As the month of April comes to close, I wanted to share a few of the month's highlights. If you read the previous blog post from March 24 (Reflections on March 2016 trip to New Mexico), you know that March was a busy and productive month. April was also exciting in so many ways.

FEATURE IN UNIVERSITY OF INCARNATE WORD MAGAZINE...
I felt truly honored to have been interviewed and photographed for the Spring 2016 issue of The Word, the official magazine of the University of the Incarnate Word. I earned my BA from Incarnate Word College, as it was known then, in 1990. It was an amazing time of spiritual and intellectual growth and I shall always be indebted to Incarnate Word and the many benefactors who provided the scholarship funding that made my attending even possible.  That is why I support the institution each year with a donation of one of my original paintings to be auctioned during the Swing-In Gala to raise money for their scholarship program. This year I donated a 30x30 painting titled "After The Rain."
I invite you to read the article online: http://www.thewordonline.org/2016/03/among-the-wildflowers/

WILDFLOWER UMBRELLA SHOWCASED IN WILDFLOWER CENTER'S SPRING MAGAZINE...
I also had another pleasant bit of print publicity in April as one of my Wildflower Umbrellas was featured in a full page ad for the gift shop at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin. Over the years, I've been invited twice for solo shows at the Wildflower Center, participated in both their Artists and Artisans Festivals held in the Spring and the Wild Ideas Gift Shows scheduled in early December, and had products with my wildflowers stocked in the gift shop there. One of my few regrets in life is that I never got to meet Mrs. Johnson in person. But I'm grateful for her setting the stage and doing the groundwork to create this wonderful place.

LUBBOCK ARTS FEST...
My husband and I traveled to far north Texas (or at least it felt like it) earlier this month to exhibit my wildflowers-and-aspens at the Lubbock Arts Fest, sponsored by the Lubbock Arts Alliance. Held in the civic center April 15-17, it was an awesome show and resulted in sales, contacts and lots of new fans!

WIMBERLEY ARTS FEST...
The following weekend we were back home and exhibiting for the first time at another show, the Wimberley Arts Fest. I have to say that the volunteers with  Wimberley Valley Art League did a great job pulling it all together!

DOWNTOWN NEW BRAUNFELS ART WALK AND COMING UP NEXT MONTH...
We'll be ending the month with the annual Downtown New Braunfels Art Walk on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1. My studio upstairs at the New Braunfels Art League Gallery will be open and I'll be there to meet-n-greet visitors from 10 a.m. -5 p.m. on Saturday and from Noon-5 p.m. on Sunday.

Then on Monday, May 2, David and I'll be heading up to Austin to install an exhibit of my art at the Kerbey Lane Cafe-University location, 2602 Guadalupe. This will be the first of three 2-month shows I've been invited to have at different Kerbey Lane Cafes around Austin. This one will be up through July 5. I've been exhibiting at the KLCs since 2005 and it's always a pleasure to have my art on exhibit at their restaurants.

So that's the recap for April and, as always, I appreciate your reading my post and your interest in my life as an artist.

We left for New Mexico on March 8 and returned two weeks with 3,600 miles behind us and a roller-coaster ride of experiences in our memories. The primary goal was to show-and-sale my work at two back-to-back fine art shows. The first, which was also our first time there, was the Rio Grande Arts & Crafts Festival Spring Show set for March 11-13 in Albuquerque. The following week we were booked for a return visit to the Las Cruces Art Fair. Between the shows, we had planned a business trip to Arizona combined with some R-n-R and sightseeing to and fro, and that's where things deviated from plan a bit. But let's start at the beginning...

David and I love to travel about as much as we love sharing my happy art with the world. So when we can plan a trip around a show or two, well, it just doesn't get much better than that!

We left Texas and headed to Cloudcroft and Ruidoso for the first night's layover before making our way to Albuquerque. We were in for a treat as snow was on the ground both at Cloudcroft and at Ski Apache. Of course, we love the pine trees and I got to enjoy seeing Aspens tucked here and there. We left out the next morning for Alamogordo with a couple of ideas in mind. First, we'd be stopping off at the pistachio farm and then we'd head out to White Sands. It's long been on our to-do list and we decided to make it happen. It you ever find yourself in that part of New Mexico, you need to check it out!

After playing in the sand, we hit the road for Albuquerque. We were able to arrive and settle in, anticipating our set up the next morning.

The show was held in one of the buildings at the EXPO New Mexico. We spent the day setting up and getting to know our show neighbors and the wonderful staff behind the scenes. The show opened to a large crowd on Friday morning and almost immediately we knew that many of the visitors were serious art collectors. We visited with dozens of potential buyers over the next few days and acquired many new "fans" in the process. We learned long ago that you never know who will return and become a collector...whether it be a day later or months, or even years later. But before the close of the show, we did acquire two new collectors. The first was Roann, who purchased two of my paintings for her business, A Love of Life, a residential assisted living facility for seniors located in Albuquerque. The paintings, "Garden Delight" and "Evening Romance," were each 30x40 in size. Then right at closing time, another new fan, Debbie, decided to take the 30x30 wildflower painting "Indigo Delight" home with her. 

