My Life & Artwork - May 2018

June 2, 2018 Teressa Jackson

I sound a bit like a broken record, but it's always hard to believe a month has gone by. I think that if I didn't set a goal to write one of these monthly, I might find that six months had passed before it occurred to me to sit down and record another. I certainly can't complain that time goes by slowly.

The first Saturday in May brought a visit from our good friends Kerri and Brian from our Louisville hometown. They spent five days with us in the desert, and it was so nice to catch up and host them. Kerri and Brian have so many exciting things going on (especially the impending arrival of their baby girl) and Aaron and I were very grateful that they took some time out to journey across the country to spend time with us.

The weather has been nearly 100% fantastic in Tucson since we settled here in October, and May brought a few days of 100+ heat. I guess it can't be perfect all the time. In response, I took the opportunity to visit Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains just south of the city. The elevation means cooler temps and a different landscape. These mountains are one of 27 Madrean Sky Islands in the U.S. Their higher elevation and more plentiful precipitation make for more abundant greenery and lots of wildlife.

Silly me thought that the wildlife in the hot desert would hide from the heat like most humans do. I was wrong! During May, there were several interesting sightings near our apartment, including large troupes of coyotes, even more hummingbirds than in winter, a western diamondback rattlesnake, and a desert king snake (a "good" snake that eats rattlesnakes).

I enjoyed a lot of time with friends in May. In addition to Kerri and Brian's visit, I spent time with my friend Kalisha in Tempe and Heather in Tucson. I also wrapped up May with a visit to Colorado with Jenny, who was once my college roommate at Bellarmine University. She kindly informed people along the way that we were celebrating 20 years since we graduated from that institution of higher learning. What did I say about time?

Jenny and my trip was a bit of an impromptu idea. She wanted to go somewhere I'd never been, and those options seemed a bit slim. She'd also never visited a major national park. So, I suggested Colorado, and we spent the last few days of May in Estes Park, Colorado Springs, and Denver. It was as gorgeous as I expected, and I look forward to painting some of the scenes I encountered there. Highlights of our trip were Rocky Mountain National Park, Garden of the Gods, the city of Manitou Springs, the Denver Mint (where our pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters originate), and the Denver Botanic Gardens.

Work in progress from my watercolor class

I began taking a watercolor painting class from my drawing instructor. While I have a Bachelor's Degree in painting, I trained in college using acrylic paint, a completely different medium than the watercolor and gouache I've been using the past couple of years. I've never really received instruction in watercolor, and I feel the class has already helped me a lot. I plan to continue with both classes for the foreseeable future, both because they help me improve my artwork and because I really enjoy my instructor and classmates.

Sadly, I think this might have been the least productive month I've had since embarking on my artistic journey in 2016. I completed just two paintings, but I do have two more underway and also wrapped up two drawings in class. Of course, I did take a vacation and host house guests, which I wouldn't trade for anything.

June is looking to be a hot one, with triple-digits in the forecast as far as the eye can see. I'll be taking a trip to Phoenix and then heading to the beach in Mexico mid-month, but right now, I think I need to wrap up this update and get out the paints! Thanks for following along. :-)

Shameless plug alert! In case you're wondering, I have a few more paintings available for sale in my online shop than I often do. Also, I'm open to selling any of my drawings - feel free to make an offer or ask about pricing. Shop now ›

Photo from which I painted Sunny (compiled from two separate photos)

Tucson Botanical Gardens, Tucson, Arizona: 4/24/18, 9:06:56

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Crossing Paths and Collecting Adventures

January 22, 2017 Teressa Jackson

I had a lot of really wonderful experiences during my four weeks at Red Mountain Cottages in Bisbee, Arizona. I gazed at the sunset over the Huachuca Mountains each evening. I enjoyed visits from mule deer, roaming cattle, and flittering desert birds, and heard the sounds of coyotes singing in the night. I visited Old Bisbee, Ramsey Canyon Preserve, Chiricahua National Monument, Coronado National Memorial, Coronado National Forest, Cochise Stronghold, Kartchner Caverns State Park, the Whetstone Mountains, the wild west town of Tombstone, and the border towns of Naco and Agua Prieta in Mexico. And last but not least, I devoured ridiculous quantities of delicious Mexican food.

