This home sits today at Pioneer Town, at 7A Ranch in Wimberley.  Pioneer Town is a mix of old buildings and old-looking buildings that give a flavor of what an old town looked like 100 years ago.  This house is one that dates back before the turn of the century.  Originally located in what is now under Canyon Lake, the house was relocated in the 1960s in an effort to preserve it before the land was flooded.

I'm becoming very comfortable painting at the Square on Wednesdays, when there are few people in town.  Today I was standing at the corner of the parking lot under a tree and had a great view across the street toward Wall Street Western. 

Jacob's Well is an artesian well that is the source of Cypress Creek, which runs through Wimberley before it flows into the Blanco River.  The well itself is not flowing these days due to drought, but the park surrounding it as a great place to paint.  This little set of ruts wanders through a lightly traveled area that I was compelled to paint. 

Painting at a local ranch today - Fell in love with this little barn.  Come to find out, it was originally built to house a family member and her kid in need of a temporary place to stay.  Since then, it has been known as the saddle barn.  I decided to do a black and white value study - It may turn into a full sized painting soon!

Painting at the Wimberley Square on Wednesday mornings is great.  The Cafe is closed, and the parking lot is fairly empty, so the view is much better than normal!  I was able to stand in the shade and capture this scene without too many distractions.

This old gas station is probably the most-photographed building in Hays County.  It has been closed up since before I moved here, but as the area around it is developed and populated, I'm not sure how much longer it will be here.  As I was painting (starting at 8:00 am), I was shocked by the non-stop traffic that paraded by til mid morning.  Signs in the area suggest that there are hearing coming to consider more development, so we'll just have to see ...  

The Memorial Plaza above Emily Ann Theater in Wimberley is a place that we often go to paint.  The height gives a great 360 degree view of the Wimberley Valley.  On September 11th it was arbitrarily selected to as our place to go.   Little did I know, there was a remembrance service scheduled up there!  I dropped below the crest of the hill and painted this lookout point, as I listened to the ceremony.

Dating back to the 1870s, Mount Gainor is a small community north of Wimberley.  While fairly well populated at the turn of the century, it is now absorbed into the hills.  This house was supposedly the home to house the principal of the nearby school.  A  great place to paint and learn a little history

Well, the summer is over, and we were able to get back into John Knox Ranch to paint.  The 300 acre camp facility is pretty busy in the summer, but once school starts back, they let us come in to explore and paint.  I have painted this cabin a few times in the past, but am always attracted back to capture it again.

Originally a schoolhouse, the building became a dance hall in the late 1800s. Although the outside may not look like much of an attraction, the architectural features on the inside have made the dance hall a popular attraction for music lovers, as well as a site for weddings and other events. Scenes from the Willie Nelson movie “Honeysuckle Rose” were even filmed at the dance hall.

Although we couldn't get in to paint the interior, I did found something interesting outside to capture.

Cypress Creek runs through Wimberley near the Square and offers a great shady place to walk.  I have painted along there several times.  Sometimes the water is included, and others like today, it is just people along the path

Anytime I can find a path wandering into the woods, I have to grab it for future reference.  

A friend and fellow artist invited me to paint this great old relic that dates to the 1820's (there wasn't much in this part of Texas in the 1820's)  Unfortunately, it is damaged beyond hope of repair and will soon be disassembled by the owners.  I feel blessed to be able to capture it before it is gone

A fellow artist and Wimberley resident invited us to paint her home along Wilson Creek.  On arriving, I realized that this is one of the homes that we helped to muck out after the Blanco River flood in 2015.  Although she wasn't in the home at that time, it was fun to revisit the area and see the home in its renovated state.

Texas Wildflowers have been out of control this spring.  Although I avoid painting them (everyone else does it so much better), I did include some in this plain air painting that I did at Blue Hole Park

Painted on location at Wimberley's Pioneer Town, this old stagecoach has enticed me to paint it - Finally broke down and did it,

The Wimberley Parks and Rec folks are once again sponsoring the 'Painting with Parks' program to encourage the public to get to know their parks through painting.  Three of us act as 'hosts' and are there to lead, instruct and or encourage as needed.  Although Blue Hole Park is pretty strict about keeping the public on the trails to reduce damage to the environment, this month they allowed us off the trail.  We wandered downstream from the park and found a nice flow os water (a rare thing these days) and an idyllic setting. 

'Old Baldy' is one of two twin hills in Wimberley and is a destination for many people to get a view of the surrounding area.  230+ steps take you to the top, and many people add it into their daily exercise routine.  While we have been there to paint before, today we were at the Memorial Plaza on top of the nearby hill at Emily Ann Theatre, where I had a great view of the morning climbers 

We had a chance to paint at a new location - Treehouse Retreat.  This is another location with an amazing 'long view' of the Wimberley Valley.  Unfortunately it was once again foggy and wet - The incredible view was obscured, so once again, I turned and found a building to paint.  Hoping to get back for the landscape one day soon

These two images were painted the same day - I was at a friend's house and was hoping to paint the amazing view from her front porch.  Unfortunately, it was foggy and humid, so I turned and painted the workshop on the property.  Once I got it blocked in, the humidity kept it from dying, so I started a second version.  The second one is on some hand-laid paper that I had on hand, so it was different.  Hoping to get back soon and take on the long view from the porch!

