down this path before

"One day in retrospect the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful."

Sigmund Freud

Spring thyme

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.

Margaret Atwood

Bells of Ireland

Galentine

This is a reposted entry that we thought appropriate for this glorious day.

As they say, love is a four-legged word. We wish you joy today and always.

x|o

"They are constant reminders that life reveals the best of itself when we live fully in the moment and extend our unconditional love. And it is very true that the most tender, uncomplicated, most-generous part of our being blossoms without any effort when it comes to the love of a dog."
- from Maira Kalman's 'Beloved Dog'

elf | oil on panel | 6" x 6" | Flanegan

Peace to you Mary Oliver and thank you.

One of the most popular poems by Mary Oliver, but still my favorite...

The Summer Day

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

—Mary Oliver   September 10,1935 - January 17, 2019

An NPR Weekend Edition segment featuring Mary Oliver in 2012 and Krista Tippett's interview with Mary Oliver in 2015.

Neighbor

15

20min study | oil on panel | 8"x 6" | Flanegan

Celebrating my 15th Christmas with my Gingersnap. Her expression is telling me that it's treat time and to get that silly hat off her head.

Love Wins

"The heart that gives, gathers."

Tao Te Ching

💛Wishing all a lovely Thanksgiving Holiday 💛

Jack's Bull Creek

When giving thanks comes hard for you,

And things are grim and hope runs thin,

Recall:

Despair's a door to pass on through,

and not a home for living in.

When thanksgiving fills your cup,

And those you love are all about,

Look at your blessings, count them up,

and give back something to the world

without.

Robert Mabry Doss

1927-2016

study | oil on panel | 9.7" x 6" | Flanegan

every day is Mandela Day

"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead."

Nelson Mandela

1918-2013

Especially given the current political climate, what a timely and welcomed opportunity to

celebrate inspired leadership, the legacy of Nelson Mandela. Hope you had a chance to learn more about his profound sacrifice and service during yesterday's Mandela Day. Or if you wish, access the above link and get ready to be awestruck.

Boots

"I do not at all understand the mystery of grace - only that it meets us

where we are but does not leave us where it found us."

Anne Lamott

Sláinte Chugat!

Cheers and Good Health Wishes and Happy Birthday to my brother, David!

“There are no strangers here, only friends you have not yet met.” 

William Butler Yeats

morning light, detail | oil on panel | 8" x 8" | Flanegan

Third Time's the Charm

“Let the beauty we love be what we do.” 

Rumi, 1207-1273

hydrangea 3 | oil on cradled panel | 6" x 6" | Flanegan | $150

There are paintings in an artist's studio that beg to be revisited. So when a friend surprised me with hydrangeas, I was convinced it was a sign to paint over my shy attempt from a few years back. : )

hydrangea 2 | oil on panel | 6" x 6" | Flanegan 

100 Miles Across

"One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions.
Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change."
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Shy on Flamenco Beach | oil on panel | 6" x 8" | Flanegan | $150

Lin-Manuel Miranda raps a gift for Puerto Rico. 

Please pray for these American families and contribute what you can to help them rebuild.

50% of the sale price of this painting will benefit our fellow citizens displaced

by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

It's been four months since Maria devastated Puerto Rico and NPR reported this evening that 40% of the residents still have no electricity.

Boots

Boots | oil on panel | 6" x 6" | Flanegan

elf

"They are constant reminders that life reveals the best of itself when we live fully in the moment and extend our unconditional love. And it is very true that the most tender, uncomplicated, most-generous part of our being blossoms without any effort when it comes to the love of a dog."

from Maira Kalman's 'Beloved Dog'

elf | oil on panel | 6" x 6" | Flanegan

Have you ever fell into bed at night absolutely exhausted, yet you were unable to sleep

because you felt so grateful for everything?
Wishing you all hope and belonging this holiday season and always.

montana

Sawyer

"Let's begin by taking a smallish nap or two."

Winnie the Pooh

 A Four-Legged Word for Love  |  6x6 oil on linen panel  |  commission

Double Trouble

Birthday Girl | oil on Belgian linen panel | 6" x 12" |  Flanegan |  commission

Last week a friend and I were talking about projects we've worked on together and about plotting ventures in the future. Then I thought about this painting she commissioned last year and realized I hadn't posted it.

My tendency is to amp up the saturation so this was a welcomed exercise in muting the scene, tightening the values on this cloudy day. The reference photo depicts a race at the Heart of Texas Regatta. The red buoys mark the last 250 meters of the course where many a race is decided, merciless in revealing the fitness of the athletes.

Austin's Lady Bird Lake is a rower's paradise. I was a competitive rower in what seems like a lifetime ago and I miss my crewmates. :)

breathe

breathe | oil on cradled panel | 8" x 18" |  Flanegan |  $425