverton, Ouray and Ridgeway, that are now adorable stops filled with shops. But they have managed to maintain a certain historical presence and charm. I especially love the hanging baskets filled with colorful flowers up and down the sidewalks!

Ouray, CO....lined with shops and framed by mountains!

A mountain stream coming out of the Box Canyon in Ouray, Colorado.

After spending the night in Ouray, we continued our journey up to Ridgeway and then over to Telluride. We didn't do the tram there but did drive around the mountains from Telluride to Mountain Village before heading out. The drive through the San Juan National Forest was, again, spectacular. Sorry, just not many words to do it justice.

One of the many views as we drove through the San Juan Mountains from Telluride to Cortez.

Our destination for the next night's stay was Cortez, near the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park.

Again, this was all new territory for both David and I. We so thoroughly enjoyed the Million Dollar Highway out of Durango. But we were in for a different-but-equally amazing experience when we decided that we were too close to Mesa Verde to not take it in.

After a quick coffee stop Sunday morning, we left out from Cortez for Mesa Verde. According to the website, you should allow for 4 hours for the minimum trip into and out of the park. That was our goal as we drove in a little after 10 a.m. Little did we know that it would not be until some 8 hours later that we would be leaving the park!

View of the mountains driving into Mesa Verde National Park.

One of the many centuries-old cliff dwellings you can view from the roadside in Mesa Verde.

As I've told so many of my friends, if you've never done Mesa Verde, you must make the time to do it. The experience of standing there looking at the stone homes of people who created them and lived in them is remarkable and spiritual.

The Old Post Office in downtown Santa Fe, now a museum.

We left Mesa Verde, heading east then south for Farmington, New Mexico, our next stopover. After a wonderful visit the next morning with Karen at Studio 116, a gallery and art studio in downtown Farmington, we headed out for Santa Fe.

Again, a town that so many artists are drawn to...to visit, to move to, to call home or, at least, home away from home. Something about how the sun shines in New Mexico inspires artists to see and add color to their art and to their lives. We walked around the downtown area, taking in the adobe buildings, old and new, the historic church and the colorfully adorned old post office. After a brief stop at La Posada, we drove the "famous" Canyon Road, where a gallery fills every nook and cranny it seems. We decided to not spend much time this trip but have marked it down for a visit again someday.

Rather than take the I-25 from Santa Fe to Albuquerue, we opted for the road a little less traveled, NM14, AKA the Turquoise Trail. Again, a good choice! The road is dotted with once-abandoned mining towns that we brought back to life as artist communes years ago. Today, little villages like Madrid (yes, where parts of the movie "Wild Hogs" was filmed) are host to galleries, art studios, coffee shops and restaurants. On the way to and in between the towns are some interesting art displays as well, like this "sculpture garden" near Cerrillos, NM.

Leaving the Turquoise Trail near Sandia Peak, we continued southward toward Ruidoso, our next stop for the night. Again, rather than following the Interstate, we opted for a quieter road with some zigs and zags as we our way to Carrizozo and then Captian and, finally Ruidoso. During that day's trip we went from desert mountains into more desert and then back into the mountains, but this time filled with pine trees, at least where the fires had not scorched the earth.

David and Linda, Cloudcroft, NM, August 2015.

Ah, back in the mountain air one last time. Our intent was to spend one night and then head home to Texas. After a brief conversation the next morning, we decided to take advantage of a rather inexpensive-yet-acceptable motel room and stay another night.

That gave us a chance to make the scenic drive through the Lincoln National Forest, up to Cloudcroft, only our second time to visit the quaint little mountain town in the clouds. We caught up with another old friend who now owns a gallery there, walked around downtown a bit (one street about 3 blocks long) and then did a visit at the old railroad trestle that was used decades ago to bring visitors by the hundreds during the summer so they could escape the heat of the desert.

Finally, Thursday morning we left New Mexico, heading for Texas, heading for home. It was a most memorable trip.

If you've taken the time to read this, I hope you enjoyed taking the journey with us. I encourage you to find a way to travel, to get out and see this wonderful country of ours. You'll be glad you did!

SUMMER 2015 UPDATES

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 15:11:00 +0000

As I worked on marking important dates on my calendar and composed a list of upcoming shows and other engagements today, I thought I'd take a few minutes to write a Summer 2015 Update for my blog that I'll subtitle: What's Happening in "my life as a artist."

GALLERY UPDATES

In addition to my art currently being exhibited in three national galleries (Robert Paul Galleries in Stowe, Vermont; Wild Holly Gallery in Carefree/Scottsdale, Arizona; and ArtisticLifestyles in Las Vegas, Nevada), David and I continue to insure that my work is being seen right here in Texas.

As you may know, last February we opened our own space, Wildflower Art Gallery, in Wimberley, Texas. (More news about that in a minute.) In April, I added a Texas gallery representative, Artisans Connect in Georgetown, Texas. And, of course, I am still an active displaying member of the New Braunfels Art League and regularly show in NBAL gallery in downtown New Braunfels. Did you know that my journey as a "professional" artist began when I joined NBAL in 2003?

CURRENT/UPCOMING SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS

And speaking of local/Texas exposure, my wildflowers are currently in two new venues in the Central Texas area and will soon be in a third.

Two paintings, "Colorful Dance" and "Marmalade Dreams," shown here, are brightening the walls of the Wimberley Medical Plaza in a special exhibition sponsored by the Wimberley Valley Art League. The exhibit continues through August 13, 2015.

Earlier this month, one of my large, 4 ft by 4 ft paintings was juried in for "The Big Show" exhibition at Texas State University Round Rock. "Invitation to Spring" will be part of the exhibit that runs through Aug. 27. The show is sponsored by the Round Rock Arts organization. A reception will take place from 6-7:30 p.m. on June 26.

On July 1, David and I will heading back up to Round Rock to hang a selection of my art for a solo show in the new Kerbey Lane Cafe that recently opened in Rock Creek Plaza, just off I-35. I've had a long association with Kerbey Lane Cafe and excited to continue showing my art in their wonderful restaurants around Austin. This is a two-month exhibit that will run through the end of August.

WILDFLOWER ART GALLERY NEWS

Despite a couple of set backs, we are back on track and continue to build up our newest business venture while finding ways to be a part of a wonderful community of fellow artists.

The set backs that I'm referring to began with my slip on the stairs in early April. I was pretty much home bound at my sister's house in New Braunfels for about 8 weeks but am finally well on my way to a recovery. (If you did not know about this little accident but would like to catch up, here's a link to a blog post that explains it all.)

As gallery manager, David stepped up and was doing a great job at taking care business (and helping my sister take care of me) for the rest and April and well into May as I was stuck at my sister's house recuperating.

And then on Memorial Day Weekend, the great flood came. Luckily, our gallery, as well as the most of the businesses near or on The Square, were spared any flooding or damage. But hundreds of homes, as well as many lives, were lost during the flood. It was devastating for the community on many levels.

As the flood waters receded, the media continued to focus on the loss and destruction, to the point that many viewers/readers were led to believe that the entire town of Wimberley floated down the Blanco River. The days and weeks that followed were increasingly challenging for the Wimberley business community, which so heavily relies on tourism. Thanks to efforts of the businesses themselves as well as the Wimberley Valley Chamber of Commerce and our good-hearted friends and neighbors who understand the situation and possible repercussions, the word is slowly getting out that Wimberley is Open for Business and those valuable day-tripping visitors and shoppers are slowly returning.

Although I was unable to be out and about, thanks to my trusty MacBook Pro laptop, I not only stayed in touch with the outside world, but got quite a bit of work accomplished. On that list was the creation of my first art-marketing video. I had not edited video since my days back in college when I was working on my communication arts degree at Incarnate Word. While the technology has greatly changed and improved, the basic concept is the same. I chose to use photos and iPhone movie clips of our new gallery to both practice my video-editing skills and to create a product that we can use to introduce and promote our Wildflower Art Gallery, which I've posted here. I hope you watch the video!

If you plan to visit our gallery in Wimberley, please note that we are open Wednesday through Sunday. We are also happy to accommodate visitors after hours and on Mondays and Tuesdays by appointment. As I mentioned before, David manages the gallery so you can find him there almost all the time. If you need directions or to confirm hours, please call David at 830-730-7880 or e-mail him at davidajacobson@yahoo.com.

ART LICENSING UPDATES

For several years, my art has been licensed for use on products around the world. You may recall that limited edition watches with my wildflowers were even sold on a UK shopping channel on TV there and in Germany for 3 years running. My paintings have been featured on greeting cards sold in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

I'm happy to share a few more recent developments.

Last year, I signed with an artist representative out of NYC that works with interior designers. We had met when I exhibited at Art Expo New York. Through that connection, late last fall a company that runs a luxury senior living facility in Orange County, New York, choose two of paintings for framed prints to decorate their building.

Also, the UK-based licensing company that represents my work for the international market recently acquired a deal for some of my wildflowers to be used for wall art that will be sold in upscale home decor stores in Dubai and across the United Arab Emirates. Yes, my Texas-inspired wildflowers are blooming in the UAE! Who would have thought?

Most recently, I've been invited to list with The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS, a project of Manhattan Arts International. This is an online-based non-profit company that showcases artists whose work is well suited for hospitals, healthcare and other facilities that can use art that heals the spirit, mind and body. One of my paintings was featured in the weekly "Positive Art News" post that was published on June 15.

MY ONLINE GIFT SHOP IS BACK!

And, finally, I want to announce that I've started up my print-on-demand Cafe Press shop again.

As some of you may recall, I used Cafe Press for years, which allowed me to offer my wildflowers on tiles, keepsake boxes and number of other products. With so many new paintings that I've created in the last year or so, I decide that now was a good time to set up shop again.To visit the shop, just click here!

In addition to my collectors being able to order online, any time, any quantity, we'll be stocking a limited supply of select gift items in our Wimberley gallery. They will be a great compliment to my Wildflower Umbrellas, Designer Purses, Mugs and Note Cards that we already offer at the gallery. The first shipment, an assortment of beautiful Keepsake Boxes, will not be in for several weeks but if you follow me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/LindasWildflowers and www.facebook.com/WildflowerArtGallery) or you've signed up for my e-newsletter, I'll be sure to let you know when the stock arrives. If you don't get my e-newsletters, visit www.lindaswildflowers.com and look for the pop-up box when you start scrolling down to sign up!

MEANWHILE AT THE CASA DE LINDA ART STUDIO...

And while it may not directly relate to my "life as an artist," I thought I'd write a little about what's happening this summer in my studio.

Every summer since I first rented my studio upstairs above the New Braunfels Art League Gallery in 2004 I've been offering a Summer Art Camp program for ages 5-13. A few years back, I brought in a couple more teachers to help share the load and to offer more options for the students. I'm so happy that this has continued to work out for everyone concerned! Between Elaine Still Eickenroht, Lynette Clauser and myself, we are able to offer a well-rounded program! We kicked off the summer the first week of June and will continue with something different every week through the third week of August. If you are in the area and if you are looking for a great camp for a special child in your life,

The studio is also where I create my wildflower art. Obviously, with the accident slowing me down, I have not been painting lately. But I hope that by the time camps have concluded in August that I'll be able to get back to creating! I have tons of ideas for new paintings and can't wait to get back at it!

Also in August, it'll be time to set up the fall schedule for classes that we'll be offering from the studio. Of course, I'll be back with my acrylic painting for teens and adults. Elaine will be offering her popular Tuesday after school and Saturday classes for the kids. And I'm sure that Lynette will again be offering pastel painting, mixed media and more. Be sure to check out www.casadelinda.com in August to see the Fall 2015 schedule. And if you haven't done so already, please "like" my studio FB page at www.facebook.com/CasaDeLindaArtStudio.

THANKS FOR READING!

So that's the highlights of Summer 2015 for the Jacobsons! Wow...sounds like both David and I been pretty busy, doesn't it? If you've made it this far reading this blog post, I know that you are someone who is sincerely interested in my life as artist and/or my art or, simply, you are a friend. Regardless, I want to thank you! I hope our paths cross sometime soon. But in the meantime, I'll close with my favorite wish for you...

May your life be like a field of wildflowers...filled with color and overflowing with joy!

ACCIDENTS DO HAPPEN...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 14:53:00 +0000

While April 13th did not fall on a Friday this year, it sure felt like it did in my world.

David and I were headed out around noon on that Monday, the 13th, for an overnight trip to Georgetown, north of Austin. Our anniversary was the week before and we had been so busy preparing our new Wildflower Art Gallery in Wimberley for a ribbon cutting with the Chamber of Commerce there and for our "grand opening" weekend that we didn't get to do much more than say "Happy Anniversary" to each other.

I had several new paintings ready to deliver to a new gallery rep in Georgetown, Artisans Connect. We decided to drop off our dog at my sister's house then take advantage of a 2-day business trip/getaway to deliver the art, find a nice little B-n-B for the night and get in some site seeing around the area. We both tackled a good deal of items on our to-do list Monday morning, clearing our calendar and conscience to take a couple of days "off."

But then the accident happened.

Charging down the stairs, which were wet from the overnight rains and made more treacherous from the pollen that was washed from the overhanging branches, I was on the last or next to the last step when my right foot flew out from under me and I went splat on my butt. In the process, I hurt my right leg and, needless to say, knocked the wind out of my sails. So much for the trip. David was able to help me up and get me to the car and we headed to town. There was no way I could get back up the stairs so the only option was for him to take me to my sister's house in New Braunfels where there are only a couple of steps, no stairs.

