Velvet Elivs and the Silent Auction--Get all shook up!

Velvet Elvis, 24x18" pastel by S'zanne Reynolds

Get all shook up and bid on "Velvet Elvis" during this month's
SILENT AUCTION
benefiting
BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY
At
Russell's Bakery

3339 Hancock Drive in Austin, TX
May 1-31, 2012

Let the bidding begin...at $150, do I hear $170?! 

At this month's art show, I'm auctioning off the above 24 x 18" pastel sketch, Velvet Elvis, to benefit the Best Friends Animal Society in Utah. It's a terrific organization that caters to all kinds of abused and neglected critters from all over the US...from birds, pigs and horses to cats and dogs. Their motto, "a better world through kindness to animals" is near and dear to my heart and to Austin pet lovers alike. So be sure to stop by and join in the fun for a great cause. After the first $100, the rest of the proceeds goes to Best Friends. You can take this "Velvet Elvis" home with you for a great price, supporting a great cause. Somebody's best friend will thank you!

PS. The above sketch was done in a workshop this spring with the wonderful Dawn Emerson. If you haven't checked out her work before...you are in for a treat!

Art Shows ...Yellow Frosting

I love that I found yellow frosting on my beach painting from a sticky fingered kid who was pointing to my artwork and exclaiming in hushed tones, "That one is my favorite, mom!"

Beach Waves Study, 8x16" acrylic by S'zanne Reynolds

For the month of May, I'm serving up an art show --complete with icing-- at Russell's Bakery (3339 Hancock Drive) in Austin. So if you're in the neighborhood and your tummy's rumbling, stop in to savor some newly frosted paintings and enjoy some fine Anderson java and Russell's own pastries... or, one of the fantastic soup/salad/sandwich combos.

"I'll have a cupcake and some iced java, please...
and a side dish of Zanne's paintings!"

Oh yeah, frosting..is extra!

Paintings by S'zanne Reynolds of Studio Zanne at Russell's Bakery, Austin, TX

The Express to Success

Hill Country Marvel 1, digital photo by S'zanne Reynolds © 2012

 

"Success is not down the road. It can be precisely where you are on the road, right now, today." ~Victoria Moran

I was on my way to Houston (road trip) for several photo shoots I was hired to do. I was really nervous and excited at the same time. Thoughts like, what if I blow it, and, what if my photos don't turn out, were running through my head. Suddenly a flash of gorgeous blurred by my window so I made a U-turn, put on my hazards and donned my neon yellow vest.

Hill Country Marvel 2, digital photo by S'zanne Reynolds © 2012

Beholding a true Hill Country marvel, scenes like this make you grateful just to be alive! Surely God invented color right here--just look at this blanket of bluebonnets bathed in the early evening light. It's hard to fathom how parched the earth was in last summer's fires and drought when you see such verdant fields. It's even more difficult to imagine not taking a great photo of such a beautiful scene.

Case in point, I took it as a sign my work in Houston would be a blessing for all. And, as it turned out, I had a blast and my shoots were successful. More on those later.

I love what Victoria Moran says in her book, Fit From Within: "Start to interpret success as every day you pay attention to your inner life, eat reasonably, and treat yourself and others well.... The truest indication that you're winning this battle (life, whatever) comes in how you spend your days. The idea is to start living fully--and being a success in your own eyes--sooner rather than later."

Hill Country Marvel 3, digital photo by S'zanne Reynolds © 2012

Another way to put it is to pay attention to what's right there in front of you, or, on the side of the road. There might just be something really great you don't want to pass by. Success is in the eye of the beholder...particularly your own. Success begins with loving what you know and who you are right now...living each moment to the fullest, right now. Success is right under your own feet...or in the direction you most desire to take.

So pull over and look around...you may already be on the road to success! (If not, I highly recommend U-turns!)

Living Color

As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life. ~John Lubbock

Man needs colour to live;
it's just as necessary an element as fire and water. ~Fernand Leger

Colours are light's suffering and joy. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I am crazy about two colors: carmine and cobalt.
Cobalt is a divine color and there is nothing so beautiful
for creating atmosphere.
Carmine is as warm and lively as wine...
the same with emerald green. ~Vincent van Gogh

When I haven't any blue I use red. ~Pablo Picasso

There are connoisseurs of blue just as there are connoisseurs of wine. ~Colette

Blue is the only color which maintains its own character in all its tones... it will always stay blue; whereas yellow is blackened in its shades, and fades away when lightened; red when darkened becomes brown, and diluted with white is no longer red, but another color – pink.
~Raoul Dufy

Never has a pigment been better named than ultramarine blue.
Fashionable, even today, in its nomenclature! It is ultra in every way.
~Karen Fitzgerald

The blues tells a story. Every line of the blues has a meaning.
~John Lee Hooker

 Day is blue

silence is green

life is yellow

light traces 

lines, and never ends,

and I trail behind 

transpierced by indifference!

