and what falls out

Custom Wrapped Canvas

Just Me

My photo
A small Coastal town called Saint Marys, Georgia, United States
Hi, my name is Ronnie. I am an American Contemporary Folk Artist. I conjure up images, then paint them on canvas. This makes me happy. Nice to meet you.

Inspiration from Brilliant Minds

Inspiration from Brilliant Minds
Painting is an attempt to come to terms with life. There are as many solutions as there are human beings. - George Tooker

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

It has been interesting lately!


I've been living in the center of my own carefully crafted tornado lately.  I suppose I needed a reminder from the Universe to take a break.  So, I sprained my ankle stepping down my sister's back porch steps.  As I remember the moment, I was laughing gleefully, had my hands full and had just said something haughty about someone I know.
BAM!!! Right on my rear end accompanied by a fierce pain in my right foot. Within ten seconds my ankle had blown up the size of a softball.
Sister said, "Gawd, look at that!"
I said, "I'm gonna throw up."
She said, "Don't look at it!"
And so it went.  The next several days were spent going stir crazy with a bag of frozen peas on my foot in the house Joe and I just bought in St. Marys, Georgia.
More about that later.
This morning, checking my email, I got an unexpected surprise. Not a big surprise mind you, but one that gives me an excuse to settle back a bit longer while my wobbly ankle heals.
The email was from Layla of The Lettered Cottage.  If you haven't heard of her blog and you love remodeling ideas and great DIY videos and blow by blow, you'll find it here The Lettered Cottage
Layla and Kevin are dear dynamos and I love checking in with them for my weekly dose of  remodel inspiration.
This morning Layla emailed me to tell me I was a lucky winner of her giveaway, a copy of Mary Kay Andrews latest book, "Summer Rental".
Find Layla's blog post about Mary Kay's Tybee Island vacation cottage here Breeze Inn .

Enjoy the blog and looking about Mary Kay's adorable house, y'all!  I'm waiting for the mail lady. Better make a pitcher of lemonade.

Hope you and yours are having a fine Summer,
Love and all good things,
Ronnie aka Joe's stove operator




Friday, November 12, 2010

A Few New Paintings

It has been a busy Fall, but I did manage to get a few paintings done.
 Cherry Free Fall. You'll find this one in my Etsy shop.  ronniegunn.etsy.com
 And Juliet! Isn't she the snarky bomb. Where for art thou, Juliet!!  She's in my Etsy shop too.
 This one is on display at Arts Clayton Gallery until Nov 16th, then she too will be in the Etsy shop.
This little red, green and white number is in the shop HERE.
Have a fine weekend, y'all.  I'll post the crazy art I found in Trois Rivieres, Canada, next week.
Love and all good things,
Ronnie

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Bonjour! It's Quebec City!

I loved Quebec City! The second stop of our trip to Canada.  We stayed in this cozy B&B on the main street that leads into Old Quebec City.
We parked that car we rented at the Montreal airport and
walked everywhere! 
Old Quebec City is a walled city with beautiful architecture, parks and cobblestone streets.
 The weather was 70-80 degrees.  Perfect for dining in the sidewalk cafes.
Situated on the banks of the St. Lawrence. Part of the city overlooks the river and part is down below on the rivers edge. Lots of stair climbing!
Art above the streets!
Many fur shops.  It must get awful cold here in the Winter.
 If I had audio you would hear this lovely harp music.  Not sure why Joe has his finger in his ear.
 Did I mention we walked everywhere?  This is day number four of walking 6, 7 hours a day. I had blisters on my little toes and on both heels. Don't buy new shoes before a trip, no matter how good the shoes! Band-aids were applied.
 Beautiful statue of Champlain at the riverfront. I don't know that happy guy, but apparently Quebec City does that to people. : )
 Inside the walled city is the Citadel, a functioning Canadian military fort. We just missed the changing of the guard. There they go!
Guard on duty outside the gates of the Citadel.
Here's Joe displaying his guard expression. Flip flops!! He's out of uniform!
 Did I mention we walked miles on this trip. At this point I gave up shoes and went back to the B&B to get my pink flip flop shower shoes. What a relief! Now, I'm waiting on JOe to catch up.
 Let Go, Joe! This is great! NO more shoes rubbing on my poor little blisters.
There were many beautiful art galleries in Quebec City. Friendly gallery owners, but weren't keen on my camera. Wish I could share with you. We had great fun exploring galleries.
 All I have is a peek inside this window.
 Yep, it's hilly here! More walking. Exploring for food and french bread especially.
 We found this fabulous market where we ate lunch.
 Joe checking out our options.
 Yummy veggies. Signs all in French. I learned more French than I thought I would.
 We settled for this beautiful french loaf and smoked salmon. We shared a table with a lovely traveling couple from Chicago.
Back to the city and more walking. Flip flops are doing great! Check out this paving. Looks wavy, but it's perfectly flat. An optical illusion.
 Imagine the rest of the ship buried under the ground.
 Around the corner and look what we see.
The biggest example of trompe l'oeil I have ever seen!
 A closer look...
Hard to know what is real and what is paint.
 I wish I could have seen it in progress.
 Into an older section of town this man was announcing something exciting in French! He was having a fine time.
 So, Joe decided to join him! HAH!
 Busy Summer tourist season. That's the top of the monstrous Hotel Fontaine in the background.
 Inside one of the many Catholic churches in the city.