Mom and me at Chiricahua National Monument

My mother came to visit for my last week in Bisbee and shared in the fun, too. She was perhaps even more mesmerized by the beauty of the desert than I was - standing outside each morning in her coat and pajamas to watch the sunrise, strategically placed to see nature's fireworks to both the east and the west. The time whisked past, and it was hard to believe it was time to pack up the SUV and head to the next adventure on January 21.

I had made a couple of day trips to Tucson (about two hours from my Bisbee home) to see Saguaro National Park, and decided that my run to the airport to bid "see you later" to mom was a good reason to spend a couple more days there.

Mom and I spent her last day in Arizona visiting the Arizona - Sonoran Desert Museum, which was an interesting and expansive combination of museum, zoo, aquarium, art gallery, and botanical gardens. It was home to an amazing array of cacti, interesting desert creatures (including my favorite - the javelina!), and some informative exhibits. Our four hours there flew right by, and we took a small rest at our Airbnb before heading to El Charro Cafe to meet my second cousin Kim, a Tucson resident.

Kim, who I hadn't seen in 15 or so years and had never really known, graciously invited me to her gorgeous home for a hike after I deposited mom at the airport this morning. We journeyed six miles into the saguaro-covered mountains, watching her sweet dog Murphy busily investigate the landscape and getting to know one another. As someone who has never lived near extended family, it was fun to make that connection, especially with such a lovely person.

After three hours with Kim, I had another social date. Kalisha, a friend from home, had recently relocated to Phoenix and we had arranged to meet up in Tucson. It was nice to see another familiar face, and we talked non-stop for the next four hours. I have to admit, she made me wish a bit that my next stop was in Phoenix so we could have a few more visits, but alas, my route is set through February. Perhaps my path will encounter hers again sometime in the next few months... time will tell.

For now, I'm westward bound in the morning. Stay tuned!

On the Move & Making Art - December 2016

January 1, 2017 Teressa Jackson

My Austin apartment was above the garage on the right

On December 1, 2016, I arrived in Austin, Texas, after an exhausting 10-hour, 600+ mile drive. I settled into my little loft apartment in the North University neighborhood, where I enjoyed mostly warm weather, a lot of rain, a lovely walkable neighborhood, and treks to various sites around the region.

Austin is a very nice city, but I think I've made a discovery about myself along this journey - I don't particularly enjoy cities much anymore. I'm not really into bars or clubs, restaurants are a great way to drain your cash quickly, and why shop for things you can't haul around from place to place that you don't need anyway? After taking in the cultural attractions, I was left at a bit of a loss for things I might want to do. Plus, I just started getting antsy for some sunshine and open terrain.

Then, late in the month my Airbnb host cancelled the reservation I'd had in Tucson, Arizona for January. At that point, I wasn't able to find a new place to stay in Tucson. A lot of people had recommended Bisbee, Arizona to me, so I decided the host cancellation was my opportunity to leave Austin a bit early and check it out.

From December 25-26, I drove over 800 miles and checked in to a beautiful, serene, solar-powered house in the Mule Mountains a few miles outside of Bisbee, and my soul went "ahhhh." I can see for miles across the desert to the Huachuca Mountains, and my yard has been host to mule deer, birds, cattle, rainbows, glorious sunsets, and the sounds of goats bleating, coyotes howling, and roosters crowing. I'll get to enjoy this little oasis until the last week of January.

I wasn't quite as prolific in my artistic endeavors during December as in November, but I was also tending to some contract work, spent several days visiting Big Bend and driving to Bisbee, and maybe felt a little lethargic and uninspired. I still managed to create the following paintings inspired by my travels and informed by my original photography, as well as one very special commission a friend hired me to create for another friend as a Christmas gift. Some are already sold, but I still have a few left that could bring some beauty from across the U.S. to your home or office.

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Big Bend National Park, Texas: 12/13/16, 19:02:10

Every $25 you buy in art helps keep me rolling on my adventure across the United States for approximately 1-2 days (gas is expensive!). I'm truly grateful to all the people in my life who keep me fueled up, both literally and figuratively!

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