~Yves Klein, 1928-1962

 Blue is the male principle, stern and spiritual.
Yellow the female principle, gentle, cheerful and sensual.
Red is matter, brutal and heavy and always the colour
which must be fought and vanquished by the other two.
~Franz Marc

A certain blue enters your soul. A certain red has an effect on your blood-pressure.
~Henri Matisse 

The whole world, as we experience it visually,
comes to us through the mystic realm of color.

Our entire being is nourished by it. 
~Hans Hofmann

Published in Austin Business Journal...Again!

I'm happy to announce that my photo of Austin's Mueller Central was published today for this piece on Austin Earth Day in the Austin Business Journal. This is my third time to be published in the ABJ...thanks to PR specialist Debrah Dubay of Dubay Communications.

A Blue Eyed Pony

Wandering the hill country highways in my blue rider,


A blur of purple flashes by my window.


I suddenly stop and pull over to see a fierce and wild field


of purple and green, woven like a Guatemalan scarf,


as far as the eye can see. I can't help but laugh...


as a little miniature horse scratches her ass on the fence


and others roll and play in the freshness of spring's smile.


A shy blue eyed pony looks back at me,


and I think of Mom singing me to sleep:

"Hush-a-bye, don't you cry
Go to sleep, my little baby
When you waken, you shall find
All the pretty little ponies
Black and blue, sorrel, too
All the pretty little ponies"

Sweet are the memories of girlhood and sorrel ponies...and the strains of the heart.

SOLD! - Art Auction Raises $30k for State Hospital

12x9" pastel, "Variations No. 2"

I donated the above pastel, Variations No. 2, to the ASH Insights Art Show & Sale, benefiting the Austin State Hospital. I was thrilled to learn that it was purchased by state employee and show organizer, Donna Brown. And, over $30,000 was raised to benefit the hospital through this benefit!

The following is an announcement from their program. To see it in its entirety online, click here:

Through ticket sales, the purchase of professional and patient art, and generous sponsors, over $30,000 was raised to enrich the lives of children and adults receiving treatment at the Austin State Hospital.

One of the most successful activities at the recent event was the community painting. Guests had the opportunity to contribute their artistic talents on a painting which was auctioned off at the end of event. View additional photos of event, including the live community paintings. Without the support of individuals, companies, and foundations, the Volunteer Services Council would not be able to provide funding for special programs and services.

Thanks again for partnering to find solutions towards wellness.

Special thanks to the oustanding artists who believed in our mission:

Piercarlo Abate, Milli Apelgren, Kerry Awn, Ethan Azarian, Gilbert Beall, Kim Bernson, Eric Beverly, Matt Bowman, Laura Caffrey, Carol Calvery, Jo Castillo, Paul Civiletto, Douglas Clark, Shawn Corbett, Andrea Crawford, Donna Crosby, Chuck Croslin, Anne Ducote, Mike Etie, Jane Fier, Graham Franciose, Suzanne Gandy, Ann Goldsmith, Chase Heard, Britta Herzog, J.M. Hicks, Steve Hopson, Robert Hurst, Megan Jaster, Rusty Jones, Barbara Kelly, Sue Kemp, Suzanne Kfoury, Rita Kirkman, Melissa Knight, Allyson Lipkin, Andrew Long, Michael Long, Denise Mahlke, Maggi Miller, Bunny Oliver, Eileen Pestorius, Libby Peters, Jeanne Philquist, Terry Pittsford, Gabrielle Stein, Robbin Robertson Polter, Molly Reid, S’zanne Reynolds, Darrell Keith Roberts, Priscilla Robinson, Andrew Rockenstein, Jeri Salter, Larry Staida, Terry Starnes, Julia Teachey, Eliza Thomas, Billy Tice, Robin Tripaldi, Virginia Vaughan, Phillip Wade, and Jerry Walters.