The topic for this month's challenge from Michelle Burnett's Following the Masters was to paint in the style of Van Gogh. So I redid one of his self-portraits and named it "Ear Today...Gone Tomorrow. This is it below.
. Karin Jurick's challenge for Different Strokes From Different Folks was an overhead shot of three people scurrying through an airport. I always like to put a little humorous twist in my submissions, but this one was a booger to come up with anything. It had me beating my head against the wall. Wall? Hmmmm, Wall....that's it!!..WALDO.!!!
Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I have a tendency to overeat. I'm already quite a few pounds overweight...so this Thanksgiving I posted these 2 photos on my refrigerator door....
. The hefty gentleman at the top is shopping at Wal-Mart. The photo is from a new blog feature I've started....Windows of Wonders WOW. I'll be plugging this more in future blogs, but WOW is strictly for fun and amazement. I have a collection of 1000's of humorous, fascinating and unbelievable stuff. There's a bunch of folks who send me off-the-wall stuff and I love to pass it along. Ed Burton is one who sends me absolutely hilarious stuff. I'll be adding more and more to WOW, so you're sure to find something to suit ya. Check it out by clicking HERE
And....less than 2 weeks remain for the "Giving Thanks" challenge for Windows to the Words.
Hm-m-m-m,,,,I had this one sent in to me, and I felt, at first, that it was just too tasteless to publish. But, what the heck, I never was known for my good taste. However, I never will eat pumpkin pie in the right frame of mind again.
Cya down the road.
Veteran's day was November 11, so naturally I'm running a day late and posting this on November 12. Duh. Several days ago on Every Photo Tells A Story, Nancy posted a painting by San Diego Artist Brooke Olivares entititled "Papa". Many of you know that I contribute poetry to this marvelous site daily...actually, I think I like to write as much as paint...and I have presented it here....
"Oh Daddy...I Love You...Hug Me"
Before you left, I'd never heard, of Iraq or Afghanistan,
But by Momma's worried look, I soon learned to understand,
That you are somewhere far off, your life in constant danger,
From people who don't know you...to them, a total stranger.
They don't know your inner kindness. How warm your hug can be,
Your tender words of wisdom, and how much you mean to me.
To see how others kill and maim, without a second thought,
Their brothers...all God's children. It truly breaks my heart.
But now you've been returned to us, from your duty in Iraq,
I hold you, oh, so close to me. "My Daddy...Welcome Back!"
The first submission for Windows to the Words November challenge is this delightful watercolor pencil from Elena Malec. For being first, I'll put in a good word to Santa for her. This month's challenge is "Giving Thanks" with 5 thought provoking reference photos to choose from. You can check em out by clicking HERE
I recently received a commission to paint a series of 5x7 flowers. Below are a few of them. Painting flowers is fun. I may have to do some more of 
these. 
This is my submission for Karin Jurick's Different Strokes From Different Folks...city rooftops.
Maybe it's just me, but I like happy endings. If I had directed Titanic, the ship would have hit the iceberg just badly enough to chip up enough ice for everybody to have another round of Margaritas, then sailed happily and safely off to Tahiti. If I had directed King Kong...well...the picture tells the story.
Tweedles honored me with the Superior Scribbler Award. I have been scribbling since I was 2, and haven't broken the habit yet. Aside from scribbling, I do a lot of scrabbling, too. That is, playing Scrabble on the International Scrabble Club. Thank you, Tweedles.
And, here is another submission from me for Scary Stuff for October's Scary Stuff Challenge. Had a number of really neat artworks that you can check out by clicking HERE.
I've been working on several large projects which have eaten up a lot of time and rather frayed my last nerve. Coupla more days, and I should be able to wind them up...I'll show em to you then, but for now I just have to blog and boogie.
Happy Halloween and see ya down the road.....James
Windows to the Words "Scary Stuff" is underway...and I'll make it a habit to post the first entry here on JPA. All the way from Capetown, South Africa...Liz Pearson. And .., one by me.
"Insomnia"
Liz Pearson
"Your Pizza's Here"
James Parker
GEORGETOWN, TEXAS "ART IN THE SQUARE" SHOW.
This past weekend, October 17-18, Georgetown had a marvelous art show under gorgeous blue skies and perfectm temps. Over 150 artists participated and I thought I'd introduce some old Texas artist friends and new ones...and a couple of Out-of-Staters.
Click their name to visit their site.
Teri Jo McReynolds
Teri is pictured on the left with some escapee from the retirement home. She is from San Antonio. teaches art, is a fan of San Miguel, Mexico, and is represented at Goode Art Company (where I first saw her work) in Fredricksburg...and much more.
Acree, from Houst
on, is pictured on the left with his daughter, Karen (hope I remembered correctly) The bozo on the right wandered in from the street. To say that Acree is an interesting fellow is like saying the Grand Canyon is a little ditch. He has more tales to share than there are tales....a true kindred spirit. You can really have an enjoyable experience by visiting his site and blog. And, as you can see from his rendition of Zoey the tiger...he is an accomplished artist.
Betty Nash
Betty is from Denison and is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions. Well deserved. Her style of chiaroscuro caught my attention...and her little playful, whimsical additions to some of her
paintings kinda reminded me of someone else who sticks little "winkies" in his work.
Mark Williams
There is just "something" about chiaroscuro (strong light/dark contrast) that fascinates me. Mark Williams is very good at this style of the old masters. Mark is from Austin, and is just beginning his art career. His prices for his quality work were very, very reasonable (cheap, really). A visit to his site might prove worthwhile.