Needless to say, the show ended on a high note. By the next morning, however, we were about to face an unexpected challenge. Overnight, David was hit by a "bug" and I was soon to follow. We later found out that several other artists also got sick after the show. We are still not sure what was going around, but it got us and held on!

Our between-the-shows plan was to take a leisurely drive to Arizona, pick up some of my art from a gallery there, make a few other gallery visits and then do some sightseeing before making our way back into New Mexico for the Las Cruces show. As our health deteriorated, we did good to just make it to the gallery for the pick up and then back to New Mexico. The only sightseeing was from the Interstate.

Over the next few days, we both would seem to improve and then head downhill again. David was much sicker than I was so I did most of the driving. By Friday morning, we made a trip to a walk-in clinic to try to get him meds to kick it. He really didn't get any better so before we left town on Monday, we made a return trip to the same clinic. A different PA had a better understanding of his condition and with a new set of meds, he was well on his way to better health by Tuesday. But let me back up and tell you about the show!

David was able to help set up and do some of the break down but otherwise he stayed at the hotel for the weekend. Overall the attendance was strong and, again, we made new fans for my wildflowers and other paintings. I even met a few people who already knew my work. One man was from San Antonio but also had a home in Las Cruces and instantly recognized my wildflowers. We had several buyers come back and discuss specific paintings. But it was one very sweet couple, Mollie and Jeff, who knew that my art needed to be a part of their lives. On Sunday afternoon, they returned to pick up a painting but ended up with two works: "Fresh Breeze" and "Sunny Side Up."

We left Las Cruces Monday and decided to take two days to get home rather than push too hard. As we reviewed the options for the drive, we decided to bypass taking I-10 through El Paso (which can be pretty stressful as some of you may know) and instead looped around north of the city on Texas 375 through the Franklin Mountains and north of Fort Bliss. So glad we did...it was a spectacular drive! We then picked up 180 and headed toward the Guadalupe Mountains National Park before cutting back toward 285, which took us to Pecos and then Fort Stockton, our layover for the night.

The next day we made our way to Fredericksburg and took one last little detour to an old cemetery that David found a few years back. We wanted to see if the Bluebonnets were blooming again and, oh my, it was just amazing. What a great end to our trip...better health...almost home...Bluebonnets!

As always, thank you for reading and for you interest in our travels and in my life as an artist! Our next road trip will be a be shorted but exciting still as we'll be heading to Lubbock for the Arts Fest there on April 15-17.

It's always such an honor and joy to be featured in publications, whether they be old-fashioned printed products or online articles! And just recently I was honored not once, but twice! And each reached both national and international audiences.

Homeclick Community--
"Dreaming in Color: Interview with Artist Linda Calvert Jacobson"
While the original article was posted about 3 months ago, it was such a pleasant surprise to see my interview featured in last month's e-newsletter. Homeclick is an online community that is full of resources for people who are building, remodeling or decorating their homes. It's designed for both professionals and DIY types. Last year, I received an email that they would like to feature me  and my art on their site. After doing a little research about the company, I quickly agreed to completing the interview and submitting some photos. It's pretty cool to now read this online, knowing that it's already reached tons of people. I especially loved reading the comments! You can check it out by CLICKING HERE. I hope you enjoy it!

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center— Spring 2016 Issue
Another place that my wildflowers recently popped up was in the Spring 2016 issue of Wildflower, The Magazine of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. As you may know, I've had a long relationship with the Wildflower Center, having been invited twice for Solo Exhibits, participating in several shows there over the years and having products featuring my art sold in The Store, their gift shop.
So last fall I was contacted about having my one of my umbrellas featured in the Spring 2016 magazine for the full-page ad for The Store. Awesome! This goes out to members around the world. Yes, people from all over the globe do visit the Wildflower Center! And those who get the magazine or happen to drop by The Store this Spring will see my "Mountain Meadow" umbrellas!

Today's blog is about happiness and how, as an artist, I strive to make the world a happier place. With all of the turmoil going on around the globe and at home in our own backyard, it's sometimes difficult to find that happy place. But that's what I do...create art that brings joy into the world, into the hearts and souls of people who get to see my work on exhibit in galleries and other public spaces and, for collectors, in their own homes and businesses.  As my partner and manager of our Wildflower Art Gallery in Wimberley, my husband joins me in this quest to spread joy and happiness in the world through my art.

To fulfill that goal, David and I offer a "happiness guarantee" on any painting purchase. This is explained in detail on our "services" page but in a nutshell...when you buy a painting from us we want you to be happy with it! In fact, you should love it! To help ensure that we meet that goal, we give you a couple of weeks to live with the painting to make sure that it brings you the joy you were looking for. But there's another step we take when possible to help ensure that the art you select is a right fit for you, your family and your home: Our in-home viewing service.

