the road - two cyclist I
the road - two cyclist II
the road two cyclist III
the road VI two cyclist
the road - Randy and Ben (number V in the series of two)
the road - two cyclist VI
Friends of Fondren gala silent auction- donation
A few months ago I was at a dinner for mother’s of my daughter Sage’s high school graduation class. One of the Mother’s is a lady named Barbara Gibbs she asked me to make a donation to help raise money for the Fondren Library. I don’t really know Barbara but it turns out I knew her husband David Gibbs in the 80’s when I sold commercial real estate in Houston. I had a meeting with David Gibbs that I will always remember. I was in my mid twenty’s and I had just moved to Houston from El Paso Texas. I had basically just fallen off the cantaloupe truck but I was a hard worker and was doing everything to learn the city fast, and I was doing ok considering the price of oil had fallen and most people were were really struggling. I had made one deal with David I think it was a Pea In The Pod store. I was discussing with him a new concept I had discovered in Galveston and I thought it was deserving of a really great location. He told me that after working with me on the first deal that he knew that I knew what I was talking about and that if I thought a concept was good then he trusted me. I was so excited he was a very important developer in the Rice University area and it ment a lot to me to get his vote of confidence. I could not of been more excited. I went back to my office when I received a call from my husband telling me his firm was transferring us to El Paso. I was pretty devestated as I was just getting some respect in the Houston Real estate market.
“The road” Houston to Seattle a father and son moment.
The poetry between a father and son - documenting a son’s epic ride, and a father’s support. I was contacted by a fellow St. John’s mother Lourdes Hernandez to donate my artistic skills to decorate a boots for the MD Anderson boot walk fundraiser. When Lourdes dropped by my studio, I gave her my typical studio tour/artist talk. She really connected with two bodies of work; first, my hat series 'gust'. Her grandfather wore the same hat. Holding it, her eyes filled with tears, she said she could smell him. This filled my heart, it is a dream moment for an artist to get that type of a reaction from a sculpture. She also connected with 'The road' series of a cyclist. Her son rode his bicycle from Houston to Seattle. Her husband rode the last two days with him. She wanted her husband to see the work. A few weeks later, Lourdes and her husband Randy stopped by. It was clear to me that the connection between Randy and their son Ben on their cycling trips were very important to both Lourdes and Randy. I offered to do some more pieces with just two cyclists a father and a son, and asked to look at some of their photos from their trips. All the photos of Randy and Ben were in evergreen environments. Randy and Ben are extremely fit. I did the the five pieces below incorporating trees in the background, making the cyclist trimmer and making the two cyclist closer together. Lourdes gave Randy 'The road' Randy and Ben V for Christmas. I really enjoyed getting to know Lourdes, hearing about her amazing son’s ride across country. I am honored to be able to create a piece of art for their family that documents their love and admiration for their son. I hope we can keep in touch.
"the road". Cyclist - and what inspired this series.
Inspiration for new abstract series- I am often asked where my ideas come from. The answer is everywhere. I am always looking for imagery that interests me. Imagery that, when abstracted, will express a particular emotion or energy. I then think about what type of lines will best express that feeling, what media will work best. I was inspired to create the cyclist body of work a few months ago very early on a Sunday morning when I was peacefully driving down Allen Parkway toward downtown. "Could you be loved" by Bob Marley was playing on the radio. The asphalt street, slightly curving to the right, sparkled in the glaring sunlight. The second that I saw them, I was inspired by their images, their lines, the rhythm they shared, the obvious camaraderie that bonded them.
Below is is a summary of what I remember of that morning.
Houston's downtown skyline was lathered in dark shadows; it dripped silhouettes of oil into puddles. The silhouettes, their broad shoulders and fit waistlines bobbled back and forth over my dashboard, as their black spindle-like legs pumped the pedals right, left, right, left, never straying from the pool of their shadow. I stayed a safe distance behind and studied the rhythm of their images. Their body language, their energy, and sense of being part of a pack stayed with me.
If you zoom in you can see it like I saw it.
I will post more in my process soon.