We iced and elevated for the evening then made an appointment with my doctor the next day so I could get it X-rayed. With the first read, they told us that nothing was broken and to just continue to ice-n-elevate and take pain meds. Found a "tiny" bit of arthritis but otherwise looked OK. Luckily we had friends and friends of friends to borrow a wheelchair and walkers to get around some, but I was in lots of pain for the first few days and could barely get up and down and when I did had to have lots of help. Was feeling a little better day by day and then a call from the Doctor's office came on Friday afternoon.

They had sent the X-rays out for reading and it came back that I did, indeed have a "small fracture" in right tibial plateau and some compression. (Basically, at the top of the shin bone near the knee joint. I'm sure folks who know more about the anatomy could explain it better). The doctor immediately put me in an immobilizer, told me to keep the weight off the leg at all times and to see an orthopedic surgeon the following week.

Unless you know what you are looking at, this may not look that bad.

Progress was good over the weekend and the pain wasn't nearly as intense. Monday morning we called the orthopedic surgeon's office and David took the X-ray disk to them. Within a half hour they called they he wanted to see me on Thursday.

Since we still needed to get the new paintings to Georgetown and rather than just send David on his own, I decided to ride up with him. After all, all I had to do was sit and look out the window, right? We had a great day, accomplished the mission, had a nice lunch in Georgetown, enjoyed the wildflowers along the roadsides and was back home by late afternoon.

But the trip took its toll and I was pretty much wiped out the next day. We had put off talking about or making any decisions regarding the Downtown New Braunfels Art Walk set for April 25-26. Of course I had planned to have my studio all cleaned up and open for the event. After the exhausting trip on Monday, we made the difficult decision to not participate this year. I had to accept the reality that it was just not in the best interest of my health and continued healing to push myself that way. Even with help, it would be too risky.

We made it to the appointment on Thursday and the doctor confirmed that I did indeed have a fracture, but more significant than what we were told the previous week. Also, the arthritis was much more severe, so much so that he felt that surgery at this time would not be a good idea since there was already damage that might, down the line, require knee replacement.

I've been instructed to continue doing what I'm doing: keep the immobilizer on and keep weight off the right leg so it can heal on its on for the next 5 weeks. Yes, 5 weeks! Then I return for another appointment and another X-ray to see if I can start on the next phase, rebuilding the muscle and getting my strength back. And, of course, no driving until it's safe.

Needless to say, this messes up any plans I had for the next few months for teaching, painting and just living life as I normally do. Hopefully by mid-summer I'll be getting "back to normal."

In the meantime, life goes on. David is still opening the Wimberley gallery on weekends and during the week as he can. The summer camp schedule for our studio in New Braunfels is complete and posted, but there will be some switching around on instructors as soon as I get it lined up. But the camps will remain in place as listed on the website and we are already getting enrollments. Thankfully I have my trusty laptop computer and can do business somewhat as normal as long as I pace it, as my sweet David keeps reminding me. Maybe now I'll find time now to clean out my overloaded in-boxes!

Thanks for reading and thanks for your interest!

Announcing the opening of my Wildflower Art Gallery!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 21:36:00 +0000

Sometimes you just know when its right. That simple statement pretty much sums up how David and I felt in late January when we decided, pretty much on a whim and within about a 72-hour-window, to open a gallery in Wimberley, Texas, to showcase my wildflower paintings.

WELCOME TO WIMBERLEY!
In case you've never heard of or been to Wimberley, the little village is known for its quaint-and-walkable downtown "square" filled with shops, art galleries and restaurants. Wimberley is located in the heart of Texas, a short 45-minute drive southwest of Austin and about an hour and half north/northeast of San Antonio. With beautiful Texas Hill Country drives and some cool wineries and even a lavender farm in the area, it's the quintessential "day-trip" destination. And it's also well known for its humongous, monthly Wimberley Lions Market Days.

HOW THIS NEW VENTURE BEGAN
The seed for the idea was first planted on a Saturday when we drove over from our home near Fischer to visit Art on 12, a beautiful, new gallery featuring many of our artist friends from the region that opened in Fall 2014. We parked a few yards from the gallery's entrance in front of Olde Towne Plaza, a collection of quirky buildings that, without a doubt, has seen its better days. Being the coffee lovers that we are, I have to admit that it was the "fresh roasted coffee" sign on one of the shops that first caught our attention. We made our way past a brightly painted green vacant cottage to Fisticuffs Coffee Roasters where Jed, the owner, gave us a friendly welcome. David spent some time "talking coffee" while I wandered around, looking at the mostly-empty buildings and thinking of how it must have all looked so cool when they were filled with shops and displays. In addition to the Fisticuffs, the only business currently in operation was Broadway Paul's Antiques. In the back of my mind I wondered if a gallery would work there but didn't really talk with David about it. We walked about some together and then made it the gallery next door.

After a nice visit with our friends at Art on 12, we drove around a bit and then headed back home. We didn't discuss it the next day, but on Monday David asked what I "thought" about that little green building next to the coffee roaster for an art gallery. Since it was now up for discussion, we made another trip to Wimberley to look it over again and, if we were still interested, to get the phone number on the for-rent sign.

Photo of future Wildflower Art Gallery taken just before we rented building.

REVISITING... WITH A PURPOSE
After considerable time looking in the windows and walking around the complex of old buildings, we spent some time walking the Square, which is only a block from the little green cottage and Olde Towne Plaza, looking at the other shops and getting a sense of the place. While there were a few other for-rent signs up here and there, no other building or location spoke to us the way the little green cottage did. I think it was about then that we both decided that, if the terms were something we could work with, we'd soon be in business.

We called the property manager the next day, got the scoop, batted around the idea, slept on it, and the following day David made an appointment to see the building on Friday afternoon. By 6 p.m. and only 6 days after first seeing it, we were exchanging a check for the keys to the little green cottage.

MAKING IT A REALITY

Over the next few days, we put a plan into place. First, a name and we settled on: Wildflower Art Gallery. Since it will be mostly for my work, my full name will be used with the business name on most marketing materials. So you'll often see: Linda Calvert Jacobson Wildflower Art Gallery.

I set about creating a quickie logo so I could order some signage and business cards. Meanwhile, David began what would be two solid, non-stop weeks of cleaning and painting, concentrating on the interior first, in order to open as soon as possible.

After joining the Wimberley Valley Chamber of Commerce, I found out about the Wimberley Second Saturday Gallery Trail and made contact to get on the map so we could be included in the February event. That made it official: the Wildflower Art Gallery would have a soft opening on Saturday, Feb. 14.

TRYING TO DO IT ALL. WELL, ALMOST ALL.
Just in case you are interested or you're wondering, we are still planning to show my wildflowers at fine art shows around the nation, continue to work with my existing out-of-state gallery representatives and secure additional galleries. In fact, we'll be heading to New Mexico next month for the Las Cruces Arts Fair on March 13-15. Then in April we are planning to be in the Texas Panhandle for the Lubbock Arts Festival on April 18 and 19th.

I'll also continue to teach and coordinate classes for Casa de Linda Art Studio, located upstairs at the New Braunfels Art League Gallery. I've had this studio for more than a decade and its still going strong! Soon we'll be planning our popular Children's Art Camp program.

With our busy schedule and travels, when possible we'll have a fellow artist keeping the Wildflower Art Gallery open to greet visitors and to accommodate buyers and collectors.

HOURS OF OPERATION, MAPPING THE DIRECTIONS
For now, we'll have "winter" hours on weekends only and will be open from 12-5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and by appointment. Come Spring (mid March), we'll increase both the hours and number of days we'll be open and will be posting the details soon. If you are making a trip specifically to see the gallery and/or to visit with me, please e-mail lindaswildflowers@yahoo.com or call David at 830-730-7880. Since I'll still be teaching classes at the New Braunfels studio as well as painting every chance I get, David will managing the gallery. But I suspect you'll find both of us there most weekends!

As for the location, we're in Olde Towne Plaza and the street address is 13801 RR 12. If you GPS or Google the address, some maps will place us far north of Wimberley, out in a cow pasture. Don't you love technology?

So here's a bit more information to help you find us. We are about a block or so "south" of the Square. In addition to it being a bright, really bright green, there's the frame work of an old plane "flying" out front. Mounted on a pole, it rotates around when there's a breeze. Really kinda cool. Other land marks to look for: We are between Art on 12 and The Boot Whisperer and across the street from Santa Fe Connection.

For a quick visual, here's a drawn map of where you can find us.

THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST!
As always, I so appreciate that you have taken the time to read this blog post and that you've taken an interest in my "life as a artist" story. This is just one more step in a new direction for both David and I. If you are ever in the area, please let us know and plan a visit! We can be reached by e-mail at lindaswildflowers@yahoo.com or you can call us at 830-730-7880. To see more of my work and what's currently available, please visit www.LindasWildflowers.com.

THE STORY OF MY WILDFLOWERS ARE HEADING TO SOUTH CAROLINA AND HAWAII

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 15:12:00 +0000

This is Vernon and Cathy who live in California and were visiting family in South Texas, where we first met at the Artrageous Fine Art Show in Edinburg in October. They fell in love with my wildflower art, especially "Passions Rising," which they said would be perfect for their home in Hawaii. They couldn't commit on the spot but Vernon held on to my business card and said they'd be in the San Antonio/Austin area around Thanksgiving and might be in touch. Fast forward to the Saturday after Thanksgiving when I just happened to be working in my New Braunfels studio and got a call out of the blue. They were in the area and wanted to see if I still had "Passions Rising." We met and they were delighted to see their painting again. In the meantime, Cathy was immediately drawn to "Summer Woods," which she said would be perfect for their home in South Carolina. Plus she found another small painting, "Wild Heart," as a companion piece to "Passions Rising" to ship to Hawaii. So now 3 of wildflower paintings have new homes, some 4,500 miles apart! I'm thrilled and honored to welcome my newest collectors!

REFLECTIONS ON CALIFORNIA TRIP, NOVEMBER 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 23 Nov 2014 20:08:00 +0000

David and I at the 2014 Sacramento Arts Fest.

Four thousand, four hundred miles. That's how far we traveled from our home in Texas to California for the Sacramento Arts Fest and back. David, my partner in life and business, drove and I navigated. Of course, there were more than a few side trips along the way as we traveled through New Mexico, Arizona, the tip of Nevada, into California, north through the central valley and back down along the California coast before crossing back and heading home.

Continuing with a custom I began a few years back, I wanted to blog about this most recent trip and share the experience with my friends and fans. This is a long post but, believe it or not, really does only hit the highlights of the trip! Perhaps it will give you some ideas about places to visit on your next road trip or, at the very least, you'll enjoy the photos.

Our main destination when we hit the road early in the morning on November 1 was to be in Sacramento by the following Wednesday evening so we could have all day Thursday to set up our booth for the show, which opened on Friday, Nov. 7. The extra day or so to get from here to there allowed for some extraordinary sightseeing along the way.

Scenic view on the road from Globe to Show Low.

After a layover in Lordsburg, NM, we headed up US 70 for the Arizona/New Mexico border and on to Safford and then Globe. We had not explored much of the eastern part of Arizona, so this was some new territory. Perhaps one of the biggest surprises was when we drove along US Hwy 70 through Safford and started seeing acres and acres of cotton. I had no idea that cotton was grown in Arizona, did you? After we got back home and I did a little research, I learned that this area had a huge role in creating a new type of cotton pre-WWI. If you're interested in learning more, check out this link about Pima Cotton.

Our next destination was down the road a bit, Globe, and soon we were taking US Hwy 60 north to drive through the Salt River Canyon. My sister and I "discovered" the road on our vacation last summer and I couldn't wait to share it with David. If narrow roads and hairpin switchbacks make you nervous, you'll do good to avoid this 88-mile run that ends in the beautiful area of Show Low/Pinetop and the Apache National Forest. But if you're brave, then it's a must-see!

Yes, this is Arizona. Near Strawberry/Pine, north of Payson.

We picked up AZ 260 west out of Show Low and headed to Payson for night #2. Driving through pine trees and looking out at the canyons and mountain sides, it's hard to believe that you are still in Arizona. Now that I've had a few chances to check out the state, I have a whole new appreciation for the variety of landscape and my old preconceived ideas that Arizona was all about deserts and cactus have long since dissolved.

Continuing with our scenic route, we headed north out of Payson on AZ 260, going through Strawberry/Pine and then took a westward turn toward Camp Verde.

The farther west we drove, the more we began to leave the piney woods behind and, once again, could see miles and miles of desert to the left, right and ahead. However, at one point we did catch a glimpse of San Francisco Peaks, the 11,500-ft tall mountains located in the Snow Bowl north of Flagstaff, which were already topped with snow!

Montezuma Well, Arizona.

Ahhh...Sedona!

A side trip on the drive to Camp Verde took us on a short hike to see Montezuma Well. It was worth the walk up the hill side to see this ancient fresh water well and the ruins of homes built by Indians hundreds of years ago.

Back on the road, we were headed for a "red rock" fix with a drive through Sedona on our way to Flagstaff. Even just a few hours surrounded by the majestic scenery of Sedona feeds the soul. We followed the zigzag and hairpin switchbacks of AZ 89A north to Flagstaff, our stop over for the night. Making good time, we had one more sightseeing adventure in store: Snow Bowl.

