I've still got some Holga images floating around the hard drive that I haven't shared yet.  Today, I figured that I'd throw a couple out there from spring break. I still have a few in the hole that I'm saving for Etsy. School is winding down....four more days. I'm thinking I can make it. I'm dreaming of my usual summer activities: the annual Colorado trip, floating the Comal, estate sales on Thursdays, creating art, and hitting some live music shows.  My LASIK surgery went off without a hitch.  I can see like a champ! No more artsy glasses.....oh well.  I am going to start a new collage painting today.  It's a gift painting so I'll post what I can as not to give away any secrets. 

I just finished the Willie Nelson concert poster.  I'm liking the outcome.  I was a little shocked to find out earlier this week that he had cut his hair though.....I hope my poster wasn't the reason.  Last night some friends and I took in a local show.  We went to see Doug Burr at Lochrann's. It was a really good show!  Doug showed everyone why he is nominated for best male vocalist in Dallas.  Check out the other nominees here.  Doug's tunes are pretty mellow with a little kick every now and then.....to me, some stuff kind of reminded me of Whiskeytown.  Check out some Doug Burr songs right here. In other news, I will be getting LASIK eye surgery this afternoon.  I will no longer be donning the artsy specs. I'll need to stay off the computer for a few days, so don't expect too much from JT.  I'll let you know how it goes.

In class my students are working on a psychedelic concert poster for their last assignment before summer break.  I am in the process of doing one as an example.  This year's version is for a Willie Nelson show.  Last year's example was for the Old 97's.  If I finish it I'll post the finished product.

I stumbled upon my current new favorite artist, Robert Mars, when a co-worker sent me a link about how to create your own books online with blurb.com.  One of the sample books had old road sign art in it.  I was able to make out the name at the bottom of the pages and looked him up.  His collages and mixed media paintings are super cool.  Robert also has one of the best art blogs that I've seen.  Check it out......I haven't been this inspired in a while.

I got my new business cards in the mail today and I couldn't be happier with the outcome!  I ordered them from moo.com last Monday morning and they arrived on Saturday....not a bad turn around.  I went with the mini cards for something a little different.  There are 11 unique cards in a set.  Each one has a different painting or photograph on the front.  Get one or collect them all....or better yet, buy the original :)

I've been a big fan of Randel Plowman's collages for a while now.  He does a new collage almost everyday and posts them on his blog for sale.  I get updates frequently when he posts new work.  I've been scouting out the collages for a while for one that I really loved. Sometimes the ones I want are already sold and that can be a bummer. Today, I pulled the trigger and bought Storm.  I'm a sucker for telephone poles I guess.  Check out Randel's site and get some cool cheap original artwork!

Tomorrow is the opening day of the FISD employee and staff art show. It's a show that is only open to Frisco Independent School District employees. I can't wait to see the other artwork!  I will have the following paintings in the show:

• I Made My Bed 
• Collarbone High

This should be a great show!  If you are local, stop by and say hi at the reception. 

Most of you already know my love for Tex-Mex food and all things Texana, so I won't bore you with another post about me eating at some taco joint.  On this beautiful Cinco de Mayo day I want to share with you my favorite tortilla chips.  Since chips and salsa are my stranded on a desert island food....no doubt about that....I consider myself an expert on the subject.  I'll make this brief:  Julio's Chips are by far the best chips that I've ever had...end of discussion.  We used to load up 5-6 huge bags down in San Antonio and smuggle them up to Dallas before they sold them here. They have a special seasoning salt on them that separates them from the rest.  If you live in Texas, don't settle for less.  If you don't live in Texas, figure out a way to get some.  Now as for Mexican food, check out last year's post of my favorites.  I encourage you to comment on this one and enlighten me of any chips or Mexican food places I left off my list!  I'll put them on the agenda.

I'm hesitant to put this on here but I wanted to show everyone what I was working on last night. First of all to set the mood, I busted out the Redheaded Stranger LP by Willie Nelson and slapped it on the turntable. I still think vinyl is the best true sound!  I'm not a big portrait artist....as a matter of fact, I have hardly ever done any portrait paintings.  I drew up the cowboy without any references...so it's not supposed to be anyone in particular.  I've got this image in my head of how I want this to turn out...hopefully I can get it close. Canvas size: 12 x 12.  I'm not really going for realistic...so that is a good thing!  I put in two background layers last night and a undercoat of red on the shirt and hat band.  Tonight I'm going to work on the shirt and hat.  Then I'll tackle the dreaded face.  I'll keep you posted if it's turning out okay...if not, you may never hear from this cowboy again....he may hit the trail.

Saturday morning we made it over to Richardson for Cottonwood Arts Festival.  The weather was perfect and the art was even better!  I was able to chat with some of my artist friends that were in the show and get caught up on their latest paintings.  I talked with Jerry Brem, Jennifer Cavan (loyal follower of JT), and Brice McCasland.  All of their new stuff looks great!  Check out their web pages!!  There were many new artists that I saw for the first time there that really caught my eye.  Here is a list:

• Rick Harrington - barn oil paintings.  Probably our favorite of the show!
• Gabe Leonard - old west and historical figures on a large scale - awesome!
• Amy Leigh Carstensen - abstract, colorful paintings...really nice!