We've done the in-home viewings many times and it's always a pleasure. But just recently we had two clients take us up on this service and I wanted to share the stories of each visit. They were different but in the end had the same result: Happy Art in Happy Homes!

The first began with a phone call in late November from Jacque, one of my collectors in the north Texas town of Breckenridge. About 3 years ago Jacque had purchased two of my wildflower paintings for her home. She kept up with my news and life as an artist through my newsletters. When the November 2015 newsletter hit her inbox and she got a preview of some of my newest works in the "poppy" series, one in particular spoke to her. She called to see if "Bold-N-Beautiful" was available and, if so, to snap it up. Since I had just completed the painting and it had barely been seen by the public, it was still in my portfolio. Since she knew that I had planned to display it through the end of December in a show of my Poppy-themed florals art titled "Remembrance" at our gallery in Wimberley, she offered to let me exhibit the painting and then ship it to her in January. While shipping would be fine, I told her that David and I would love to deliver it in person so we could get to see her again and to see the painting in its new home. 

Over the next several weeks, I found time to paint in the studio and worked on another poppy painting that was similar but different to "Bold-n-Beautiful." Since she had only seen a photo of the painting she reserved, I decided to take the new one along so she would had two to choose from. Of course, had neither worked for her, I would have arranged for a refund and I made sure she knew that from the beginning. She told me that there was never in doubt in her mind that she would love "Bold-n-Beautiful" even more in person than just seeing the photo.

Last week we made the trip and arrived at her house with both paintings. First, we showed her the painting she had bought and, yes, she loved it. Then we showed her the second painting, which was yet to be varnished or titled, and ...she loved it too. Her first inclination was to stick with just "Bold-n-Beautiful." But after "living" with the new work in her home for few hours during our visit and moving it to different areas, she knew she had to have it, too. So we left the one painting and brought the other back home so it could continue to cure for varnishing in the next few weeks. We're planning to either deliver or ship the painting to her this Spring. Happy Art in a Happy Home!

 The second story I want to share began with family visiting Wildflower Art Gallery to choose a painting for a Christmas present. Actually, it began weeks earlier, when they dined at Kerbey Lane Cafe in Southwest Austin where I had a solo show of my wildflower art on display last fall. When it was time to find that perfect Christmas gift for Pauline (Mom,) Dad and the family made a trip to Wimberley to look over my paintings. I was taking care of other business so David met them and answered their questions. They choose "Garden Delight," a painting that knew that Pauline had seen and really liked at Kerbey Lane. But there were a couple of other paintings they were considering. David told them that he'd be more than happy to bring any of the paintings to Austin where they lived for an in-home viewing when they were ready.

After Christmas, we received an email from Pauline that she would like to see two other paintings. David set an appointment and took the paintings for her and the family to view in their home. While she did really like the painting she received as a Christmas present, the two other paintings spoke to her as well. After seeing how each of them  looked on the walls, she exchanged one of the paintings and chose the other one to add to the collection. The painting she traded "Garden Delight" for is titled "Autumn's Golden Hour" and was, at the time, the newest addition to my Aspen/Birch series. The second painting they chose was "Twilight's Last Dance," from my signature wildflower series.

By seeing the different paintings in the home and in person, they were able to chose just the right ones. Happy Art in Happy Homes!

I hope that you've enjoyed reading about how these four paintings found their new homes. If you are thinking about making my art a part of your life and if it's practical for us to arrange and in-home viewing, just let us know!

 Dear Friends,

   While we often wait until the New Year to start something new, I'm getting a head start!

   First, after more than 10 years with Blogger (aka Blogspot), I've decided to switch. This new blog page, which you are now reading, will be embedded with my website, making it easier to for me access and update and for you to read. Until (if ever) Google decides to delete my Blogger account, my previous blog posts will still be there to read should anyone want to. And there's a lot there to read...I created 330 posts over the 10-year span with Blogger!

   Also, as you may know, on Valentine's Day 2015, David and I opened Wildflower Art Gallery in Wimberley, Texas. (You can read the story of how it came to be at this Blogger link from February 2015.) For 10 months the gallery was located in a quaint little green cottage in Wimberley's Olde Towne Plaza. In early December, another space in the same complex came available and we just couldn't pass up the opportunity to relocate. While the building has about the same floor space, it has much better lighting and a higher ceiling which means taller walls. Plus it's right at the entrance into Olde Towne Plaza, giving us better visibility and making it easier to find. I've created a photo album here to give you a sense of where we've move and what the new gallery looks like. Both David and I are pleased with the new space and excited about how well it shows off my wildflower art as well as the Raku by Kathy Rigdon and jewelry by Holly Singer Glenn and Lynette Clauser. We look forward to welcoming visitors to our new gallery in Wimberley!