Facing Niaux Cave, France 2011

This is the view on the road just before you reach the modern entrance. I added the animals, of course. Niaux is in the Pyrenees not far from Foix. Our trip underground was made harder, because there is no walkway. Stalagmites have been sold to tourists a long time ago (yes, I found that very sad), but new stalagmites are being created and walking on one is dangerously slippery. The only electricity is in the "salon noir", where each panel of paintings (featuring bison, horses and "bouquetin" Spanish Ibex) is lit up for a short time during your visit, the ceiling is 50 m high and the acoustics are phenomenal. It is such a wonderful place and I was glad to see how many young children were taken there on school field trips.

Niaux Cave Entrance, France 2011

People believe, this is the entrance by which the prehistoric Magdalenians entered the cave. I took the vegetation out and added the paintings which can all be found in the "salon noir"(black room or gallery). Niaux is part of a very big complex of connecting caves, Niaux itself has been visited for centuries,there are all kind of names and dates on the walls and it made me think of Tom Sawyer. We were so excited to see the animals for ourselves, but first we had to walk well over a kilometer in the dark with our individual flashlights.

Happy Thanksgiving!

First of all it is with gratitude that I am remembering all my family and friends this Thanksgiving. Thanks to all of you for your love, friendship, interest, patience, hospitality...
This year the 2 weeks I got to spend with my sister-in-law, Sheleigh, come to mind as a wonderful time with a great person. It is significant to me, that it was Sheleigh who told me what a special time she had visiting her dying mother in the hospital and how there were no barriers and you could ask any question. I feel fortunate to have been able to be by Sheleigh's side in my turn. It was a great gift to me.
Just returned from a fabulous trip to the Netherlands and France, where I was able to meet a lot of you and to paint, I spent a quiet Thanksgiving with Robert and our three sons and Misha's girlfriend, Kylie.Sunny Cap d 'Ail (France) in October 2011. This was one of the views from the windows of the apartment my cousin, Rosita, let me stay in, close to Monte Carlo, where I felt like a queen. My Aunt Katya, see earlier blog, had the apartments made and she sure had a vision!


It did rain while I was there and that didn't make it any less fascinating. I am planning more watercolors of Cap d'Ail. By the way, I am having prints and cards made of these two, let me know if you are interested.
I also started work from another highlight of my trip, besides the meetings with people, which were all very rewarding, the caves at Niaux in the Pyrenees. Together with my dear friend, Yolande, we got to see the cave paintings. They will feature in my next blog.

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July 2011

My translations are done and I am getting back to painting. Robert and I took a vacation to South Padre Island and I started the watercolor of the lighthouse in Port Isabel. We had lunch at Marcello's and the view was awesome, the restaurant staff were very nice and let me work in peace; one of the waiters, a nice young man, turned out to be an artist as well. Yes, the lighthouse is not yellow, but I felt I wanted that color because we had such a happy time together.

The mesquite trees have been fascinating me all winter and I made some sketches on a walk with our dog, Maya. I am seeing what I can do with them in watercolor and then maybe oil. This particular one is linked to Glenda Saucedo who passed away suddenly during our Fiesta show this spring. Glenda had just shown me her newest work and I liked it a lot, it was very light and watercolor like (she painted in acrylics, but had started as a watercolor artist). Glenda was a dedicated artist and I admired her for her hard work and her courage to fearlessly be the artist.

This native american inspired oil painting I finished this spring, it is all about the bird shaman. The most abundant form of wildlife left in Texas are birds. We enjoyed them all winter at the birdfeeder and recently on South Padre, where we found out about all the migrating ones coming through Texas.

A portrait of Misha just before he cut his hair.

Gerald made me very happy not long ago by telling me how much he liked this painting. It is hanging in our living room and has of course become Gerald's. It is special to me as well. The shutters on the second floor are the ones of the apartment my parents, my brother and I lived in when we first came to France in 1974. We lived there only a year but were excited to live next to a 1000 year old church! I met my lifelong friend, Yolande, at that time. She is quite an impressive person apart from being a psychiatric nurse and mother of two beautiful daughters. I am looking forward to seeing her this fall. The church has become a concert and exhibit hall. I so hope my paintings will hang there one day. In order for that to happen I am painting a lot this summer.

