Tag: photo friday

Photo Friday, No. 956

Current Photo Friday theme: Loud.

Oil on composite wood panels, circa mid-1960s.

Two untitled paintings from my father, who when he wasn’t painting in bold colors or ordering troops in a commanding voice (and sometimes accidentally into a school’s PA system), was a quiet, patient man. Daddy died on this date, April 18, in 1985. He’ll always be missed by those who knew him. His was my first introduction to art. He was a veteran of World War II and career military (Army). Additionally, he was: teacher, historian, high school administrator, mayor, avid reader, and sign painter. Along with his gift for visual art, he was a writer and storyteller. He was my hero as a good provider and husband, father, and grandfather who offered his family unconditional love.

Photo Friday, No. 954

Current Photo Friday theme: Stoplight.

At least one set of those traffic lights must be red, but I draw your attention to the guitar between them. From my vantage point in August of 2018, it’s hard to believe that replica of Texas musician Stevie Ray Vaughan’s red and white 1964 Customized Gibson Firebird guitar is 35 feet tall.

The replica was on top of Hard Rock’s Houston location that closed in 2020. I haven’t been to that part of downtown in the last five years and don’t know whether the guitar remains on the building.

Photo Friday, No. 949, part 2

Current Photo Friday theme: Lopsided.


The metal horned lizard in Aaron’s Garden also fits this week’s theme. I spotted him at Buchanan’s Nursery in April of 2023 and hesitated about getting him until I realized he was missing a foot. After working in animal rescue, I know “tripods” make some of the best companions and teach us about stoicism, adaptability, and the refusal to let joy be taken because something’s missing. Years ago, after a drought, I put this old dog bowl in the garden so the lizards would have a place to take a bath and drink water. I don’t keep this guy in the water all the time as pictured here–he’d rust–but as we’re starting to see lizards now that the weather’s warmer, he’s nearby as a lopsided guide to refreshment.

Photo Friday, No. 948

Current Photo Friday theme: Tiled.

Had a little fun with this theme by using several of my own tiles (the New Orleans tile was my mother’s), ringed by Sowminoes™ ceramic dominos, along with Scrabble tiles and artist Jeff Fisher’s cover illustration for British writer Louis de Bernières’ 1994 novel Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. (My theme this week has been books.) Some sources say the cover was inspired by the art of Matisse; another speaks of how the figures are like those on Mediterranean pottery. I read the book several years ago (I think it’s excellent, by the way), and remembered as soon as I saw the Photo Friday theme how the illustration always made me think of old tiles, as well as the way the cover figures are like “keys” to people and things in the novel.

(P.S. You’ve now seen your Daily Cow, plus a bonus cow!)