In Miami, I seem to miss events like art walks as thousands go and parking is a night mare… excuses galore I know (shame on me). Yesterday we visited the Museum of Western Art and the American Legion where they gave us free beer for being from more than 100 miles away, and we took a leisurely stroll and picnic lunch on the Guadaloupe River with a bunch of fat geese as companions… Then at 4pm we picked up a friend we met at the homecoming parade the night before and then we found street parking and diagonal parked within a 1/2 block of the "art walk". The town of Kerrville blocked off 2 blocks in front of the Cultural Arts Center and artists were setting up to paint for 1 1/2 hour in a contest… We set up our 3 folding chairs on the sidewalk, poured glasses of wine, and began to stroll and visit artists set up along two blocks of the street in front of the Arts Center. Painting started with the ringing of the town clock and the bells over Notre Dame Catholic Church at 5pm. Wine sharing was going on at one end of the street. As we walked we chatted with the artists and "judged their work". I picked about 5 artists I liked including a friend I had made under the bridge the day before… Jesus Toro Martinez (with a gallery in San Antonio) paints giant canvases and true to his nature, he had a giant blank canvas (really just a sheet of canvas) spread out on the street. As I watched him for the next 1 1/2 hour he rolled and splotted that canvas and the end result was wonderful! Another wonderful artist gave me her card with palm trees painted on it! And I said, "I paint palm trees! I love the play of light and colors on the palm fronds." I wish we could be fast friends, but Emely McConkey lives in Tucson which is such a long way from Miami…. (I actually cut this trip short…. the driving time to the Grand Canyon for example…. 3 days west of San Antonio… it is too much for me. So I can only dream of Western art and sky!) The goal of last night’s art in the streets was to showcase the downtown area. Artists were painting the umbrellas over tables at Francisco’s restaurant, certain store fronts, little alleyways, pots of flowers, and Hallowe’en decorations. As we strolled, several "locals" said "I never looked down that alley before,"… so the show is a good idea for a small town. This could easily be done on Miracle Mile in Coral Gables… Do it near a parking garage so people could just "walk the street" and peer down the small never seen alleyways created by the spaces between buildings. It helps that drinking on the streets of Kerrville is allowed. I met one of the "wine share" ladies and shared my idea for painting a mural on the bridge we sat under the day before…. Maybe one day, "Put a brush in every hand," will catch on here in Kerrville and the bridge mural will be reality. We are off today to see the inside of the cultural Arts Center and the Riverside Nature Center which is a farm turned into gardens with butterflies and flowers… I will paint someplace and then go to what Chuck calls "cheater Mass" at 5pm. The University of Miami plays Florida State tonight at 8pm on ABC but we are in the heart of Texas…. might not get the game on TV… Hope so. God bless you!
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