The Wildflower Center is doing a call for entries for their wildflower days art competition. I spent
2 lovely hours out there last week photographing the plant at sunrise. It was just me and the bumble
bees. Nothing could have been better.

the flower chosen for the competition is Eryngo (Eryngium leavenworthii).  The
bloom time for this flower is typically July, August, & September. More information
about the flower can be found at their website with the following link
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ERLE11.

I woke up early yesterday, about 6:30am, got dressed, made some coffee and hopped in my car and drove south to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
The center doesn’t officially open until about 9am, but I had special permission to enter the grounds. I have been commissioned to create a painting of agarita
berries to be used on their holiday card. This was great, I was being paid to photograph berries. Life doesn’t get much better for me. The morning was beautiful;
fields of tall grass and wildflowers, scissor tailed fly catchers and cardinals. I spent about 2 hours there, the whole place to myself, photographing the berries
and all sorts of other things. You can see a few of my favorites below. I endured a ton of bug bites, but it was well worth it.

I took a trip out to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center on Friday. I wanted to check out the exhibition space and meet Joseph Hammer. He is the individual who has invited me and is organizing the exhibit of my work out which will be presented there next winter.
While I was there I decided to search out new subjects for paintings. I was very excited about the pods I found. Pictured below is a buckeye pod with a few yummy brown-black seeds, and then the vibrant red mountain laurel seeds and pods. Its like a little treasure when you crack open the pods.

Just the other day I was asked to exhibit my paintings at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center! I feel very honored.
In keeping along the lines of the Wildflower Center’s mission, I went out this morning and photographed my native Texas Possum Haw tree. I planted it about 5 years ago, and this year it really did it’s thing; red berries galore! Everything else in my yard looks horrible after the freeze, but the Possum Haw dropped all it’s leaves but held onto it’s vibrant red berries. It looks beautiful. I haven’t quite figured out how to capture that yet, but I did so some Possum haw berry still lives.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center will be holding it’s annual art auction this spring. I have decided to donate this small pomegranate still life painting. Check back in the next few weeks for details on the where and when of it all.