Snow at Snow Bowl, north of Flagstaff, AZ.

As we drove toward the mountains, little snow flakes began to fall, melting as they touched down but setting the stage for what we were about to experience. As we drove further up the mountain road, we began to see more Aspens and...Snow! While we missed the fall color that I was hoping for, the contrast of the snow on the pine trees and the harmonious look of the white-and-black bark of the Aspens made it picture perfect. What a contrast to the desert area we had driven through to get here!

The next morning we took a brief drive around old downtown Flagstaff and then headed west once again, this time taking I-40 to make time on the Interstate, which allowed for a brief stop off at Williams, AZ. From there we took a detour up through the tip of Nevada and then spent the next several hours driving through or near various "wilderness" areas with names like Dead Mountains, Clipper Mountain, Trilobite and the vast Mojave National Preserve. David dodged some serious tumble weeds along the way! This area falls under the "beautiful-to-look-at-but-I-would-never-want-to-live-there-or-even-drive-it-very-often" category!

Our next stop would be Bakersfield, CA, for the night's stopover. From there we headed north on 99 through the ag lands and orchards, small towns and large, to Sacramento, calling it "home base" until Monday morning.

World Peace Rose Garden in downtown Sacramento, CA.

For the next few days, it was all about business and our purpose for the trip: exhibiting at the Sacramento Arts Fest in downtown Sacramento. We stayed at a motel just a few blocks from the Convention Center. Two blocks over was the State Capitol and the State Capitol Park, home to the World Peace Rose Garden.

The close proximity of everything downtown made for a convenient and wonderful experience. In the mornings, we could walk from the hotel to the coffee shop to the rose garden and back to the convention center in time for the show to open. Doesn't get much better than that!

As for the show, it was one of the best we attended, in many ways. First, it was well organized and nicely laid out. Load in and out was fairly simple, all things considered. But best of all, they had good attendance and we had good sales! In fact, we all but sold out of our umbrellas and did well on both note cards and calendars. And, three paintings, including one of my newest "Apsen" series works, are now in homes in Sacramento!

Monday morning we bid goodbye to downtown Sacramento and made our way to "Old Town" for a quick stroll before leaving the area.

Napa Valley vineyard. Quintessential California.

As we drove across the bridge and discussed our options, we decided that we were too close to Napa to not at least drive through the famous "valley" and the town. Hillsides were covered with vineyards. Yes, it does look just like the pictures we've all seen. Napa itself was a nice stopover for lunch and coffee but they are still repairing damage from a recent earth quake.

Heading south we decided to pass on visiting San Franciso and instead make our next destination Monterey, Carmel and the fabulous California Hwy 1. Since we were making our motel reservations the day before each night's stay, we booked a motel in Monterey for Monday night only. After spending the afternoon exploring, we were pleased enough with the accommodations and not ready to leave the area so we stayed over a second night in Monterey.

For that couple of days, we took in what we could of the area, including a stroll on Cannery Row, driving most of the "17-mile drive" along the coastline and, of course, a stop off in Carmel, to visit several galleries for potential representation and to get a feel for the town...and what a neat little town it is!

Redwood trees at a Big Sur state park.

Wednesday morning we hit Hwy 1, heading for San Simeon and the Hearst Castle but not before seeing Big Sur and stopping off at several parks and scenic look outs along the way. I have to say that this is a beautiful part of the state and makes for a most memorable road trip! I can still hear the waves crashing on the rocks at Point Lobos State Reserve!

Perhaps one of the biggest surprises from this leg of the trip was getting to see -- and walk through -- stands of huge Coast Redwood trees in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. While I took tons of photos, it's just impossible to really capture their size and grandeur. The one I'm posting with David standing near the base give you only a slight idea of what I mean.

As we took in the sights and sounds of the Pacific Coast Highway, we were trying to keep our focus on the next destination: Hearst Castle. Our intent was to make the last tour on Wednesday but those few side trips along the way delayed the plan. Rather than rush to get there, we decided to slow down a bit and take our time. From my trusty little iPad, when I had enough "bars," I booked a room in San Simeon for the night and reserved tickets for the 9 a.m. castle tour for the next morning.

Only a few low clouds here. We enjoyed a few days of "blue skies" before the rains came.

I've known about the "home" of William Randolph Hearst for as long as I can remember. As a former Hearst employee back in my newspaper days and a long-time fan of "Citizen Kane," a visit to Hearst Castle had long been on my bucket list. While I never dreamed it would happen this trip, the opportunity presented itself and I couldn't pass it up.

For the days spent in the Carmel area and then driving south on Hwy 1, we were blessed as the clouds lifted and the skies cleared. By Thursday morning, another weather system arrived, bringing off-and-on rain and grey skies, which set the stage for our tour. To see Hearst Castle, ticket holders meet at the visitor center and are taken by bus up the hill to the estate.

Rainy day at Hearst Castle...but still wonderful!

The fog-n-mist blocked any views that would otherwise be part of the experience. But still, the weather gave the landscape and buildings an almost mystical feel. We took one of the tours and spent as much time as we felt we could allow ourselves to explore the grounds and enjoy the amazing art, architecture and landscaping.

The design and building of Hearst Castle lasted from 1919 to 1947. What's really cool...it was a woman architect, Julia Morgan, who was the mastermind behind the design!

While touring the castle and grounds fulfilled the "bucket list" item, I'm not checking it off since I really would love to do it again when the sun shining. I had a friend tell me that in high season, during the summer, you have to make your reservations weeks in advance. Guess we'll have to plan ahead a bit more next time! But it is worth the trip. If you are interested, you can read more about Hearst Castle here.

Soon we were catching a bus back to the visitor center and back on Hwy 1, heading south to Santa Maria where picked up Hwy 166 to start heading back eastward toward Arizona again.

Zigzagging through the desert mountains and valleys we ended up at Castiaic, north of LA, for our layover.

Palm Desert Shopping District.

Heading out early the next morning, our next stop would be Palm Spring, Cathedral City and Palm Desert to check out the area and the galleries. We took time to park and walk a section of El Paseo in Palm Desert. Known as the "Rodeo Drive of the Desert," it is high end in every way. Amazing area and worth another visit another time.

We then headed southward around the Salton Sea to pick up I-8 to Yuma in Southern Arizona where David's dad, brother and cousin live.

We spent the weekend in Yuma, getting in some quality time with family (and even a quick trip across "the" border, into Mexico, for a little shopping and exploring) before heading east again on Monday morning for the final few days of our trip. However, we were delayed a bit when David discovered a low tire that had to be repaired before we could get back on the road.

Of course, I have to include at least one photo of the beautiful Saguaros that Arizona is most famous for!

Tombstone, as expected!

Several hours later we were heading into the Tucson area. We decided to get off of the interstate and take some back roads and scenic routes (not that it isn't all scenic in its own way). After a wonderful drive through the Saguaro National Park and then a layover in Tucson, the last item on our to-see-and-do list for this trip was a detour south to Tombstone and the old copper-mining-town-turned-arts-mecca-and-hippie-hangout Bisbee.

Since I've been to both Tombstone and Bisbee before (though it was more than 20 years ago), both were pretty much as I remembered. David had not been there so it was another area that I wanted to share with him, especially Bisbee. In addition to the abandoned copper mine that you drive by just outside of old town, the village itself is pretty interesting.

Downtown Bisbee, AZ, well preserved and very artsy!

Again, this is not the Arizona you'd expect to see. Bisbee is built, literally, on the hillsides with steep streets and lots of stairs! After a wonderful lunch, a walk around the downtown and a stop off for coffee, we were on the road again, taking one final scenic drive though southeast Arizona before crossing the border into New Mexico and heading for Las Cruces, our last stop before the long drive back home to the Texas Hill Country.

The last day was just about making time. I do have to say, after 19 days on the road, covering some 4400 miles, it is, as always, good to be home!

Below are a few more photos, in no particular order, from this road trip. I do hope that you've enjoyed taking this journey with us!

Famous Cannery Row, Monterey, CA.

Rain-drenched Fuchsia flowers at Hearst Castle.

Hearst Castle Rose Garden

Joshua Trees.

Looking up at the Redwoods.

Southern Cali Mountains and Valley.

Peaceful Seagulls enjoying a day at ocean.

REFLECTIONS ON TRIP TO RUISODO, NM JULY 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 17:47:00 +0000

We spent several days in Ruidoso New Mexico for the Ruidoso Fine Art Festival, July 25-28, 2014. Rather than an extensive write up this time, I thought I'd post photos and some captions to let them tell the story. Enjoy!

CONTRASTING LANDSCAPES...


This was near Roswell, only about 75 miles from Ruidoso. But what a difference those miles make as you'll see!

Grindstone Lake, just west of downtown Ruidoso, New Mexico.

A beautiful sunset over Carrizo Creek Lake near the Inn of the Mountain Gods resort.


David took this photo of a public golf course that surrounds the Ruidoso Convention Center where the show was held.

SHOW TIME...

Yes, we were in Ruidoso for more than than just sightseeing. Here are some pics from our booth at the Ruidiso Fine Art Festival. It was a wonderful show!

MORE SIGHTSEEING AND PLAY TIME...

Since we were already there, we decided to stay over an extra day to take some drives around the area. The most memorable was doing up to Ski Apache. The views were just amazing!

Headed north for another side trip where we found a great breakfast at the Smokey Bear Restaurant in Capitan, NM. Yes, this are is the home to "THE" Smokey the Bear.

AND, OF COURSE, WE SAW LOTS OF WILDFLOWERS! Here's just a small sampling...

So that's some of the highlights of our trip.

AS ALWAYS, THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST!

REFLECTIONS ON JULY 2014 TRIP TO ARIZONA

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 22:42:00 +0000

View from I-17 north of Phoenix.

If you follow my blogs and postings, you know that I took trip to Arizona in early July 2014. My husband and I did a similar visit in February, but this time it was my sister, Sue, and I enjoying the splendor of the American Southwest. We flew in to Phoenix on a Saturday, rented a car, put in more than 1500 miles, and flew out the following Saturday. What a trip! For anyone interested, here is a recounting of this journey, sharing some of the sights we covered from Phoenix to Flagstaff and many points in between as well as west and east.

Chapel of the Holy Cross, Sedona

As soon as we landed and secured our car, we headed north for Sedona, where we were booked for the first two nights of our trip. The red rocks were calling my spirit and just the drive into Sedona did the trick. Yes, there's something about that place that speaks to me, as it does to many. After checking in at the Wildflower Inn, we drove around and through the rock canyons, stopping for an extended visit to the Chapel of the Holy Cross. What a spiritual place!

As the day came to an end, we ventured up to the look out at the airport where you see not only the town of Sedona but the red rocks in the distance. Yes, we were surround by the red rocks, including a view of Bell Rock from our motel balcony, which also offered a spectacular sunrise to start Sunday morning!

Views on the road from Sedona to Flagstaff.

For our first full day in Arizona, we decided to take a day trip to the north, heading up the switchback highway to the mountains of Flagstaff. After a brief walk through the downtown, it was back in the car to drive into the San Francisco Mountains and check out the Snowbowl. As soon as we reached the Aspens we knew we made the right choice for our day-trip adventure. Thick stands of the stark white-n-black trunks were surrounded by tall, lush grass and wildflowers! Yes, summer blooms of yellow, white and blues created scenes that will find their way into my paintings in the near future!

San Francisco Mountains near Flagstaff.

We left the mountain top but had time for one more drive, this time taking the 26-mile Schultz Pass through Coconino National Forest. As the road turned from payment to gravel, the landscape also began to change. But this wasn't natural or mother nature's work. It was the result of what was believe to have been an unattended camp fire that consumed some 15,000 in the summer of 2010. While the black skeletons of what was once a mighty pine forest dotted the hillsides and mountain cliffs, I found comfort in the scores of wildflowers in bloom as well as small trees and brush. Still it was very sad to witness the result of one person's neglectful act some four years after the fact.
As the day was coming to a close we made our way back to Sedona via the Interstate. We wanted to spend a little time in Uptown Sedona, visiting some of the shops before bidding goodbye to the area for this trip.

Lagoon at Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Cottonwood, AZ.

On Monday we checked out of the Wildflower Inn and headed south with Prescott as our destination for our Monday night layover. On the way, we visited Dead Horse State Park in Cottonwood and enjoyed a morning walk around the lagoons there. While they are man-made, the large bodies of water with the reflections of Arizona sky were just beautiful.

Next stop for the morning was Jerome, an old mining town set on the side of a mountain. We visited the local co-op gallery and a few of the shops and then hit the road for the trip over Mingus Mountain. Switchback roads offered views of from north, where we had been to south where we were heading. Coming off the mountain and the forest of pines and into the desert was a reminder that we were still in Arizona!
We made our way to our motel in Prescott, got checked in and then set out to explore the area.

North of Prescott.

It was Monday afternoon, the day after a long holiday weekend that included a Fourth of July parade and a huge rodeo. I mention this because it has been my experience that the "Monday after" tends to be a dead time for many touristy areas. Visitors have left and locals are exhausted. Not so in Prescott! At least not for this particular post holiday. The downtown courthouse square was like a magnet! Parking was filled, people were walking into shops and galleries. As the day passed we saw folks spreading blankets on the grass by the courthouse to enjoy the afternoon. This was one of the most pleasant and inviting downtown experiences I've ever had. Spending most of the afternoon there, we enjoyed local coffee and, at the suggestion of a man in a shoe store, had some great Thai food a few blocks from the downtown square.