Took another trip to Carper's Creek Ranch to capture this Goat shed - It was a cold, damp day, but painting alongside friends makes it all worth it

Black Friday - I should have been at the mall, but instead I hiked to the observation tower at John Knox Ranch - What an amazing view of the Wimberley Valley!  At first I was worried that the fog would obscure the view, but by the time I hit the top, was pleasantly surprised by what awaited me.

I've always loved to paint old rusty tractors, but haven't done any recently.  Then an artist friend invited us out to paint at her ranch.  500+ acres of rolling hills, busted-down barns, livestock, and gorgeous Texas Hill Country vistas from the top of the property.  20 feet away from where I parked was this tractor - I didn't need to look any further.

Old Baldy was so named a hundred years ago, when this hill was actually bald.  Since then, the Ashe Juniper (Cedar) has covered it.  Still, from the top of the 200+ steps up, one can get an amazing 360 degree view of the Wimberley Valley - Doesn't get much better for painting! 

I painted this local Wimberley store a while back and the painting sold through Pitzer's Fine Arts.  A collector had been in and saw it, but didn't purchase it at the time.  She came in later looking for it, but it had already been sold (a good reminder that you should always but fine art when it speaks to you).  She explained that she was in recently and learned that the store had been sued by a customer who tripped over a cat.  Sadly, the lawsuit forced them out of business.  

I met a fellow artist recently who invited our plein air painting group to come out and paint on her property.  It is a lovely piece of land that backs up to some ranchland.  Although I was avoiding raindrops most of the morning (won't complain of that in the middle of an historic drought), it was a great day.  This is looking across the adjoining ranch, as I waited for the cattle to come out and visit. 

Several of us went out again to assist the Wimberley Parks and Rec folks in encouraging the public to come out and paint in the parks.  We were out at Blue Hole Regional Park once again.  Although the drought has severely affected the aquifer that feeds the creek, we wandered down a path and painted.  It was a gorgeous day to paint trees!

Another day in Pioneer Town brought me to one of the scenes that I have always thought about painting, but never got around to.  This is looking up the length of the main drag and really was a challenge (albeit a fun challenge) to paint.

This past weekend, the Wimberley Valley Art League sponsored a studio tour for artists interested in doing so.  Over the course of two days, I hosted about 75 visitors and art lovers - Even had a couple of sales.  It was a lot of work (had to clean the studio), but I really enjoyed visiting with art lovers, artists and a few of my neighbors as well.

Out for an early morning painting session in Wimberley.  Mima's Kitchen is the perfect place to find a delicious breakfast, or lunch.  

This is the back of a building near the Wimberley Square - I was drawn to it because of the great old construction of it.   

We recently found this gem in Wimberley - It is within walking distance from the Square and is a wildlife refuge with walking paths, a bird blind and a pond that is made for painting!

We have painted here before, but there is always something interesting.  Pioneer Town is an old-west experience in Wimberley.  It is a collection of historical buildings mixed with new construction that makes up the 'town'.

This "old barn" is actually fairly new - Constructed by the property owners who were setting up a new business.  I was drawn to the majesty of it along the road and couldn't pass it up

Jacob's Well is an artesian well, that is nearby us in Wimberley.  It consists of a hole in the limestone, about 6 feet in diameter that descends endlessly into a system of deep underground caves.  For generations, it has been a summer destination for families to play in during the hot Texas summers.  It is told that 50 years ago, water shot up a six foot stream from the ground.  Unfortunately, today is still flows (most days), but the demand for groundwater due to development has severely restricted the flow.  That being said, this painting isn't about that.  The well is part of a county park that is within walking distance from my home.  While the entrance to the park has moved (to where it is no longer easy to walk there), the original entrance was quite close.  I have painted at the well several time, but this time, I was standing with my back to the water, looking up the trail, toward the original entrance to the park.    

An early morning found me on Mercer Street in Dripping Springs.  The sun hadn't broke through the morning clouds when I settled on painting the loading dock at Rippy Ranch Supply.  The doors were still closed, and the truck had been there all night, as the sore was still closed.  By the time I got the initial drawing done, a tractor trailer pulled in to unload - and blocked the view.  So, while the driver waited for the store to open and eventually unloaded, I painted around him, finishing the actual dock after he left.

A bright sunny morning in early summer lured me to paint the driveway leading around the Square in Wimberley.   Althoug it isn't the most interesting view of this historic site, it drew me in and just begged to be painted.

Today a couple of friends and I once again helped present a "Painting with Parks" program in conjunction with the City of Wimberley Parks and Rec folks.  The idea is to encourage experienced and new artists alike to come out to the city parks and paint the beauty of the Wimberley Valley.  This morning we were at Martha Knies Park.  Previously we have painted at Blue Hole Regional Park.  I think this is a great opportunity to promote the parks (and the arts!) in the city, and it is a lot of fun.

On Monday, Tim Leibrock (one of my plein-air cohorts) and I presented what we do to the Wimberley Valley Art League members during their monthly meeting.  t was a lot of fun, and we hopefully convinced some of our fellow artists to get out of the studio and paint on location.  During the discussion, Tim completed a small gouache painting in 10 minutes!  It was great. 

Painted on location atop the hill overlooking the Emily Ann Theater in Wimberley, the telescope offers an incredible view of the ever-encroaching development moving in around it.  Still, there is enough nature to take in as you peer down into the valley