Uninterrupted

Uninterrupted, 6 x 8

Being a West Texas girl originally, I fell in love long ago with the uninterrupted view.  Those of you who think areas outside of Lubbock are beautiful will understand!  Technically, this one IS interrupted, by the hills, something one definitely does not see in most of West Texas, but it appeals to me nonetheless.

-julie davis

Gestures

Bastrop View, 8 x 10

I painted this this morning at 6 am--needed a little more coffee, but plowed ahead anyway sustained by the results of Monday.  Shortly after painting it (while checking emails), I recalled something I read recently in Robert Henri's book The Art Spirit.  In discussing trees, he offered that a painter should "Give the tree its gesture," and that in a tree "there is a spirit of life, a spirit of growth and a spirit of holding its head up."  Laurel Daniel's blog post this morning about trees brought that quote to mind; the next time I tackle trees, I'm going to remember Henri's expression, because the "gesture" does convey it all.

-julie davis