Aunt Katya's Icon

It is March and I haven't had time to paint much this year. I spent a lot of time pulling up carpet, preparing and painting the floors downstairs. It was necessary and is much easier to clean with all the animals. Except for that, I got a job: I did a lot of translations English-French and vice versa. I needed to immerse myself into French to be able to do good work and that took quite some time. I am also helping my cousin with the stories he wrote about our family and then I translate Russian into English. I am impressed with how much he has discovered. It is like I am given a chance to become closely acquainted with my own family: I am learning the stories of people whose names and faces only were familiar or sometimes not even that. I started corresponding with 2 female 3rd cousins in Moscow. Who would have thought that possible when I was growing up?

Aunt Katya's Icon fits in with all I am doing. She lived part of her life in France. She was one of the reasons I wanted to learn Russian and in a way she symbolizes my Russian relatives; because of a disagreement in the family, I didn't get to know her till just before we left for the States and I never got to ask her all the questions I had. She gave me the model for the icon in the picture. It had struck me that she had the exact same icon my mother had. In both cases it was just a picture from an icon calendar, but coincidences are important. (Hers had been glued to wood and made into an icon by a friend.) Also her way of giving it to me was exactly like my mother. Aunt Katya loved roses, so I need to paint one with roses next...

The lilies were a present to myself on the day that Gerald went to high school. I knew no one would think about giving me flowers because my homeschooling days were over, so I bought myself 3 bunches. The lilies I painted right away, but then the painting was lagging and I finished it only recently.

Merry Christmas!

It has been 2 months. There have been some changes.
Our art show in November was a very nice, family oriented event. It was great to see the kids looking at all the different art on display and being created before their eyes. The art was beautiful, the artists are all impressive people. We only didn't have enough art enthusiasts there and consequently very few sales.
I decided to step down from hanging the art on display in the Martial Arts Studio, the wall space is going to be needed for
a new kickboxing program.


Our kitty Music left us, she spent her last week with us being constantly with her and we all miss her. It seems her death brought us all closer to each other.
The day before the Italian group (I had worked for in Dec. for 3 years) arrived and I found out I had been replaced. Robert had taken the week off to help me, he was very supportive and we had some good talks and a wonderful date together. In spite of it all I was able to have some time with my Italian friends, Marina and Jonathan.
As you understand there was little time to paint, just enough for some small pieces:
three Rockart inspired paintings and a sunset.
Shaman by the Sea is a departure from my usual way of painting, I used the Rockart and some stones with line patterns for reference, but the sea is just as it came from my imagination. It is kind of scary to just paint and not judge what comes out.
The little icon was the first one I tried to do in one hour to train for the slapdown (at the art show). It was obvious that I needed more time. It is here to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!
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October already!

Dear Friends,
Gerald, having been home schooled all his life, started high school at the end of August, Robert, who had a wonderful 6 months in Cambodia, came home just in time for his birthday. Misha came to visit twice (!) and Gabriel, who is well now, had pneumonia at the end of September.
In the meantime I did have my work in the New Braunfels Art League gallery (for the first time) and I participated in the Art Across the Americas exhibit in Austin. This exhibit benefits teenage mothers in Peru. The beautiful hummingbird painting is by Alberto Vasquez from Peru who won the juror's award this year! I am putting the finishing touches to bringing the exhibit to the Martial Arts Center in Converse on Nov 7th. (In Austin $1130.- was raised!) If you want to participate in the slapdown and/or local art show during the reception, let me know. (verabenck39@hotmail.com)
Just before my birthday I got a call from a 3rd cousin who has been studying my father's family for 15 years. He is writing a book and I am learning a lot from him and supplying him with family pictures and the information I have. It is a dream come true and very exciting to me!
I am going to the Rock Art Foundations Rendez-Vous in West Texas this weekend to see some of my cherished prehistoric rock art in real life.
Four of my recent rockart pieces will be in the Oct 21st reception for Spirits and Demons in the Civic Center in Schertz. There will be entertainment by square dancers that draw a crowd!

My life-long friend, Sandra, wanted to know about the baby portraits. Two sketches from Jayden Washington as baby and a picture of him at 1 year old.