White Tank Mountains, West of Phoenix

After having coffee on the patio at Starbucks while enjoying some cool temps in the 60s the next morning, we hit the road again, this time heading west and then south toward Wickenburg. We drove several hours with a few stops for photos and once to eat. Finally, when it was about as hot as you can imagine on a July afternoon in Arizona, we made it west of Phoenix and decided to take a drive through White Tank Mountains. I only mention the heat because the area was filled with photo ops and you can't do those with out leaving the comfort of the AC in the car. We took several little walks, drinking plenty of water and keeping our hats on. A longer hike to see the what was supposed to be a waterfall and some petroglyphs was out of the question. But, in the end, even the shorter walks and the drive it was worth it!

Superstition Mountains

Our next stop was the Best Western Papago Inn in Scottsdale, which we would be calling home until we flew out on Saturday.
A memorable drive that David and I took our our trip earlier in the year was up and over Superstition Mountains on Apache Pass.

This was a must-do again this time as I wanted to share it with my sister. So we headed eastward Wednesday morning. The winding gravel roads hugging the sides of the mountains and offering views as far as the eye could see did not disappoint! While creeping along a particularly narrow section about half way through we passed a car with the window down coming from the other direction. Sue rolled down her window and we chatted with the other woman for about 10 minutes, on the side of the mountain. She suggested we take a left at the end of the road just past the Theodore Roosevelt Dam. When David and I did the trip, we had taken a right there and went down to Globe. I was thinking I'd like to see what was up the road if we took a left instead and, thanks to the advice of the stranger, we were glad we did!

Mountain-n-valley view near Payson, AZ

Up the road we found the community of Payson where we had a great cup of coffee and got some free sightseeing advice from the barista, Dylan. He suggested a couple of back roads and even drew us a map. We were able to do one of them, which included driving up Diamond Point for an amazing lookout of the mountains and the valley below.

As daylight was running our we took Beeline Highway (yes, that's what they call it) back to Scottsdale, driving through the mountains as darkness fell, creating silhouettes in every direction.

With only 2 days left, we made plans for another long day-trip on Thursday and then staying closer to home base on Friday. But the mountains were calling to both Sue and I so we knew we needed to find our way back to the Payson area. However, we would be taking the long way around to get there. So we were up early the next morning and soon on the road to Globe. Just the drive from Phoenix to Globe is scenic and interesting. But I must say that nothing can prepare you for the 2-hour haul from Globe to Show Low through Salt River Canyon! I did a quick Google and read one man's description that it was like a "mini Grand Canyon." I could not agree more! If you are ever in the area and have the time, take that drive! You'll be glad you did!

Salt River Canyon between Globe and Show Low.

We drove around the Ponderosa Pines of Show Low and took a hike to a scenic overlook on the Mogollon Rim. As we were still several hours from Scottsdale, we made the stay brief and headed west for Payson, where we ended up at the same little coffee shop, giving me a chance to thank our friendly barista for his excellent map and information the day before. While we would have loved to visit nearby Pine/Stawberry, we decided to make the trip on Beeline Highway before dark to see what we missed before. The mountains were beautiful and we enjoyed seeing the transition from pine trees back into Saguaro and other familiar cactus of the Arizona landscape.

View near Show Low and a cool 82 degrees!

Friday was our last full day in Arizona so we did a shorter day trip, this time heading for downtown Phoenix for a brief walk and then up to Cave Creek and over to Carefree. On our last trip, I signed with Wild Holly Gallery in Carefree and it was nice to see them again and to get to see my art on display there!
Every day the temps were rising and by Friday afternoon it was over 100 in the city. By the way, one reason we kept heading to the mountains was because it was an easy 10 to 20 degrees cooler in the higher altitude, among the towering pine trees!
But the Friday afternoon heat was getting to both of us and we decided that an afternoon at the mall was not a bad idea. We ended up at Scottsdale Fashion Square, whose claim to fame is being the "largest shopping mall in Arizona and the Southwest." While there we decided to take in a movie and timing was right to catch "Jersey Boys." What a great way to spend an afternoon when it's 108 outside!
Saturday morning was our travel day and we got out early to have plenty of time to gas up and return the rental car, check luggage, and make it through security. While standing in the long line to the luggage counter we learned that our flight was delayed by 2 hours. Then it was delayed another 3 hours. Then another 45 minutes. Ten hours from the time that we dropped off the rental car we were, finally, back in Austin!
As you can tell, it was an amazing trip from start to finish. In addition to the wonderful memories, I brought home tons of photos to use as reference for my next wave of paintings. You never know where the inspiration will come from! Thanks for reading about this journey!

Here I am, on the left, with my sweet sister, Sue, in Sedona.

REFLECTIONS ON TRIP TO NYC FOR ARTEXPO 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 07:30:00 +0000

For the third year in a row, I was invited to exhibit my wildflowers at Artexpo in New York City.

As one of the largest art shows in the US, with artists and galleries from around the world, I was honored to be included. The show was held on Pier 94 on April 4-6, 2014.

While my husband David and I have visited NYC several times now, for this and other shows, there was something new this time. We decided to pack our Transit and drive rather than ship the art and fly in for the show. In the end, we drove some 3939 miles! We were a bit nervous about driving into Manhattan but with lots of pre-planning and a little luck, we did just fine. Or should I say, David did fine since he was behind the wheel!
But first, we had to get there.

Blossoms in Tennessee.

We left for the trip several days early to give us time for the long drive. Along the way we enjoyed seeing wildflowers along the roadsides throughout the South, though it was still a bit early in the season. As we turned northward heading through Alabama and into Tennessee, it began to look more and more like winter, with bare trees and brown fields. However, several varieties of flowering trees, such as fruit trees, redbuds and dogwoods, were starting to bloom and made the trip really enjoyable.

Snow in the Blue Ridge Mtns!

As we made our way into Virginia, we decided to enjoy the off season and take Skyline Drive, which runs north and south along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Shenandoah National Park for 105 miles. We pretty much had the road to ourselves. The views were breathtaking and we even saw some snow along the way! As far as the weather, our timing was good as we were just ahead or had just missed storms through the regions were were traveling.

A view of Shenandoah Valley from Skyline Drive.

After being on the road for four days and nights, we drove across the George Washington bridge on Wednesday, paid our toll and made our way into The City.

While we were booking rooms for nightly stays along the way, we had made arrangements for our NYC accommodations weeks in advance through AirBnB. We were able to rent an apartment for the week, which we were sharing with some of my family members who were flying in to see my work at Artexpo and a vacation. With a total of 5 of us, it was nice to have a place with a kitchen and sitting area rather than staying in separate hotel rooms.

After we checked in at the apartment, we made our way to the show site where we were able to unload and start preparing for set up the next day. Plus we were able to park the Transit on the next pier over where it stayed until we were ready to leave, which was our plan from the start since the apartment was within walking distance.

Crowds enjoy art at Artexpo NYC.

We hit the ground running every morning for the next few days, with set up on Thursday and the show hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Over the course of the event, we met hundreds of visitors and talked with dozens of galleries, returning home with several solid leads for future representation and other opportunities.

Visiting with David Bromstad.

In the mix of the amazing artists at this year's expo was one face familiar to fans of HGTV. David Bromstad, host of Color Splash, was a featured speaker at one of the seminars and was available to chat with visitors on Saturday. I've seen him on TV a few times but I must say that, in person, he is as nice as he is good looking. It was a pleasure to meet him and to get to share our mutual love of flowers!

All too soon the show came to an end on Sunday night and it was time to pack up and load out. As we put the last load in the Transit, the sun was setting over Manhattan, giving a perfect ending to another wonderful experience.

Sunset over Manhattan.

We stayed one last night and left Manhattan on Monday, driving back over the GW bridge into New Jersey and on to Pennsylvania.

This time, however, we were driving right into some rain storms and decided to stop over in Bethlehem for the evening. What we didn't know is that we were in for a treat!

Bethlehem, PA in the rain.

We stayed at the Sands, a casino hotel, in a room overlooking the town, which was build on a hillside.

The Sands is a huge complex using buildings and land of the old Bethlehem Steel Company. Since we were also celebrating our wedding anniversary, we decided to stay over an extra day and explore the area a bit before hitting the road for home. The town is very quaint and the buildings and streets are filled with a sense of history and pride. It is a very special place and I hope that we can make it back again some day.

Wildflowers in Mississippi.

It was time to head home so for the next few days we made a straight shot down through the Delta Blues, into Louisiana and westward, into Texas. It was amazing how much greener everything was than when we came through on our way up. In Alabama, the wisteria were blooming like crazy, as were the redbud trees. Each area has its own version of wildflowers along the roadsides. Some of the nicest were in Mississippi but the flowers in Louisiana were pretty impressive, too.

Even so, I have to say that the most appealing patches were the ones along I-10 once we were on the west side of Houston. I know I have to watch my "Texas Pride," but we do have beautiful wildflowers in Texas. That's where I've drawn my inspiration from the beginning and continue to do so. As always, thanks for reading and for letting me share the highlights of this journey with you.

Artexpo NYC 2014.

REFLECTIONS ON TRIP TO SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL ARIZONA, JAN-FEB 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 20:07:00 +0000

On the way to Yuma!

We recently returned from an amazing two weeks in the great state of Arizona. The last and only time I had been there was some 21 years ago and, though we drove from far south to Vegas and back, it was the images of the red rocks of Sedona that were forever etched in my mind. I can't believe that it took two decades to make my way back. However, this time I was able to gain an even greater appreciation for the scenery of the great Southwest (beyond just famous Sedona).

Along with my husband and sister, we flew into Phoenix, rented a car and headed to Yuma. My husband's dad and some extended family call that area home now, having moved from Idaho and other up-North climates. Some of them are still "snow birds," coming down for the winter and heading back home as the temperatures rise in the South and stop plummeting in the North. Our timing was intentional. Family is important to both my husband and I and this visit was long overdue.

I had never been in the Yuma area before. For the most part, the scenery is typical desert Southwest. Vast, flat plateaus dotted with towering Saguaro cactus, thorny Buckhorn Cholla, and Ocotilla, also known as Coachwhip. Serving as a perfect backdrop for the deserts were foothills of various mountain ranges, but for someone who lives in the Texas Hill Country, they were all mountains to us.

Date Palm tree orchard near Yuma.

Two features of the Yuma area came as a surprise.

First, it's not all dry desert. In fact, the area is a huge supplier of vegetables. We would drive past fields upon fields of cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, spinach and more. Fact: Yuma county is the nation's third largest vegetable producer and tops in winter vegetables. The second surprise: dates. OK, so you do find palms in the desert. But I never thought about acres of palm trees thriving in Southwest Arizona. They have the most delicious Medjool dates. And don't even get me started on the date milkshakes. Wow, who would have thoughts that bits of date blended into ice cream would be so tasty? Another little fact for you: the Yuma area grows more Medjool dates than anywhere else in the world!

One of hundreds of booths in Quartzsite.

In addition to some quality time with my father-in-law, one of David's brothers, a special cousin and an aunt, we took a few day trips around the area. One highlight was a few hours spent in Quartzsite, north of Yuma. The little town is, for some reason, a huge draw for RVers who come in droves during the winter months. Plus, it has at least 9 big rock-n-mineral-n-gem festivals each year and acres of swap meets. We walked one of the shows, where hundreds of exhibitors gathered to sell their jewelry, beads, rocks and art.

David's family hosted a bonfire while we were there. We spent the evening watching the fire burn as the sun set on the desert, while listening to stories from his wonderful aunt, a "snow bird" from Wyoming, along with cousins, dad and brother. His family has a long tradition of heading South for the winter, where they park their RVs and travel trailers on the desert and soak up the sun for several months. We were grateful for this quality time with his family.

As you may have noticed, I haven't mentioned anything about art or galleries. This part of the trip was more about family and a little sight seeing. After our week in Yuma, we headed back to Phoenix to drop my sister at the airport since she was heading back home. The next week, David and I spent exploring the greater Phoenix area and beyond, with our focus on finding gallery representation for my wildflower art.

If you are not familiar with the area, here's a little info. While people talk about Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa as four cities, if you look at the map and drive the streets a few times, they really are just part of a larger metropolitan area. Sort of like interlocking jigsaw puzzle pieces. Yes, they each have a "feel" that you sense as you drive from one city limit into the next, as well as their own street signage and downtown areas, but they are seamless. Then there are several more cities and communities in the same general area. Once you get outside of this metroplex, you find more towns, like Fountain Hills, Carefree and Cave Creek to the North/NW; Sun City and Surprise to the Northeast; and Gilbert and Chandler to South/SW.

Since Scottsdale is one of the nation's top art destinations, we had that high on our list to visit galleries and see what contacts we could make for my wildflower art. However, we also wanted to make a visit to Sedona, for both business and pleasure, a top priority. So, after one night in Phoenix, we headed to north to Sedona for a few days.

A glorious sunset in Sedona!

The rocks were just as red and just as majestic as I remembered from 20 years before. It was David's first time to Sedona and we took great joy in sharing the experience. In addition to drives in the area and catching both sunsets and sunrises that ignited the landscape, we visited several wonderful galleries in Sedona. The gallery submission process requires patience. I did make a couple of good contacts and hope to find a good home for my work there when the time is right.