Rita Kirkman
Rita is from New Braunfels. She does realism in pastels. When I do pastels I wind up with realism of very dirty, smudgy hands. We had a long visit, and aside from outstanding artwork, she has a bubbly personality and a super positive outlook. The cow looking at you from the left side is Terrence. You were thinking Elsie, maybe? Rita also has a neat blogspot.. click HERECody Cass
Being a wildlife artist myself, with a partiality to rainforest and jungle life, I was attracted to Cody's work like a moth to a searchlight. He passed my scrutinous eye with flying colors (and a bit of envy) His work is magnificent. He doesn't have his website quite up and running yet ( www.casswildlife.com) but I'll just bet you'll hear more from him. Cody is from Leander.
Charles Ellison Nelda Boren Smith 
Thes two delightful folks are from Franklin. Charles is a masterful wildlife artist...one of his works is pictured in the background. Nelda does some intriguing, spirited, colorful horses, and other subjects. Ihad a picture of Nelda's work, but can't find it...I'll post it later.
Gregory Arth
Gregory is pictured here with his wife. The circus must be in town, judging from the lost clown in the background. Gregory has a distinct style that is mind-boggling. His celebrity portraits are super. And his website is out ofthis world. He was celebrating his birthday at showtime and they were about to celebrate their anniversary. They are from Colleyville.Beth Erlund
I noticed Beth's booth because she was from Morrison, Colorado...same place as Saundra Galloway, the young lady who just presented me with the little snow bunny painting. I was captivated by Beth's batik work. I still don't know much about batik...but it's neat.
Hailing from Sierra Vista, Arizona, Roderick is an artist after my own taste. He is photo-realistic with a kick. He even touts his work with a disclaimer... "Not a photograph!" Roderick is on the rebound, so to speak, and has a very interesting and uplifting story to tell. His artwork and blog are definitely worth checking out.
That's it for now....see ya down the road..... James
First,,. I've received several E-Mails from followers/visitors who have thanked me for posting the "Enjoy the Ride" video on the side bar for easy access. A few folks are making it a regular practice to click for a "lift".I start my day with it. If the world would go by the contents of that video, then half the newspapers would belly up from lack of bad news to report. I'm running late posting this blog. Normally I procrastinate, but this time I just put it off. :-) Actually I've been caught up with a plethora of activities that played havoc with my schedule. I sowwy .
Windows to the Words "Cats Up" challenge ended with some really nice submissions that you can view by clicking HERE. And the winners of the challenge and the details of this month's "Scary Stuff" challenge can be viewed by clicking HERE.
Normally I don't get the least excited about winning anything. Every day I open my E-Mail and see that I have won 2 million pounds in the Irish Lottery,
or been selected to distribute $500,000 from a long lost cousin in Nigeria. I have worn out two delete buttons. So when I ran across an E-Mail saying "Yippee... You've Won" my fingers crept toward that button. But I opened it up and "lo and behold".... a legitimate surprise. It was from Saundra Galloway. Her blog, Art for Life, is fascinating. In addition to being cute as a ladybug, Saundra is an exceptional artist with some neat techniques for her art and collages. She also weaves an interesting story and tidbits of info into a neat little learning braid. This ability may result from her being a teacher. Anyway, a while back, I read her blog concerning them problems in teaching, and kinda identified with it. My two daughters are teachers, married to teachers, and I've heard some horror stories. I joined her followers. And was notified by the fore-mentioned E-Mail that I was her 75th follower and would be honored by a gift of a 4x4 of my choice.
The decision was a booger, because she had such neat artworks displayed to choose from. At first I was drawn to the "Night Aspens" pictured on the left. But when I spotted the "Snow Bunnies" pictur
ed on the right I was blown away and fell in love with em. I don't get overly excited about much, but I am really looking forward to receiving these little furballs. Incidentally, Saundra is the snow bunny in the center...from Colorado. Please visit her delightful blog by clicking her photo or HERE.
Next, Sheila Tajima fussed at me last blog for only including FEMALES on my humor comments and pictures of aging ungracefully and overweight over-the-hillers. To make amends, I present the photo below....the statue of David in recent times. I was told that this happened over a period of time following the introduction of MacDonald's into Europe.
I've recently had my shoulder "cried on" by a couple of fellow artists/artisans who have been having very little success in marketing their work.... even to the point of considering themselves failures. I told them to cheer up...things will get better. And showed them a few photos of real failure. I share them with you, below:
After a brief respite from mud daubing, I'm back at the canvas with some little small stuff like the "Wrangler" Wraccoon shown below. I am working some larger items, one of which I hope to enter in the Wet Canvas competition that ends October 31.
AND .... One of my favoritest blogs is Every Photo Tells A Story. I submit my little poem every post. If I'm unable to get to a Internet location to post it, I get to Jonesing and shaking, and pouting, and actually very hard to live with. Nancy, of EPTAS was gracious enough to present another of my paintings this last post....Two Frogs. This one was from my earlier Costa Rican days, when I painted as Yimi. I had chosen Yimi, because that's what folks called me, and I thought a one word painting name would be a cool gimmick....like Rembrandt or Michaelangelo. Nope. Click HERE to check out Every Photo Tells a Story.
Thought for the Blog.... Money is like rainfall. Sometimes there's too much of it in the wrong places, and not enough of it in others.
Cya down the road........................... James
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