About ME

About me & mine---

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I married my highschool sweetheart - feel like we grew up together. We have 3 kids, my oldest son is 26, is a musician and lives in Nashville and works as a singer/songwriter. He is hopeful that he may come back to Texas soon and tour and gradually work his way up. He just released his first single on Texas radio. My second son is 22 and is a student in college, hopefully with just another year to go. He's moved back and forth from home to college a couple of times and is about to move back in with us for a short time (that happen to any of you?) and my daughter, the princess (which I will probably refer to her as from now on) is 19 and in her second year of college.

I was blessed to be a stay-at-home mom for many years until the princess got into high school. Then we had college for #1 and #2 son, so I had to go back to work for a time. I'm hoping just a couple more years will be all I'll have to work. I am desperately longing to get back to my painting full time and working in my garden which I'm going to have next year at the farmhouse.

I was born an artist I guess. My mom tells me that when I was little, even as young as 3, I would sit in front of the tv set and draw Felix the cat, Buggs Bunny, and other cartoon characters. I have loved drawing and art for as long as I can remember. My teachers all through school would always get me to do projects for them. I didn't act in school plays, I did set designs and such. I won the fire prevention poster contests. It was second nature to me. Still is, I guess. Altho my parents finally found me a teacher for about a year when I was about 13 from whom I learned the basics about watercolor and oils, alot of what I do is self-taught.

I feel like I am living in what I call "artist mode" all the time. My eyes and brain are on overload constantly - everywhere I look - especially outside - I see something that makes my fingers itch to put it on canvas. God has created such a beautiful world for us to live in - if only we stop and pay attention. I have a card that Max Lucado designed that says something to the effect that ..."the next time you see - a beautiful sunrise or a field of flowers, stop and listen to hear God say, 'see? I made it just for you.'" (not the exact words but you get the idea) That says it all for ME. That desire to create, the way the light and shadows fall on objects or a landscape, the way the colors interact - to translate the excitement that I see and feel into something that a viewer of my art can relate to and feel the same thing I felt when I painted it - THAT is my muse. THAT is what drives me.

Unfortunately, with my busy life and schedule and job, I find very little time to paint. When I paint, the time flies by. I have taken off work for a few days at a time or over a weekend or when I'm sick, and I paint. I don't eat, I don't watch TV, I sometimes listen to soft music or classical music, but I may paint for 6-8 hrs and never even know what time it is. It's hard to do that when you have kids interrupting you or your job you have to go to or the housework is screaming at you to be done. But I'm NEVER GIVING UP!!! I do it for ME. I have to create. Whether anybody ever likes my work or buys my paintings it doesn't matter. I do it for ME.

I have 4 other girlfriends who are also artists - each one is different, but we are all driven by the same desires. We take an annual trip somewhere neat each year for 4-5 days and do nothing but paint, watch art videos, take turns cooking, and reading each others' artbooks. I look forward to this time each year more than just about anything.

I will reveal more about my family as time passes. This post is rather long, sorry, but I wanted to tell you about me. I also want to tell you about how we are now in the process of re-doing the family farmhouse - which is my latest time-consuming, but highly enjoyable project. I will post pictures of the project when I am able. My father in law's first cousin was an old maid and he took care of her for a long time in her later years. Her dad built the family farmhouse on 80 acres in Sand Flat. They grew roses for a long time as well as gardened and ran cattle on it. The last few years, it's grown hay. The old maid cousin died and left the farm to our family. We have yearned for something out in the country over our 30 years of marriage, and even tried to buy a couple of places (which the Lord said no to)-(guess He knew what was coming), and we have had a ball fixing up the place. It was real run-down, uneven and unkempt and grown up all around. We had to first of all clear weeds and dead trees from the back of the property, level the old 30's pier & beam house which had rock piers that had shifted in the sand over the years (hence the town's name, Sand Flat), re-do all the wiring, gut most of the rooms down the studs, completely gut the bathroom including the floor which had rotted out and re-do lots of plumbing. The kitchen cabinets were actually in pretty good shape and needed sanding down and painting. They must have been refurbished back in the 50's or 60's at some point. We put in central heat and air (a must have in Texas), all new lighting, flooring, etc. I have caulked at least 3 million miles, sanded, kilz-ed, and painted every single surface in that entire house. I'm still peeling paint off my body in places that I wonder how it got there!

Now we are down to the decorating. We decided that we wanted to try to keep the house in the era that it came from. I know we are not exact with that because there are some amenities that I won't do without - like ceiling fans and a good refrigerator and stove. Everything that is in this house except new mattresses, appliances, a sofa and a TV all came from garage sales, estate sales, flea markets or friends and family. We have a couple of items - a pie safe and a spice cabinet - that the man who built the house, the old maid's dad, made by hand and have brought them back to the house. They are a treasure to me.

It's not really shabby chic, I guess it's more of a cottage look we're going for. My hubby didn't want every single thing fu-fu in the house, so it's developing a more cottage-y style. I can't wait to figure out how to get photos on my blog for you all to see. I need some decorating tips and suggestions from you all. I want to know what you think!

Well, that's all for today - Sorry it's so long - but I had major things to bring you up to date on with me. I also tend to be rather wordy - I'll try to be more concise in the future. Thanks for checking out my blog - I hope it will be interesting to someone out there- I'll keep you posted on my little Sand Flat Farm. Vickie