Ready for take-off...Sedona by helicopter!

While in Sedona, we decided to treat ourselves to one of those helicopter sight-seeing tours. Soaring over the rock formations, between the mesas, and near the ruins of cliff dwellings from centuries past was an amazing experience.

On our way back to Phoenix, we took a side trip to visit a town we had never heard of until this trip, Jerome. Once a thriving copper mine in the late 1800s and early 1900s around which a town was built literally on the side of a mountain, Jerome was discovered by artists over the last 30-40 years and is now home to dozens of galleries, shops and restaurants.

Street view in Jerome, AZ.

If you are ever in the area, the climb up the switchback roads are worth the trip!

We arrived back in Phoenix (technically Mesa, where we booked our hotel for the rest of the trip) in time for the weekly Thursday night gallery stroll in Scottsdale. Streets lined with galleries were filled with art lovers as they popped in and out of the shops, meandered alley ways, hopped on and off trollies, or took horse-drawn carriage rides. One visit and you certainly see why Scottsdale is known for art. Fact: With more than 125 art galleries and studios, it is one of the highest per-capita anywhere in the US.

As much as I wanted to find that perfect fit for my wildflower paintings, and I did narrow the list to a few possible galleries, I just did not feel at home there.

Another area on our must-visit list was Carefree. I'll admit it: Up until about 2 weeks before the trip I had never heard of this community. I ran into a friend while shopping, mentioned our upcoming trip to Phoenix, and she told me about Carefree. She said I had to go and so I did. And I'm glad I did.

A planned community north of Scottsdale with streets named Easy, Ho and Hum, it's about as cute as you can imagine. And it has a small handful of really nice galleries. One in particular, Wild Holly, felt "right" from the moment we walked in. After a pleasant chat with Magda, a nice English lady who minds the gallery when the owner is out, we left Carefree feeling good about taking the time to visit.

In addition to all of the galleries, Scottsdale is home to not one but two huge, 10-week-long art shows held in big tents this time of year: Celebration of Art and Scottsdale Art Expo. Since both are a few miles apart and on the road back to our hotel in Mesa, we made a point to check them out. More than 100 artists are set up at each of the shows. Most not only display their art, which is for sale of course, but also demo and work in their temporary studio space. It was both inspiring and somewhat overwhelming to tour these two mega shows. It never ceases to amaze me at how much really good art there is in the world.

While at one of these shows, I got a call from Magda. The owner was, indeed, interested in talking with me about my wildflower art. We made an appointment to return to Carefree a few days later.

Awesome view of Superstition Mountains along Apache Trail.

As we headed into the weekend, we decided to take a break from the gallery visits and get out into nature. I read up some on Superstition Mountains and the Apache Trail that cuts over and through the mountain range. We headed due east and spent the day driving through the mountains, stopping to enjoy and photograph the awesome vistas along the way. Once on the other side of the mountain range, we turned south on AZ 188, ending up in Globe for a bite of supper before heading back to Mesa on US 60. We were losing light as we drove through even more mountain scenery and both David and I decided that we would need to visit this area again someday.

Church in downtown Phoenix.

Sunday morning we headed into downtown Phoenix to enjoy the heart of the city at it best, when most of the offices and businesses are closed. This has become somewhat of a ritual with us when we are in or near a major metropolitan area. We like to walk the streets on a Sunday morning and find an old, historic church to visit, which we did. We then grabbed coffee at a local coffee shop, took a side trip though the downtown's arts district, and then headed out for our appointment in Carefree.

We met Holly, the owner and namesake of Wild Holly Gallery. By the end of the meeting we agreed to terms, Holly picked out paintings she wanted to start with and I told her I'd be packing and shipping the work once we were back home in Texas.

Holly and I pose for a photo in front of her wonderful gallery!

I'm proud that Wild Holly Gallery will be representing me and offering my wildflower art to collectors in the Carefree and Phoenix metro area! This is my first Arizona gallery and I could not be happier that it work out that way.

We were down to one full day before we would be flying home to Texas and decided to head south of Phoenix to look at a few more galleries. In doing some online research, I came across the town of Tubac, which is located south of Tucson. Like Jerome, Tubac is an artists' community and one that I had never heard of before this trip. But unlike Jerome and Carefree, Tubac isn't even on a map! If you are looking for it on your iPad or phone, follow US19 out of Tucson. Once you get a little south of Amado, zoom into your map and you'll see some streets along the freeway, due west of Tumacacori. That's Tubac you are looking at. While it's not easily identified on a map, people find it. An interesting little bit of trivia: One of the people involved in designing the golf course there in 1959 was Bing Crosby.

Wildflowers were already starting to bloom while we in Arizona.

We headed to Tubac Monday morning and were greeted with more inspiring desert scenery. Another must-return place on our list now is Picacho Peak, where wildflowers are said to be spectacular. Once in Tubac, we grabbed lunch at a wonderful Italian restaurant (whose gourmet, wood-fired pizza rivaled that of the finest restaurants anywhere) and then began to stroll the many galleries and shops concentrated in about a four-to-six block area. These ranged from the highest end you could imagine, with works in the tens of thousands of dollars to small co-op galleries representing mostly local artists and artisans. I was able to pinpoint a couple of potential fits for my wildflower art and am in the process of following up with them. Even if I don't get into a gallery there, just the experience of finding and visiting this arts community was worth the drive. In talking with one of the local residents, we learned that out of the community's population of about 1700, some 400 were artists. Since she was an artist herself, she would know!

As the day was drawing to a close, we decided to hit last one gallery on my list from Tucson. We made it just before they closed and had a wonderful visit. However, we soon learned that this some gallery had a location in Scottsdale, which would be a conflict with our new Carefree gallery. We will visit other galleries in Tucson on a future trip to see what other connections we might make. As we left Tucson, we were treated to the most amazing sunset! What a perfect last day for what was an amazing trip!

Sunset near Tucson, AZ.

We've been home now for a few weeks and we're already planning our next trip to Arizona, hoping to make it back in time to see the wildflowers in bloom. Thank you for reading about this journey. Sharing these "reflections" of our trips, shows and gallery visits have become somewhat of a tradition. If you scroll through my blog posts, you'll see past trips that I've written about. Enjoy!

INTRODUCING NEW "WILDFLOWER GARDENS" SERIES

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 19:06:00 +0000

This fall, I started a new series of wildflower paintings that I'm calling "Gardens" and I'm happy to announce that the first 6 paintings are ready for viewing, purchase, and pick up, delivery or shipping! Scroll down to check out this newest series. I also invite you to visit my website, www.lindacalvertjacobson.com to learn more about purchasing my work, where I'm represented and more!

ABUNDANT JOY, 40x30x1.5, Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas. $2900.

GOOD VIBRATIONS, 50x40x1.5, Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas. $4900.

GARDEN DELIGHT, 40x30x1.5, Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas. $2900.

SUMMER MEADOW, 30x24x1.5 Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas. $1900.

JOYOUS RHYTHMS, 48x36x1.5, Acrylic on Gallery wrap canvas. $3900.

BLISSFUL MEADOW, 50x40x1.5, Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas. $4900.

REFLECTIONS ON TRIP THROUGH SOUTHEAST U.S. AND WORLD OF ART SHOWCASE, FALL 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 19:37:00 +0000

If you know me and/or read my blog, you know that I like to post summaries of trips that David and I take as I continue to do art shows and visit with galleries in order to promote my wildflower art.

When I was accepted into the World of Art Showcase several months ago, we knew it would also provide a great opportunity to explore the Raleigh, North Carolina, area. We were in North Carolina in the Spring of 2012 for the Highpoint market and we were both intrigued with the area in general. We were looking forward to returning to North Carolina but by doing a road trip there and back this time, we would have even more chances to visit places that neither of us had ever been before. And since the show was set for Oct. 31-Nov. 3, we were looking forward to catching some fall color as well.

Falls Colors outside our hotel in Raleigh, NC.

We were not disappointed! Our 3-week trip took us through 9 states and covered more than 4,000 miles. Along the way we were treated to swamp lands of Louisiana and Alabama; tall trees, rolling hills and quaint towns of Georgia; the beaches and ocean views of South and North Carolina coasts; downtown Raleigh and surrounding towns; the Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains; the mayhem of Gatlinburg and the surrealness of Pigeon Forge; horse farms of Tennessee and cotton fields of Mississippi; and finally a final push home through Arkansas and back into the Piney Woods of East Texas on our way to the Hill Country.

We left for our trip on Oct. 22 and drove across Louisiana and into Alabama before turning northward toward Atlanta. Along the way we stayed over in Lake Charles, took a detour and spent a little time in Layfette where we enjoyed a stroll in the downtown, and ended up in Atmore, Alabama, for another layover. We then headed up to Georgia with the Atlanta area being our destination where we were able to visit with David's sister and her family.

After a few side trip visits in the Atlanta area to Roswell and Marietta, where we visited with gallery owners, we hit the road for our next stop, Savannah. We spent some time walking through the historic downtown area that Friday evening and would have liked to have spent more time but we needed to make our way to the next stop, which was Charleston, South Carolina.

Charleston Church

Both David and I were enamored with Charleston and its French Quarter district. Numerous galleries filled storefronts throughout the downtown. We walked on cobbled stone streets, by historic churches and through well-manicured parks. The area was pedestrian friendly and inviting. We've both put Charleston on our list for a return visit. We made some great gallery contacts and we're in discussions with one in particular for future representation.

Our next layover was Myrtle Beach, where we caught the sun rising over the horizon the next morning as we walked on t. While we would have liked to spend more time, we decided to push ahead and made it to Wilmington, NC, for our next stop. After some more gallery visits we then we hit the road for Raleigh, where we arrived on Oct. 29, a week after leaving home.

The October sunrise on Myrtle Beach was ... breathtaking!

Daytrip in Hillsborough, NC

We were scheduled for the loading dock at the Raleigh Convention Center early Wednesday morning. Of the many shows that we've done in similar facilities, this was one of the easiest set ups, from the unloading and working with the staff to move out at the end of the show, every step went smoothly. Since we were set up and ready to go by late Wednesday, we spent Thursday doing a little exploring, visiting nearby Hillsborough and Chapel Hill.

While the World of Art Showcase did not open for the public until Friday, they hosted a VIP reception, a masquerade ball, Thursday night that featured live music. David and I donned matching masks we had picked up at a costume shop earlier in the day to get into the evening's festivities.

Ready for Masquerade Ball!

The next three days were spent visiting with collectors and art lovers, as well as making contacts with gallery owners and networking with fellow artists. In addition to the show hours, events were planned for the exhibitors for Friday and Saturday night, so our schedule was filled for the most part. We did, however, find time to walk around downtown Raleigh Saturday night where we enjoyed seeing the state capitol.

Sunday evening we packed up our booth, returned to the hotel for our last night in Raleigh and starting mapping the next portion of our trip.

High on our list in visiting North Carolina was to spend time in Asheville, which was the next stop over as we began to make our way back to Texas. Many of our friends suggested that we make Asheville a "must see" since it's consider a magnet for artists and many set up studios and call the area home. We arrived after dark so didn't get to start checking it out until the next day. We spent the better part of the Tuesday roaming the historic downtown, visiting galleries and getting a feel for the area. What we found was a bit discouraging. Yes, it was very artsy and had a "bohemian" vibe along with some intriguing architecture. But it was difficult to not turn a corner and be approached for a hand out. It was both sad and disturbing to see so many "homeless" people concentrated in the downtown.

Pleasant surprise in Montreat, near Black Mtn.

Once we left that area, we made the decision to not return and to, instead, use Asheville as a jumping off point to visit surrounding towns and take drives in the country and through the mountains.

In case you are wondering, we did not attempt to visit the Biltmore Estate. We are putting that on our list for a return visit.

Two highlights of our time there was a visit to Black Mountain and nearby Montreat, about 15 miles east of Asheville. Black Mountain reminded me a little of Gruene but larger and with a few more galleries. But it had several cute little shops and restaurants making for what looked like a thriving business district. Montreat, from what we could tell, was more of a bedroom community to Black Mountain and is home to a college. We drove up one road until we came upon a park where we spent some time walking and taking photos.

The second day trip out of Asheville that I'd like share was our visit south west of town, about 15 or 20 miles, down to Chimney Rock. The winding road provided a scenic drive but it was the lookout over the country side and Lake Lure from Chimney Rock that made a lasting impression.

The awesome view from Chimney Rock!

We visited a few more towns, and galleries, during our stay which flew by too quickly. On Friday we checked out of our Asheville hotel and headed for the mountains. Instead of using the Interstate we took the scenic route, getting on the historic Blue Ridge Parkway and following it as far as we could before we needed to head toward our next stop, Cashiers and Highlands and then our layover, which was Franklin, NC.

We left North Carolina on Saturday, heading over the Great Smoky Mountains to Tennessee.

The Great Smoky Mountains.

There is no way to get into Tennessee using this route without going right through Gatlinburg. And what a mad house that was! We could only assume that we caught them on their "holiday" kick off weekend and thousands of people were streaming into Gatlinburg, which was decked out in lights and Christmas decorations. Relieved once we got to the other side of town, we had no idea what waited for us up the road. Soon we were in Pigeon Forge. Yes, home to Dollywood but driving through town is reminiscent of driving down The Strip in Vegas...just without the casinos and bit more "family" friendly. Not to overuse the word, but it really was very surreal.

