My neighbor, the artist

Living next to a professional artist has been a pleasure since we built our house here in Austin ten years ago. Gladys is not only extremely talented and her artwork is interesting and the process is unlike anything I would have imagined--she creates miniature settings in real life in her living room art studio, then begins adding layer upon layer of acrylic paint until she is satisfied--she is also the best neighbor.

Last month, I went to a downtown Austin art gallery to see her latest creations and snapped a few shots, although these amateur photos don't come close to showing how wonderful the art actually is.

Here's Gladys with her oldest daughter, Celeste, who just graduated from the University of Texas.

Jack, her husband, and Marielle, her youngest daughter, also attended the opening of her work on display. She also paints gorgeous family portraits, and I've always wanted to commission her for one of these, but haven't done so yet. Some day...

Congratulations, Gladys! I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing your amazing artwork and more importantly, love having your family as our neighbors. Thank you for your neighborly kindness and friendship!

Comments

Julie V. said…

I remember meeting Gladys the last time I visited and loved walking through her studio. She is so talented.

June 29, 2010 5:53 PM

Gladys Poorte said…

Thanks, Kelly for all the kind words!
Gladys

July 05, 2010 9:03 AM

Pralines and Dreams

I considered myself to be a decent cook and baker. However, candy making had been unchartered territory until I recently cracked the code of a favorite—chewy Texas Pecan Pralines. This culinary epiphany came only days before I left my home sweet home in Austin, Texas, to return to CU Boulder after an epic hiatus to wrap up my bachelor’s degree in journalism. When I was a little girl, I remember tasting heavenly, creamy homemade pralines, bursting with pecans, handcrafted with love by my mom. She only whipped them up a few times, but I just couldn’t get the memory of those buttery, sugary treats out of my head. They were that good. I asked her if she still had the recipe, but I knew it would be hopeless since my mom wasn’t one for keeping track of her down-home style cooking. I married my college sweetheart, a guy with the same first name as me, and began teaching myself to cook. Becoming “Kelly Times Two” was amazing, and I had ...

Triathlon triumph

Are you kidding me? A triathlon and I have never belonged in the same sentence. It must have been time for something new! (The "BEFORE" race shot, with goggles and swim cap in hand.) What an unforgettable week this was! I actually DID enter my first triathlon, with the goal of simply finishing it. Take note of the emphasis on the word FIRST, because I loved it so much, that you can guarantee that there will be more. It was a blast. Seriously. My friends Lorraine and Robin had trained and signed up to do the event, which was two days ago, on Saturday. Three days beforehand, I heard about it and basically had a spontaneous urge to join them, so I registered. The only partial preparation ahead of time that I had been doing was cycling in the neighborhood here and there on my mountain bike with some other friends. And doing some micro-laps in our backyard pool. Our friend, Dave, was also there. The three of us women appreciated Dave's encouragement and support, as he's ...

It's my birthday!

Here's a cute little picture of me in kindergarten, 1968. All my life, I've never forgotten this shot below in first grade (1969) when the photog asked me to say "peaches" and he snapped the shot at the "ch" sound. If you're trying to get a kid to smile, don't tell them to say peaches. It's scarred me for life. Mom, what the heck happened to my hair? Did I fix it myself? After all, I was in second grade and very capable. My grandma crocheted that groovy vest for me, but who is responsible for the hack job on my hair? Hello, 1970! Who knows where my third grade picture is. We moved so often, changing schools, that I might have missed picture day. Next is my fourth grade mug shot. I must have sworn off bangs by then. Thank goodness for those plastic barrettes to deal with the in-between length. Notice how every year I wore green? Yeah, it's been my favorite color for as long as I can remember. I don't have an actual school pic of me in f...

Kelly Times Two

Search This Blog