Sugar Ridge Road Bluebonnets

After work on Good Friday I headed out to Bristol, Texas for a little plein air action in one of the best bluebonnet locations in Texas. The area has lots of rolling hills and Sugar Ridge is one of the highest points in Ellis County so there are some great vistas to work with. The smell alone was worth coming out for.

By the way, Bristol is home to some of the best sushi in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Hard to fathom considering the population is probably 50 on a good day, and is completely off the beaten path. You don't stumble upon Bristol. You have to want to go there since it's not on the way to anywhere. Don't let the humble building/gas station fool you. Personally, if someone hadn't told me about this place there is no way I would have stopped here. But the food is worth the drive even when the bluebonnets are long gone.

9x12 oil on canvas panel

Crane Flies In My Paint

I usually get annoyed by the annual crane fly invasion here in Texas in April. Especially since they always seem to find a way to get inside my art studio and, inevitably, in my paint. But for this occasion, I found them to be welcome. 

I was about 2 hours into a still life when two of them landed on my main subject, an enameled tin. Since they were sitting so very still for me I thought, "why not," so I decided to try and include them in the painting. Easier said than done since I hadn't planned for them in the beginning stages. But, I figured it was worth the risk, and a great example of being flexible when it comes to painting.

Unfortunately I wasn't totally happy with the one sitting on top so I wiped him off, but the one clinging to the tin on the left is still there. Most people looking at this probably wouldn't notice him, but I think it adds a little interest and a conversation point.