By now we were getting toward the final leg of our trip and needed to home within a few days. So our objective was to make the best time we could but still enjoy the drive and attempt to visit a few more galleries along the way. We had two layovers in Tennessee, one near Knoxville, and the other near Memphis. We decided to take a detour though Mississippi, on to Arkansas where we did a few gallery visits in Little Rock. By then we found ourselves out of time and decided to head for East Texas for one last layover before making the final push for home.

We saw some jaw-dropping scenery, met some wonderful people, made some great gallery contacts and, all-in-all, had a wonderful trip. We are looking forward to returning to several of the areas for extended visits and to continue our explorations!

Whitewater Falls in Southwestern North Carolina, just one of the many "colorful" stops!

CONTINUING ARTISTIC SUCCESS MEANS ... SOMETHING ELSE HAS GOT TO GIVE!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Aug 2013 20:23:00 +0000

Saturday, Aug. 10, 2013

Dear Friends,

If you have been following me through my blog, e-newsletters, Facebook or in person, you know that "my life as an artist" has continued to become a major focus of my professional career. Over the last few years, with David, my husband and partner, by my side, we have spent a good deal of time traveling to art shows and galleries to share my wildflowers with the world. We have decided that we want to continue in that direction. In order to do so, we are going to need to make some changes.

We will not be renewing the lease this fall on the building where Casa de Linda Art Center has operated since September 2010. We are NOT going out of business since we will continue with a scaled down operation at the Casa de Linda Art Studio, located upstairs at the New Braunfels Art League. As you may know, this is where I started teaching classes 10 years ago. Not having the Art Center location will mostly affect adult classes since children's classes are already held in the downtown studio. Here is what this change will mean for our students:

ADULT ART CLASSES

Adult oil, watercolor and drawing classes currently on the schedule for August and September will be still be offered as planned. This includes 5-week drawing and painting classes with Maren Phillips that start on Aug. 13 plus her last workshop, Introduction to Watercolor on Aug. 24. Since no other classes are on the schedule at Casa de Linda for Maren this fall, this is a great opportunity to study with her. Visit www.casadelinda.com for more information and then contact us about available seating.

My Adult/Teen Basic Acrylic Classes will continue to be held at the Art Center location until about mid-September, at which time they will be relocated back downtown to my studio above the New Braunfels Art League Gallery.

The only other adult classes planned at this time for the downtown studio this fall will be Fused Glass and Jewelry Making workshops with Lynette Clauser in November. Click here for more information.

CHILDREN'S ART CLASSES

As already mentioned, our children's class schedule will not be impacted by the closing of the Art Center. In fact, we are expanding the program! We plan to offer after-school classes this fall with Elaine Eickenroht and Saturday classes, some of which will be taught by her, some by me, and a fused glass workshop with Lynette Clauser. The complete children's fall schedule is now posted to our website. You can also register online!

ART-2-GOGH PAINTING PARTIES

We have suspend scheduling any ART-2-Gogh Painting Parties until further notice.

A NOTE ABOUT REGISTERING FOR CLASSES

One change that will come about involves signing up for classes. Since we will no longer have a retail location with regular business hours, we will go back to taking registrations and credit card payments over the phone or through the mail. However, for the convenience of busy parents, we do plan to continue with the online registration program for children's classes that we introduced with this summer's camp program.

We will continue with regular business hours, Tues-Sat, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., through Sept. 14. Even after we close the Art Center, we will continue to use the same business phone, 830-624-5302.

ART SALE ... AND MORE...MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

As you can imagine, relocating from the Art Center back to the studio will not be easy. In other words, it won't all fit! So we are having two big down-sizing sale events at the Art Center in September.

The first will be a week-long ART-N-ARTIST SALE, starting Labor Day Monday, Sept. 2 and continuing through Saturday, Sept. 7. Hours will be daily 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Included in the ART-N-ARTIST SALE will be a diverse range of my paintings, from older wildflowers series and various landscapes to the paintings I finish with each ART-2-Gogh Painting Party. Prices will range from $10 to $100 each so you know there will be a ton of bargins. In addition to my paintings, David will have a great selection of his photographs available at "sidewalk sale" prices! Not only will original art and photos be on sale, but also a limited amount of artist supplies and materials, craft supplies and a good selection of used ART BOOKS (and odds-n-ends other books, too) at great prices.

On September 20-21, we will have a RUMMAGE SALE to move out surplus tables, chairs, bookcases, shelves and other odds-n-ends.

*****

The decision to close the Art Center was not an easy one. We have had an amazing three years in this location, met a lot of wonderful people and made many, many new friends. But with the growing success of my art and the desire to focus more on painting and marketing my artwork, we decided that the time was right to make this change.

We hope that you will come see us over the next month or so and stay in touch even after we are no longer open at Casa de Linda Art Center on Business I-35. If you are on our mailing lists, you will continue to hear from us. Also, if you have not already done so, please "like" both my Texas Wildflower Artist Facebook page and the Casa de Linda Art Studio Facebook page.

And, finally, I want to thank EVERYONE who has supported this business venture! We could not have done it without our teachers, students, customers, and friends!

With warmest regards and on behalf of David...

Your friend,

Linda Calvert Jacobson

REFLECTIONS OF FIRST ART PROMOTION TRIP, JUNE 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 29 Jun 2013 19:35:00 +0000

If you've followed or read my blog in the last few years, you know that when I return from a trip, I like to post my "reflections." We returned last week from a 15-day, 5-state, 4,569-mile trip and I thought I'd share some of the highlights and results from our first road trip specifically planned to reach out to art galleries.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN...

Hmm...You never know who you'll meet!

Planning the trip was a result of circumstances and events that all fell in place at just the right time. First, we took a big step in late April and bought (with the help of bank loan, of course) a new vehicle, a Ford Transit Connect. We had been looking at this particular van-like car (not really a van, nor car, nor SUV) for sometime since I needed something that could hold my large canvases. And, yes, it will not only hold up to a 4x5 foot canvas, but many of them! Within a week of getting the Transit, an artist friend e-mailed her friends that she had a time-share condo in Jackson Hole that she would not be able to use in June. David (my husband, partner and best friend) and I talked it over and decided the price was right; I checked my teaching calendar and his for conflicts; and within 10 minutes of reading the e-mail I was on the phone putting first dibs on the condo.

Friend's condo in Jackson, WY

The base plan, that was pretty much put together in that 10-minute gap, was to load the Transit with as many paintings as we could and head north and northwest, visiting galleries there and back. Over the next few weeks, we expanded our timeline to a full two weeks, a week at Jackson Hole and the rest of the time on road back home, to make the most of the trip. Since just about all of this was new territory for me to visit and some of it was new for David as well (he grew up in Wyoming), we were looking forward to the trip to combine business with some sightseeing. Also, I had a client in West Texas who purchased one of my newest paintings before it had even been varnished after seeing it in my New Braunfels studio. I had planned to ship the 3x4 foot painting to her home in Odessa, but once we had the road trip planned I offered to deliver it instead, which worked out fine with her. The day before the trip, we packed the Transit with a total of 17 paintings ranging in size from 18x24 to 40x40, representing works from both my "meadows" and "bouquets-n-vases" series.

HITTING THE ROAD...


Heading into Colorado from New Mexico in our Ford Transit!

So, with art and bags loaded and an ice chest on the back seat, we left our home in the Texas Hill Country early on the morning of Friday, June 7th, with a goal of making it to Santa Fe by evening, which we did. Since we were scheduled to be in northern Wyoming by Sunday, we resisted checking out Santa Fe for this leg of the trip and got back on the road Saturday morning, setting our sights on Vail, Colorado, for the next layover.

Along the way we enjoyed the amazing scenery, driving through deserts, then mountains, and back into deserts, making a few stops along way but trying to stay focused on our destination. We did visit a lovely gallery in downtown Alamosa that might be an option for my work later this fall.

We made it to the Vail area that evening and booked a room in Avon, which is a few miles west of Vail. We even had time to check out a few galleries in Vail but kept our visits brief since we still needed to get to Jackson Hole to check into the condo before dark the next day. We decided to return on our way back to Texas.

NEXT STOP: JACKSON HOLE AND THE GRAND TETONS!

Enjoying the great outdoors, wildflowers and the Tetons!

Our friend's condo made for the perfect jumping off point to explore the area, including the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and more. But our focus for the first few days was on the galleries in Jackson. Almost three dozen art galleries are listed on the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce website (plus many others that are not listed so there's about 50 total), so we had our work cut out for us.

For this and all of the towns we stopped in, we did as much advance research online as possible, trying to find a "good fit" for my work. However, there is only so much you can learn through websites and it really does take walking in, looking around and observing the staff and customer service to get a feel for any gallery. Our aim was to narrow down a list of galleries as possible candidates, while still looking for others that we have missed in our research.

Ian McLennan, Grand Teton Gallery owner.

A GRAND SETTING FOR MY PAINTINGS ... AT GRAND TETON GALLERY!

After visiting several galleries in Jackson Hole, we settled on about 3 as the best fits. Timing is everything, as they say, and one of those was ready to talk about taking on my work now, while the others were already set for the summer but expressed interest for later in the fall. We were delighted to accept an invitation from Grand Teton Gallery! Owner Ian McLennan and Katie Tufte, gallery manager, were both warm and inviting. Ian shared his story with David and I of how he brought his family over from Australia and opened the gallery about 3 years ago. He started out specializing in Western Art, like many of the other galleries in the area. However, he has been seeing more interest in contemporary work and decided to make a shift in that direction, making the timing perfect to add my colorful wildflowers to the gallery! I left seven of my paintings on consignment, two of which were on display in time for a special reception on Friday night for the launch of a slick new magazine for the area. We enjoyed attending the reception, meeting guests and talking about my work with some potential collectors! Even though others galleries may ask us to join them later this year, we are committed and happy to call Grand Teton Gallery our exclusive agent for the Jackson area. They had their chance :-)

Although we spent the first three days in Jackson totally focused on gallery visits, we were able to "play" toward the end of our stay. My sister made plans to fly up for a few days to spend the weekend. Highlights include a tram ride to the top of Rendezvous Mountain, whose peak is at 10,927 feet, and a day spent driving through Yellowstone National Park, where we got to see Old Faithful shoot up in the air. Although I did the tram, my fear of heights kept me on the ground on our last morning there when my sister and David took a balloon ride at the foot of Tetons. I've seen the photos and they are spectacular! Maybe someday I'll get the courage to join them!

We took a tram to the peak of Rendezvous Mountain...and this is what we saw. Ahh-Mazing!!!

LEAVING JACKSON HOLE, HEADING TO PARK CITY...

We checked out Sunday morning, dropped my sister at the airport and took one last stroll, for this visit, through downtown Jackson. Then it was back on the road, heading west into Idaho and then south to Park City, just east of Salt Lake City.

At the beginning of the trip we had not yet made firm plans for how we would spend the week returning back to Texas other than making arrangements to be in Odessa by Friday night or Saturday morning at the end of the 2-week trip, before driving back home. However, by the time we were on the road after our week at Jackson, we had a plan to make the most of the time left and the miles between there and home. Next stop would be Park City, Utah, home of the Sundance Film Festival and another playground for the rich and famous.

Not that I want to advertise for them, but I did find that using Expedia while on the road to book our next hotel a good way to go. However, I learned early on that it was much easier to book online rather than call (I tried but was unable to understand the woman on the other end of the line and she was not seeing the same price that I was seeing). Before leaving Jackson I was able to secure a nice room in a really nice hotel in Park City for two nights, giving us time to spend all of Monday checking out the town with plans to leave bright-n-early so we could stop over in Moab on Tuesday.

Park City has one of the most charming downtown areas I've been in and I plan to return someday. And there are plenty of galleries! Most, however, seem to fall to one side or the other of my work: either much more traditional or western or much more contemporary or modern. I did find 2 or 3 galleries as potential fits and I plan to follow up.

Just some of the many wonderful rock formations in Arches National Park.

Having done our homework, we knew that Moab would not have much for gallery options but we could not resist a visit and grab some lunch, and decided to make time for a drive through the Arches National Park, which offered awe-inspiring views of red-rock formations and other-worldly landscapes. Once we were back on the road, we set our sights on Vail, again.

BACK IN VAIL, AGAIN....

We scheduled two days for exploring galleries in beautiful Vail and the surrounding the area, from Beaver Creek to the west and Breckenridge to the east. In the course of visiting several galleries, we found at least three potential fits. None were ready to take on my work at this time but I feel strongly that I will be in at least one of them by this time next year. You can bet that I'll be following up and staying in touch!

There are several towns and communities near Vail, including Beaver Creek, shown here.

YES, THEY HAVE WILDFLOWERS AND BLUEBONNETS HERE, TOO!

Lupines are cousins of our Texas Bluebonnet!

Something I have not mentioned yet that I found very inspiring were the many, many fields of wildflowers we saw blooming in Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and even in New Mexico. While our Spring is over, theirs was just peaking and I took great joy in seeing the patches of color, which helped to reinforce the fact that, yes, my wildflower art is a good fit for these galleries! They even have bluebonnets, which they call lupines.

We left the mountains of northern Colorado early Thursday morning, enroute to Southern New Mexico, with a room booked in Alamogordo, just outside of Cloudcroft. It had been a long trip and now it was mostly about sightseeing, getting to visit some new places, and delivering the painting to the Odessa client on the way home.