 A tribute to mariners.
 OH, Fudge, indeed. Check out this clever packaging! Fudge Sausages. Fits perfectly in one's suitcase.
 Did I mention there were lots of stairs in Quebec City?
 Eeeee Gads! There's more?
Almost to the top. Whew!
 A big pay off! Beautiful Battlefield Park along the St. Lawrence.
 This is a residential area adjacent to the historic park. What a place to live! And within walking distance to the historic city.
 In the middle of the garden...a statue of Joan of Arc.
 Heading toward the high river bank we found an old military watchtower.
 A view of the opposite side. You can see the settlement on the bluff, as well as below, on the river. That staircase is a killer.
One last view of the battlefield before calling it a day.
Next stop is Trois Rivieres for the the Grand Prix!!! 
I'll post next week. What a great town with a love for art and an extraordinary enthusiasm for auto racing. Here's a preview....  Some very interesting art .....


 and hanging out with the APR race team for the Grand Prix Race! Zoom Zoom Zoom! Crash!
 I hope you all are enjoying a beautiful Fall season. Until next time...
Love and all good things,
Ronnie

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Beautiful Montreal, Quebec

Want to go to Europe, but hate jet lag and feeling a little pinch in the old budget? Try Quebec! Here's a sampling from our trip to Quebec in August. I took hundreds of photos. These are all from the city of Montreal. Enjoy! Let's start with...Where do we eat!
 Popular place = long line to get in.  Joe waits.
 Joe takes my picture while I wait.
 Well worth the wait!
 Love that twig chandy.
 Love this guy's snappy look!
 More yum as we leave.  Southern biscuits?
 Many street musicians.
 And bikers.
 We parked the car and walked everywhere.
 Time for Gelato!!! It's everywhere and we ate alot of it. YUm.
 OH, look! An art gallery!
Pretty pose.
 Click this pic to get a close look. Simply charming. She sits in a berry patch.

 I told the gallery owner I would take no straight on shots of the art. Looks like I lost my mind on this one.
Photo image used on face.
 Here she is checking on me. BONJOUR!
 Outside again. Music and decoys!
 LOve these!  Joe reflected in the glass.
 WALK walk WALK! Time for another break? 
 Chinatown art, Montreal style.
 Hmmm. What's to eat in Chinatown?
 Vital community, this Chinatown.
 Joe makes the lunch decision.
 The shopping is wonderful here.
 He's making some kind of confection. Joe's tugging on my arm.
 Where's a good palm reader when you need them?
 Goodbye Chinatown.
 Joe decides dinner while I go over to let this street musician know how much he is appreciated.
 It was lovely having dinner outside.
 The blue skies continued.
Carriage rides downtown.

We step inside a Catholic church near the seaway.
A tribute to mariners.

Ladies viewing the many ships hanging from the ceiling.
Outside of the church.  Cobblestone streets.
A huge scrim! What a lovely way to cover a building under renovation.
Young re-enactors.

Wish I had audio!
Lovely Canadian girl.

Cafe in a shady alley.
You lookin' at me?
Notre Dame Cathedral with it's square being restored.
Inside stunning Notre Dame.
 Sweet horse. I gave him a rub on the head and told him how beautiful he was.
 People are so handsome here.

 Joe, saying "Come here."
 Fur trader
Street performers cracked us up.
Much more to share.  Beautiful Quebec City is next!
Have a finer than fine day, 
Ronnie