"Breakfast with Kristine, Don Gaspar" oil on masonite 4x6"SOLD

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If you're ever going to Santa Fe I HIGHLY recommending stay at Don Gaspar. I won't attempt to explain it but it is fabulous.

Christine is one of the wonderful, gracious women that attend to all matters of import. She served us wonderful breakfast along with lively conversation. This piece is a study of a larger piece to be done at a later time.

"Non Biker, Mancos Colorado" oil on masonite 6x6"

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I can't begin to tell you how small the cafe is that we eat in in Mancos. To say it was packed is like saying Tiger Woods is an okay golfer. This woman and her family sat across from us. We were about the only non-motorcycle folks in the joint. She really stuck out in her Eddie Bauerish attire. My guess is we were right behind her.

"Biker Rally, Mancos Colorado" oil on masonite 9x12"

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When we take our "every two years" trip to Shidoni we always try to have breakfast in Mancos Colorado. The town is a blink of a place but they have the most amazing bakery/cafe! What we didn't know this year was Mancos was hosting not one but two motorcycle rallies. Wow! Amazing visuals and an amazing mix of folks. We had to wait a long time for our table but it was worth every minute. Oink.

"Misty Eye" oil on masonite 8x8"

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You know, there was just something about this little gal that grabbed me. She was totally oblivious to everything around her. There's something refreshing about a little person that isn't busy trying to get everyone's attention.

"Trek to Canyon Road" oil on masonite 5x7"

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Okay! so it's not of the human kind. I DID encounter it on my trip. In fact, this was in front of a gallery that I like very much. There were scads of them! Lucky you....more to come.

"Dinner, Moab Brewery" oil on masonite 5x7"

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This young man was CUTE. He was not handsome, just CUTE. The brewery was packed when we went for dinner so we ended up in the bar. His energy just oozed from his pores. It made for a delightful experience....of course cute did not carry the evening. We had the "sample" and then individual beers based on our conclusions. It made the walk back to the hotel very jolly.

"Waitress, McStiff's, Moab" oil on masonite 6x6"

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Moab was unbearably hot when we got there. We were drawn to stop because it has always been such a beehive of activity. Not this time. The town was dead. So eerie.

We got there 1.5 hrs before "check in" and the hotel would not budge. After all that driving we really wanted to get to our room and get settle. Not to be. We trudged off down the street until we saw an outdoor eating area at McStiff's. We order COLD beer but alas, they would only serve us if we ordered food too. This cute little waitress directed us to the $.75 chips. PERFECT.

"Storm Watch" oil on canvas

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This is not from the Santa Fe trip. It just sort of snuck in there right before I left to do the 3 day walk. This is really more of a study. I have another image in mind that has this same female with two other figures. It should be on a much bigger scale.

For anyone that is interested, if you are ever offered the opportunity to walk 60 miles in 3 days politely say no. It is brutal. I came through relatively unscathed but I saw many not so fortunate.

The good news is there were 3,200 of us and the minimum you could raise before being able to walk was $2,200 (thank you again to all that helped me). You do the math.

"Hotel Nightshift, Salt Lake City" oil on masonite 5x7"

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Okay! so I'm up at this crazy hour to squeeze in one more post before I leave.

This young woman was oh-so-typical youth. She had a hard time tearing herself away from her friend to check us in. I will probably paint her again. Really fun subject.

Off to work and then to walk!

"Dinner, Salt Lake City" oil on masonite 6x6"

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This was the first meal we paid for on our journey. This young woman was so cute when I asked to photograph her.

They don't really have table side service in this strange joint but she managed to make her own brand of service.

Also I'm about to disappear for another couple of days. Friday AM I start a 3 day, 60 mile walk with my two wonderful nieces and a friend of theirs to raise money for cancer research.

See you next week!

"A Matter of Age" oil on masonite 6x6"

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Whew! Our Mr. Magoo is back. He came sauntering up to the back door early this morning. Some of you cat folks are wondering why the worry. Well first, none of our 6 cats are allowed to spend the night outside, second we have MANY coyotes here. They come right up to the house at night. He would make a tasty (18lb) meal for someone.

Now I can get back to painting, where I belong.

One of the things that happened on our trip was an idea I had to paint people I met along the way. I'm not quite ready, but there will be many. It was fun to tell the random waitress or shopper what I was up to and then take their pictures. Some were tickled, others mortified!

Fun for me, trouble for them......

"Bittersweet" oil on masonite 6x6"

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I'm back.

First let me say I had a marvelous trip. Nothing that anyone else would find special but any time I get to spend that much time with Ross it is wonderful.

Second let me say that the title of this piece has nothing to do with the image. My big Tom Cat, Mr. Magoo has gone missing. He was visited and loved often when we were gone, but not let out. Today was his first day outside in 2 weeks. It's not a new scenario. However, it's night time here and we've been looking and calling for quite some time. No sign of our awesome Magoo cat. He came to us as a stray. It's a VERY long story but let me tell you, that cat owns me. Hopefully I'll have good news tomorrow.