CLOUDCROFT: A MOUNTAIN TOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT!

Again, having done some preliminary research, we knew that neither Alamogordo or Cloudcroft would offer much in gallery options for my work but we for some reason were both being drawn to the area. A friend and fellow artist had mentioned to me the previous week that Cloudcroft was place for me to check out.

We checked out of hotel in Alamogordo and headed up the mountain to check out Cloudcroft. Leaving the desert behind, it was had to believe that we were driving back into pine trees. Breathtaking views were waiting for us around every bend. The town itself, mostly located on a main drag only a few blocks long was charming. We had a great brunch of biscuits and gravy before heading out. Another place on our "must revisit" list!

LAST STOP: RUIDOSO, NM, AND A NEW GALLERY FOR MY WILDFLOWERS...

Judy, Me and David at LongCoat Fine Art, Ruidoso, NM

Before arriving at Alamogordo, neither David or I had taken time to look into surrounding towns for gallery potential. When we checked into the hotel, I picked up a brochure listing galleries in the county. I went online, started doing some research and was very impressed with one gallery in particular. You can call it "gut feeling," but I just knew we had to stop over in Ruidoso on the way out of the area and visit this gallery.

Judy hanging "De-Lovely"

From the minute we walked into LongCoat Fine Art Gallery, David and I felt that my work would be a good fit. An introduction to the owners was followed by an interest in seeing not just some of the work we had with us, but my entire collection. The owners Judy and David, were an absolute joy to talk with. Turns out they are former Texans, having moved from Houston. The four of us hit it off and felt like old friends although we had just met. Soon, they were selecting paintings and Judy even began rearranging the gallery and hanging them before we left!

"Burst of Joy" in its new home in Odess!

PERFECT ENDING TO A PERFECT TRIP...

As the day passed quickly and we'd be pushing it to make it to Odessa by nightfall, we booked a room for the night in odd little Roswell (another town I want to spend more time exploring when I get a chance). Saturday morning we headed for Odessa to make the delivery, where we were welcomed with open arms. David and I both took great pleasure in seeing how much joy my painting brought the new owner, who could not wait to see it hanging in its new home! We had lunch with this sweet lady, then it was back on the road for our home in Hill Country.

This turned out to be a very long blog post, but it was a long trip! I really did try to hit only the highlights! There were many little side trips, interesting wildlife sightings, cool coffee shops, inspiring art, tasty food, amazing landscapes, wonderful people and so much more along the way. Before I end this posting today, I do want to give a heartfelt thank you to my loving husband, who makes so much of this possible by being my partner in both business and in life.

Me and my sweetie!

REFLECTIONS OF NYC ARTEXPO TRIP, MARCH 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:30:00 +0000

View of Manhattan from Yotel room

It's hard to believe that it was almost 3 weeks ago that my husband, David, and I arrived in New York City to get ready for the 2013 Artexpo on Pier 92! This was our second Artexpo (click here to read the blog post about Artexpo 2012). I was juried into the show again to exhibit my wildflower art. Artexpo NYC, which has been around for more than 30 years and is billed as the "world's largest fine arts trade show," includes both galleries and individual artists (in a special SOLO section) from around the world. A few weeks before the show I received some exciting news that I was one of four SOLO exhibitors chosen for four VIP spaces need the front entrance of the exhibition hall.

Since Pier 92 is a huge, long hall with 75,000 square feet exhibit space and hundreds of artists, this was an amazing honor. Over the course of the 4-day show, my exhibit of Wildflowers was the second booth seen by thousands of visitors! Here's a recap of the week...

Tuesday, March 19: Happy to be back in NYC!

At the Marketing Happiness event.

Having arrived early in the afternoon gave us time to get checked into Yotel. We enjoyed our stay there in 2012 so much that we decided to book it again. Through the Yotel Facebook page I had learned that they were hosting a free panel discussion Tuesday night on "Happiness Marketing" sponsored by Lead Dog Marketing. I was able to secure tickets for both of us. It was a great start to a wonderful week, giving David and I "food for thought" on so many levels. We followed that up with our first evening meal in NYC and though we were both tired from the travel, found it hard to sleep!

Wednesday, March 20: Set-up

David opening crate for setup

We arrived at Pier 92 early on Wednesday for set up. Our crate that we had shipped from Texas earlier in the month was already waiting for us in our booth and David went to work getting it ready to unpack while I began to plan the layout for the space. Once we got all of the paintings and exhibit materials out of the crate, we spent the rest of the day arranging and hanging the art. By the time we returned to the hotel we were exhausted but pleased with how the booth looked and after grabbing supper in Times Square retired for the evening.

Thursday, March 21: Trade Day

View from above

Admission to the opening day of the show was limited gallery owners, designers and other members of the trade. These are the people we come to Artexpo to meet! After getting invitations to exhibit in two galleries as a result of the 2012 Artexpo, we were excited about the prospects for 2013. And we were not disappointed! One of the first gallery owners we met Thursday morning expressed a lot of interest in my wildflowers but was reserving his comments until he walked the entire show. Within a few hours he returned to sit down and discuss adding my work to his gallery! After some follow up discussions I accepted the offer and am now happy to announce that I am the newest artists to be exhibiting in The Carol Schwartz Gallery of Philadelphia! Seven of my paintings are on exhibit there! I also had a nice visit on Thursday from another of my gallery owners that I had met at the 2012 Artexpo, Hashmat Farooqi of Paint Box Art and Frame, NYC. Hashmat shared some exciting news...that he was expanding and opening a new gallery in SoHo and that he wanted me to exhibit my art in the new space! Several more gallery owners expressed interest and I'll have more news in the weeks and months to come. All in all, a very successful first day!

Friday, March 22: First Open the Public Day

Visiting with Bob and Gail.

While Friday was the first day that the public could attend, we still saw a lot of gallery owners, including Bob and Gail, owners of Robert Paul Galleries of Stowe, Vermont. This is the other gallery representing my work as a result of them seeing my work at the 2012 Artexpo. Last fall I was included in a couple of "meet-the-artists" events at their gallery, which gave David and I the opportunity to see Vermont in full autumn color and spend some time with Bob and Gail (click here to read the blog entry on that visit).

Saturday, March 23: And the Crowds came!

Traffic increased with each passing day!

This was, by far, the busiest day of the show. Thousands of art lovers came through the doors, browsing through the art and talking with the artists. Some people come to buy, however most come to look, to get ideas and to make contacts for future purchases. For many, my wildflowers were a true show-stopper, causing people to slow down and enjoy a much-needed burst of Spring color! During the show I posted photos to Facebook and my sister commented that everyone was dressed in black. When I went back and looked, I saw what she meant. I think that's why my colorful wildflowers had such a powerful impact. Since Spring had not reached Manhattan yet (it snowed before we arrived and we saw flurries on the day we left), they were in dire need of the emotional recharge of the refreshing colors of my wildflower art!

Sunday, March 24: Last day and more good news!

Newest collectors!

The final day of any show is probably the most difficult. Everyone is tired and the reality of packing up in a few hours is looming. But it is also exciting since it's the last chance for collectors looking to buy. While our primary purpose is to make contacts, we do, of course, love to make some sales at the show! By Sunday afternoon we were pleased to have one of my large paintings, "Wild Passions," leave with a happy couple from New Jersey where it is now a part of their home and their life. Once the show closed we began to dismantle the booth. We had made arrangements for two shipments to go straight from Artexpo to my galleries. The rest was put back in the crate and labeled for return to Texas. That night we had our last supper in NYC at a wonderful little diner we found earlier in the week. On Monday morning we prepared to leave NYC but not before we took one more walk. With light snow flurries and a stiff wind reminding us that it was still winter in New England, David and I braved the two long blocks to get some locally roasted coffee I stumbled upon early in this trip. We savored New York once last time before we had to check out of Yotel, head for the airport and catch our flight home to Texas.

Want to see more photos from my NYC trip? Visit my Facebook Artist page and view the Artexpo 2013 album I've created.

REFLECTIONS OF SOUTH FLORIDA TRIP, DEC. 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 22:21:00 +0000

Here I am, surrounded by my wildflowers, at Red Dot 2012.

We've just returned from a wonderful week in sunny South Florida! Our main purpose for the trip was to be at Red Dot Art Fair, which is part of Art Basel Week in Miami every December. This was one of dozens and dozens of similar art exhibits staged in and around Miami. Several of my wildflower paintings were on exhibit in the Artisans Direct booth at Red Dot. In addition to time spent at the art fair, we were able to visit a few of the other exhibits, including Art Expo/SOLO next door. (Art Expo also does the show in NYC in March, to which we'll be returning and exhibiting in 2013.) While Art Basel is held in the convention center on South Beach, many of the other shows, like Red Dot, Art Expo, Art Miami, Context and others, are held in huge tents that fill otherwise vacant lots in the Wynwood Arts district of Miami. Many more exhibits are staged throughout the area in hotels, galleries, vacant stores and outside on buildings, sidewalks, on the water, in parks and even in the air! It truly is a sight to see and an overload for the senses! On top of all of this, is the art that is everyday...from the Art Deco buildings in South Beach and the gardens and landscaped features of the homes and businesses to nature's art...namely the magnificent sunrises and sunsets!

Since Artistans Direct did all of the set up and represented the artists during the event, all I needed to do was to show up for the reception on Tuesday night and then again during the show over the next few days. The reception was well attended. Red Dot opened on Wednesday and each day the attendance increased with thousands walking through over the course of the show.

Of course, David and I still found time to enjoy our week in sunny Florida. With a little luck and David's diligent research, we were able to stay in a wonderful condo in a stylish 1924 South Beach apartment building. It was located in a quiet residential area that was within a few blocks from the edge of the famed Art Deco district AND within a few blocks of Miami Beach! Perfect location to start our mornings with a walk and end the day with a stroll over to the business area for a casual supper. Twice we set our alarm so we could catch the sun rising over the ocean. Just breathtaking!

We found with our last trip to NYC that one of the best ways to enjoy a city is by taking a guided tour on a double-decker bus. The Big Red Bus was just the ticket as we got to see parts of South Beach, downtown Miami, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables and Little Havana that we would have otherwise missed out on. We didn't have a lot of time to hop on and off, but we were able to do so in Little Havana, where we soaked up the Cuban culture as much as we could during our brief visit. We got to watch a nice old man make cigars, lunch at a Cuban restaurant where we enjoyed an amazing stuffed plantain appetizer, and topped off the trip with a scoop of ice cream made in house at a cute little shop.

In addition to the bus tour, we took a boat tour that took us out to Biscayne Bay where the bi-lingual tour guide pointed out the homes of the rich-n-famous on Star Island, talked about the history of the various man-made islands, and shared other little facts about the area.

On Saturday, we decided to take off early and see how far down the keys we could make it before feeling that we needed to turn around and head back. Of course, the words and music of "Key Largo" filled my head for most of the trip! "We had it all/Just like Bogie and Bacall/Starring in our own late, late show/Sailing away to Key Largo....."

Sunset at Key West!

Shortly before getting to Key West, which is the last stop, we decided to hunt for a room and just stay the night. Turned out to be the best decision! We were able to get a cottage at a B-n-B that was in a quiet part of town but still within walking distance of Duval Street, the main drag of Key West. Little did we know that we would get to see the sunset on the ocean from Key West and then be treated to an old-fashioned, nighttime Christmas parade! The next morning we headed out early to catch the sunrise but fog had settled in. Instead, we ended up at the Key West Cemetery, which was very reminiscent of cemeteries in old New Orleans. All too soon it was time to head back to Miami for the last day of Red Dot.

Ocean Drive-South Beach

We made it back to Miami, cleaned up and headed over to the art fair for one last appearance, then back to South Beach for a final meal at a tiny little Italian restaurant where they make their own pasta fresh and a mighty fine pesto, too!

Monday morning we got in one last sunrise-on-the-beach walk before packing up and heading out. But we had one last treat in store. As we neared the Ft. Lauderdale airport, we drove in the downtown business district of Dania looking for a place to grab a bite of lunch. A full parking lot at a little restaurant was enough to convince us that it must be a good place to eat. Turns out it was, so good, in fact that it had been featured on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" on the Food Network! We had a delicious last meal in Florida for this trip, then headed to the airport and back to Texas, where a cold front had arrived while we were gone!

Sunrise on Miami Beach.

ART CENTER OPEN HOUSE, DEC. 1, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 15:29:00 +0000

As we approach the holiday season, we want to take the time to thank our friends and meet new ones at the same time! If you are in the New Braunfels area, we hope you will join us for complimentary refreshments and more from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1, for our annual Casa de Linda Art Center Holiday Open House. Here's a sneak peek...

ENJOY FREE ARTISTS' DEMONSTRATIONS

Several of the artists who teach classes at the Art Center will be on hand Saturday, sharing what they love. All of the demos will take place between Noon and 2 p.m. and are FREE and open to the public! Enjoy a complimentary glass of wine and watch the artists work!

ANNE McCOY...is our newest addition and will be doing her first demonstration at Casa de Linda Art Center. Starting in February, she will be offering our first-ever, on-going, evening oil painting classes. Open to beginners as well as intermediate level students, these classes will meet weekly from 6-8:30 p.m. starting Feb. 19. The painting to left, titled "My Blue Haven" is one of her works now on display at Casa de Linda Art Center. Read more about her class at our website.

