"Cabo Wabo Margarita" is my latest painting to receive the official blessing of "finished!".  "Cabo Wabo Margarita" is an 18" x 24" oil painting on panel.  With the popularity of  my pastel painting, "Margarita Makings", I decided to do another variation.  As I began the conceptualizing of the painting I went searching for a margarita glass with a saguaro as the stem.....I had seen them in the past and admired them....but of course never purchased them when I saw them.   Believe it or not, I did finally find them again in a place in Cave Creek called The Town Dump.  If you are ever in Cave Creek you most definitely should stop in at The Town Dump and experience all the goodies they have for sale.  As I began pulling together the setup I remember that a few people looking at the pastel painting mentioned that the bottle of tequila I had used was a cheap tequila.  Probably so....it was a bottle left by my son after a visit. :-)   I am not a tequila connoisseur, so I had no idea it was a cheap brand.....I just knew I needed tequila!  So I went to the grocery store to buy a "good" tequila for the new painting.  Good Lordie!!!  One can certainly spend some bucks on tequila!   I pulled out the smartphone and googled tequila reviews.  I ended up buying Cabo Wabo which google said was a popular, quality tequila.  "Cabo Wabo Margarita" came together on my setup table.  I am happy with the results!

     
                Chili Peppers                                                  Granny and Friends                                               Cherries

Once again this year all three of my entries into the Pastel Society of New Mexico's 21st Annual Pastel Painting Exhibition were juried into the show.  The show will be once again be hung in the Hispanic Arts Center in EXPO New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM.  The show will be hang from November 2nd through the 25th with the reception on Friday, November 2nd from 5 to 8pm.  Albuquerque is always a great place to visit!!

The October issue of the Pastel Journal containing the article where I am featured is on newstands now.  It looks fabulous!  I am one of four artists featured in an article about the backgrounds that still life artists choose for their still life paintings.  The article is titled "Background Check" and my section is called "Set Off With Stripes" on pages 24 and 25.  This is definitely a milestone in my career as an artist.....I am bursting my buttons!  Hope you have a chance to see the article!