Texas Art Battle

 Last weekend we went to see Jesse compete in Art Battle for the Texas championship. Whoever won would go on to Nationals, which will be held in Wichita Falls on April 2nd. My sister drove down from Amarillo to ride with us to Dallas - Deep Ellum. It turned out to be a beautiful day. We drove straight to the Deep Ellum Art Co, parked the car and found a place to eat lunch. We chose Black's Barbecue. It was a good choice  - the food was good, but also it turned out that my brother and his wife were meeting my nephew and his girlfriend there. So, we accidentally met up as if we planned it. After stuffing ourselves, we walked over to the Art Co. which was basically a bar with a lot of art. They had removed the tables and set up six easels for the art battle. They had a huge outdoor sitting area - a beer garden sort of. It was fun to watch the art, but also take a break and sit in the sunshine. Some of my Dallas relatives surprised us by showing up to support Jesse. It was like a family reunion!

Jesse did great. She won her round and moved on to the final round. She was by far the best artist there, but you never know how the voting will go - who has the most friends. She won. It was very exciting. This was her first painting.

She calls it Horse Hare. 

Then she painted this bison with a hat. Everyone loved it. Now she has to prepare for Nationals on the 2nd. In the meantime, Bob, the guy in charge of the Art Battle in Wichita Falls, called me. He asked me to do the pre-game show at the National Art Battle. That means I will be painting from 6 to about 6:45 before the actual battle begins. There is another lady painting with me. Should be fun.