HOLIDAY MAGIC, KINKY AND ADVENT SUNDAY ... WHAT A COMBINATION!

I spent all day yesterday at the Arlington Convention Center serving my turn at our Canvas by Canvas booth for Holiday Magic. We were very disappointed as business was not very good, but something exciting fell into our laps. We have a painting entitled "Save a Seat for Kinky", and as were were "working the crowd", a friend from our church was there and saw this painting and said told us that Kinky Friedman was in Arlington today and was making a guest appearance at a cigar store appropriately called "Tobacco Road" (he seems to always have a cigar in his hand ;-)The three of us who were working decided that it would be nice to take him a poster of the painting and then I suggest that they take the painting as well. Why not?? So Margie, Phil (Margie's husband) and Elaine took the poster and painting to the man of the hour, Kinky Friedman himself. He loved the poster and told his business manager he wanted it framed. Elaine got the manager to display our painting next to Kinky's table where he was signing autographs. He was very happy to do that and seemed very excited about it. There was a long line of people in line to get his autograph. The owner was impressed with the painting and got suggested that we might be doing some work for him. They said that the smoke and smell of cigars was very pungent in the shop, but then, it IS a cigar store! He thought there was a good possibility of selling there for us and the owner also showed them some photos of famous tobacco/cigar owners on his digital camera. He took pictures of them with Kinky and said that he would email them to us. Kinky was in town promoting a line of cigars under his own label. For those of you unfamiliar with Kinky, Richard S. "Kinky" Friedman is an American singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician and former columnist for Texas Monthly who styles himself in the mold of popular American satirists Will Rogers and Mark Twain. He was one of two independent candidates in the 2006 election for the office of Governor of Texas. Receiving 12.6% of the vote, Friedman placed fourth in the five-party race. When some of the girls who are big Willie Nelson fans (which I am not) were in Abbott Texas photographing things pertaining to Willie, they ran across these old chairs on a porch with a campaign poster of Kinky on the wall. that was the inspiration for the painting. Check out his web site. Handmade in Honduras for Texans Everywhere! - Home

I have, along with two other painters from CbC been working on a commission that I received from a dear friend in Arkansas. She mailed me 3 of the flies that her husband had hand tied for me to photograph and then paint them for her husband as a Christmas surprise gift. They were tiny little things, but I love a challenge. The one below is the fly that I painted for the piece. Each canvas is 6x6 and is encased in a custom made triple frame.She commissioned me to do all three flies, but since this was done in the style of CbC, I said that it had to be collaboratively painted and she was all right with that. She and I have been friends through the Church for quite a few years. We've never met since she lives in Arkansas, but Frank has had the pleasure of meeting her at a National church meeting. She and I have become very close "E-friends".

As I was working on this commission, it brought something to mind that I did many moons ago to surprise Frank. Our youngest, Franklin, who is now in his 40's, was in the 2nd or 3rd grade, he wrote a paper about what he wanted to do with his life at the young age of 9 or 1o. It was absolutely wonderful. He was going to be quarterback with the Cowboys, a pitcher for the Albuquerque Dukes baseball team, conduct the Cincinnati "Cinfony" orchestra. He said that he would be the lead. He also wanted to practice orthodontics like his dad. It was precious. Well ... I talked his teacher into loaning me that particular paper and after much research, I commissioned a woman in Dallas named Odette de Brunière. She was a very talented artist and she could transfer anything from it's original form onto porcelain. I wanted a porcelain plaque for Frank's office with this important list of our baby son's ambitions. I decided that would be the perfect gift for Frank and something he couldn't buy. He's always been hard to shop for. To make a long story even longer, she had several mess-ups while she was doing this and it entailed me making MANY trips to Dallas with no excuse. I think maybe Frank was beginning to think that I was having an affair since I had to come up with so many lame excuses for those trips. After all, you can shop at Neiman's only so many times and still balance the budget!

Well, when Odette finally got it right ... it was wonderful, a huge success and also a huge surprise. It was well worth all the effort. She's gone on to become very well known. Check out her bio!I had no idea at the time that I was dealing with semi-royalty! Baby Frames by Odette

Today is the first Sunday in Advent, so we will be going to church this evening for Lessons and Carols and then a meal with our family in Christ. This is a special part of the holidays. Frank and I served this morning and as acolyte, he lighted the first candle on the Advent wreath. The wreath, a circle, came to represent the eternal victory over death through Jesus Christ. The evergreens were a sign of the faithfulness of God to God’s people, even in death, and the lighted candles were a reminder of the light of Christ brought into the world. There were some wonderful lessons today both in scripture as well as in Father Kresowaty's sermon. This is a time of preparation as we wait for the coming of our Lord. Advent (from the Latin word advenio, meaning "to come", "the coming of Christ our saviour") is a holy season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ, also known outside the Church as the season of Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western Christian year and commences on Advent Sunday. The progression of Advent may be marked with an Advent calendar reckoning Advent to start on December 1st.
Christians believe that the season of Advent serves a dual reminder of the original waiting that was done by the Hebrews for the birth of their Messiah as well as the waiting that Christians today endure as they await the second coming of Jesus.

This is a charcoal sketch that I did of our parish, St. Alban's, some time back.

Guess I'd better get ready to go to the service. My friends in Christ will all be there. I'll write more later. Have a blessed Advent season. XOXO, Pcasso