MAREN PHILLIPS...will be sharing her love of painting outdoors during the open house, weather permitting. And if it isn't then she will be demonstrating inside. Maren will be back in the Spring with both drawing and watercolor classes, as well as a one-day workshop in Plein Air and one in Drawing Animals. For more information on her drawing classes, click here. To learn about her watercolor classes, visit this page.

LYNETTE CLAUSER...will be in the glass studio answering questions about stained glass, mosaics, fused glass jewelry and book making. Check our her Spring class schedule by clicking here. Lynette also has a wonderful selection of jewelry in our gift gallery that you must check out!

BROWSE OUR GIFT GALLERY

Looking for a special, one-of-a-kind gift? Check out our gift gallery. We've added new artists and brought back some our favs. Plus we'll have some displays up just for Saturday's open house! Don't miss the wonderful selection of gloves, socks and scarves crafted by Leila Reynolds. If you like hand-made soaps, you'll want to check out Sonia's Bare Bars. We are pleased to have a new selection of hand-crafted, clay crosses from Cindy Jennings. Also, Gaye Sekula, whom you may know as our as one of our painting instructors, also does wonderful pottery and we are lucky to have several pieces in the gift gallery. Best thing of all are the prices! Looking for gifts that won't break the bank? With most items priced under $50 and many in the $15-$25 range, we've got you covered.

EXHIBIT OF MY WILDFLOWER ART

As you may know, I've been working on more wildflower paintings and they are now ready for exhibit and purchase! I'll have several NEW works on display for our open house...works never before seen in public, like the one shown above! If you are a fan of my work, I hope you can drop by to check them out. Learn more about my life as an artist at www.lindacalvertjacobson.com.

SPECIAL SAVINGS JUST FOR YOU!

Who doesn't like to get a deal and save money? Well guess what? You will want to check this out!

Sale on Photography by David
We have a wonderful selection of photographs by David A. Jacobson (yes, the other half of Casa de Linda) and we are offering them at a steal. For each photo you buy, you get a second photo FREE! All are nicely matted and ready to frame! As you may know, David is known for his wonderful scenic photography of the area. This is a chance for you to pick some up... for you and for gifting...at a great price!

Save on classes and workshops for Spring 2013!
Once again, we are offering one of our "early bird" deals for people who register in advance. You can save $10 on any one course priced at $135 or more. Sign up for any one class, set of classes or workshop priced at $50-$125 and we'll take off $5. Must pay in full at time of registration to get the discount. See us for more details. See our full schedule at www.casadelinda.com or drop by and pick up a schedule.

Get 10% off art supplies and used books!

Save on art supplies for your next class and grab a few books from Linda's Book Nook and save 10% off your total!

COME SEE US!

Casa de Linda Art Center is located at 850 S. Business IH-35. Visit our CONTACT US page for more information on reaching us. Hope to see you soon!

REFLECTIONS ON OUR FIRST VISIT TO VERMONT, FALL 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 02:22:00 +0000

We are back from spending a glorious week and a few days in Vermont. While it's still fresh, I wanted to share some highlights about our travels, including why were there, what we discovered and some photos.

WILDFLOWERS BLOOMING IN STOWE?

Even as the fall colors emerge, we spotted wildflowers blooming in Vermont!

Yes, there are wildflowers blooming on the roadsides in New England, even this time of year! And I'm thrilled that my paintings are adding to the beauty there! To explain how my work ended up in Vermont, I have to backtrack just a bit.

Last March while exhibiting at Art Expo in NYC, a couple of really exciting things happened. First, four of my paintings found new homes with people who came to the show. Two went home immediately and two more were shipped later.

The second really wonderful result of being at Art Expo was that I was approached by two galleries who now represent me and handle my art. The first gallery to invite me to display my work was The Paint Box in Manhattan. My paintings are on exhibit there and there is already one of my paintings now in a private collection after being purchased from The Paint Box.

The other gallery that contacted me was Robert Paul Galleries in Stowe, Vermont. Within a month of exhibiting in New York City, my wildflowers were hanging in this gallery and, so far, three paintings have been purchased by collectors.

This fall, I was invited to be a part of two artists' events at Robert Paul Galleries. On Sunday, Sept. 30, I was one of two artists at a meet-n-greet. Then on Saturday, Oct. 6, my work was featured with that of 3 other artists and we were all on hand for an opening reception.

So that's how my work found its way to Stowe, Vermont, and how David and I found ourselves enjoying a New England Fall!

A CABIN IN THE WOODS...YES, REALLY!

After landing at the airport in Burlington, VT, we arrived in Stowe late Saturday evening and found our way to our cabin. David found this little hide away on a vacation rental website. (This is our second time to use the site and both times have worked out well!).

The cabin was rustic and picturesque at the same time. Located off the main roads and up a narrow little path, it looked like it was meant to be there. We enjoyed coffee on the front porch as a way to greet the morning and watch the leaves turn. By the end of the week, they were beginning to fall from the trees almost like snowflakes tumbling from the tree tops to the ground below. Most mornings we were able to get in a walk up the country road and back, always sure to take our cameras just in case we found a great shot to snap here or there.

EXPLORING VERMONT WITH OUR DAY TRIPS

Each day we picked a direction and took off to see what we would find. And we were never disappointed! Many of the locals would apologize for the weather since it stayed rainy and cloudy for most of the week. But David and I enjoyed every moment of it!

We covered a lot of miles in a week in little red VW bug rental and there's too much to mention every highlight. I am posting a few photos to give you a sense of our adventures!

The first photo here is probably one of the most photographed views in Stowe. It's of the Community Church, which is located on the main drag in Stowe. This church has the tallest steeple in all of Vermont. While it is pretty in a picture, it is a living church with an active congregation. They were having a quilt raffle and a chicken pie supper the week we were there. Gotta love that sense of community!

The next photo is a close up of a tree full of fall color. Ahh...that's why people come here this time of year... to see the color!! We knew going in that we were hitting the "best week" of the season. And that we did! By the time we left, fall was starting to turn into what they call "stick season," that time between the glory of fall and white blankets of snow. We enjoyed getting to be there long enough to almost see the transition. And, I have to mention here, Vermont did get snow the day we were leaving...but we were already flying out and heading home by then!

For one of our day trips, we headed east, up and over the White Mountains and into New Hampshire. This photo of the river was taken just off the Kancamagus Highway on our way back over the White Mountains. A good number of people were there, many with big cameras and tripods...but we could still get a few nature shots. It's an area that both David and I look forward to visiting again!

One of the most scenic drives (but aren't they all?) is the road that heads west out of Stowe over Mount Mansfield. At the top you reach Smugglers Notch, a famous area for skiing and for sight seeing! Only cars are allowed since there are these huge rocks that you have to work around, carefully watching for cars on the other side. We enjoyed our drive so much when we took it early in the week that we did it again on our way to Burlington where we stayed our last night before flying out early Monday morning.

A fitting end to our amazing trip was this sunset over Lake Champlain, just a few blocks from downtown Burlington. Earlier in the week we had taken a drive down the lake, island hopping from the far north edge just a few miles from the Canadian border to just north of Burlington. We enjoyed this view from the Vermont side and if we would have had time, we would have taken the ferry over to New York. We'll have to save it for our next trip!

OUR TIME AT ROBERT PAUL GALLERIES

Visiting with Bob O'Toole, owner.

Before I sign off for this blog entry, I wanted to say a little more about the gallery. First, the owners, Bob and Gail, are amazing. As I met many of their customers at the receptions, I heard time and again how well liked and respected they are in the community. After spending a little time with them, I see why! The gallery itself is top notch. I am honored to be in the company of so many fine artists and having the pleasure of meeting several during the receptions. If you haven't check out the Robert Paul Galleries website, please do!

My painting at the Stowe Visitor's Center

Not only are my paintings on exhibit at the gallery, but also at the Stowe Visitor's Center, thanks to a special arrangement between them and Robert Paul Galleries! The second photo here shows my work hanging behind the counter at the Visitor's Center!

If you are interested in seeing more photos of my wildflowers exhibit at Robert Paul Galleries, please visit my Facebook Artist Page where I've created an album. And be sure to "like" the page while you are there!

A side note: While I often post little news items and photos to one or more of my facebook pages, I like to make use of this blog when I want to say a little more and create more of story. I hope you enjoyed this entry. Thanks for reading!

CURRENT EXHIBIT AT UTHSC INCLUDES MY WILDFLOWERS!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 21:53:00 +0000

I delivered "Rejuvenation" to the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio for the Fall/Winter 2012 exhibit there. The last painting I had on display sold to a wonderful doctor. It's always nice when my Wildflowers find a loving home! In the meantime, I hope that the clients, visitors, doctors and staff enjoy this new painting.

You can see more of wildflower art at www.lindacalvertjacobson.com.

FALL 2012 SCHEDULE IS READY!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 14:30:00 +0000

I've been working on the class schedule for Casa de Linda Art Center for Fall 2012 and, ta-da, it's done! The files are at the printer as I post this entry and we'll be mailing and distributing the brochures by early next week. Plus, I'm working on updating the website, not only adding the information for the fall but also giving it a whole new look. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, I'm posting jpegs of the schedule for anyone interested. Just click on each one to view it larger and download the file for zooming in. I can also email the pdfs to you if you'd like. Just let me know! If you are on my e-news list, you'll be getting an e-mail later today with links to download the pdf files.

If you are not on my e-news list and would like to be, please CLICK HERE now to join. Be sure to add your name to both the general list and the list for classes.

LEARN BOOK MAKING AT CASA DE LINDA

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 02:16:00 +0000

We are going into our last week of art camps as we finish out a very busy summer at Casa de Linda Art Center. But we do have one more class for adults on the books:
Book Making with Lynette Clauser.

In this 2-day workshop that meets from 9 a.m.-noon on Saturday Aug. 18 and 25, you'll learn all about this lost art, from choosing, cutting and stitching the papers to decorating the covers. Fee is only $110 ($85 for the class plus $25 for supplies). You bring nothing but your imagination! Call us at 830-624-5302 or email linda@ casadelinda.com to reserve a seat.

SUMMER ART CAMPS CONTINUE IN NEW BRAUNFELS

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 21:12:00 +0000

The Summer Art Camp program for ages 5-13 held at my studio in downtown New Braunfels continues through mid August. Click here to see the latest e-newsletter with all the details!

You can also download the schedule from our website, www.casadelinda.com.

GREAT PASTEL WORKSHOP AT CASA DE LINDA

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 16:33:00 +0000

We hosted our first Rita Kirkman workshop, "Pastel in Miniature," Saturday, June 30, at Casa de Linda Art Center in New Braunfels.

We had a studio FULL of artists with 13 students plus Rita and myself! More photos are posted in an album on the Casa de Linda Facebook page (click here).

When you get there, be sure to "Like" us if you haven't already.

If you are would like learn about pastels or improve your techniques, join us for Mary Johnson's next "Basic Pastels" class. Meets for 6 weeks on Saturdays 1-3:30 p.m. starting July 14. Fee is $135 plus a modest $25 supply fee for use of pastels and papers provided by Mary (or you can bring your own supplies). Seating is limited!

E-mail or call 830-624-5302 to sign up! To learn more about Mary and see samples of her work, click here.

Mid June 2012 update

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 22:42:00 +0000

It has been a crazy month and, while I'm not complaining one little bit, it has not left much time for posting to my blog. But I wanted to take just a minute to post a few updates.

STUDIO OPEN HOUSE UPDATE

First, my studio open house the first of June was wonderful! Thanks to everyone who dropped in! Traffic was steady all 3 days and dozens (and dozens) of my smaller paintings, wildflower mugs and keepsake boxes now have new homes!

Visitors included local friends and fans as well as out-of-town tourists who just happened to choose a good weekend to visit downtown New Braunfels!

Also a special thank you to our New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung for the great coverage, as you can see by the photo of the front page from May 31, 2012! That article brought in several people who had never been to my studio before.

MY "ART TAKES TIMES SQUARE"!
In other news, my wildflower art will be flashed on one of the billboards in Times Square tonight (Monday, June 18, 2012) as part of the "Art Takes Times Square" event. How cool is that? It is set to appear "displayed on a 9 x 12 ft digital screen located on Broadway and 43rd Street between 9:45pm - 10:15pm."

SUMMER ART CAMPS ON A ROLL
In addition to being an artist, I still teach! Art Camps are in full swing. So far we've done clay, paper mache and painting. The camps continue through mid-August so if you are in the area and have a child in your life who is interested, please check out the schedule on my website. Go to www.casadelinda.com and click on the "classes for children" link.

ART-2-GOGH PAINTING PARTY SUMMER 2012 "FRIDAY NIGHT SPECIAL"

We are continuing our ART-2-Gogh Painting Parties this summer with open seating on Friday nights and private parties on Saturday nights. You can see the current schedule posted here or by visiting www.art-2-gogh.com.

Plus we are offering a special... sign up with a friend and you both save $10 each. Reg price is $39 per person. Our Summer 2012 Friday night special: 2 for $58! What a deal!

Also note that I've added several NEW paintings: Texas Windmill Sunset, Colorful Creek and Desert Blooms. But some of our most popular paintings are back too, like Cactus in Bloom, Texas Meadow, Gruene Water Tower and Coastal Breezes.

Of course for private parties, you can choose from any of the ART-2-Gogh paintings for your group! Let us know if you'd like to join us!

HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A WONDERFUL SUMMER!