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	Bistro & Bar 30" x 40" acrylic on canvas While wandering around downtown Houston one Sunday, I came across this restaurant at the corner of Main and Congress. It's probably one of the best looking businesses on Main Street and I had to paint it. It's located just a couple of blocks from the site of my birthplace.
	Morning Coffee 20" x 30" acrylic on linen Coffee shop in the financial district of San Francisco. I used to work nearby while I was in college. My eye went to the chaos of the cluster of coffee drinkers against the straight forms of the buildings behind them. Throw in the cigarette smoker for a little distraction.
	Bay View 24" x 18" acrylic on canvas From the top of the San Francisco Art Institute you can see most of the bay area. This view looks north towards Sausalito but focusses on the houses along Francisco Street. My friends and I used to covet those houses for their beauty and location.
	Hat Store 24" x 20" acrylic on canvas Another view of the scene in The Shopper in Key West. The colors I saw were so intriguing I had to paint it twice. And the architecture of that street - Duval Street if I recall correctly - is beautiful.
	View from Shotwell Street 36" x 18" acrylic on canvas On my recent visit to San Francisco, I stayed in a house on Shotwell Street in the Mission. This is the view from the upstairs side of the house.
	Courtyard 20" x 10" acrylic on canvas I went to college at the San Francisco Art Institute. I miss that place a lot. It has a (relatively) new section and an old section. When I attended, we were the first to use the space. This is the front door into the courtyard in the old section. No one seems to know when it was built or by whom. If I knew, I don't recall.
	Lush Life 48" x 24" acrylic on canvas Found this house in the Florida Keys. I love the landscaping and both the shapes and colors in the large palm fronds. I livened it up with a pair on a bench from Marco Island.
	Irish Pub 20" x 16" acrylic on canvas It was St. Patrick's Day. Green was everywhere. There was a blow-up leprechaun in front of a stark yellow building with a bright teal awning. Red and white table umbrellas were on the front patio. A lady with a brilliant striped bag was walking towards the door and a man in a flowered shirt was standing in the door. My eyes did a jig. I knew right then I had to capture those colors on canvas, even if the painting would only hang in my house. So here it is - minus the leprechaun. I can't bring myself to paint blow-up creatures. Not even a leprechaun.
	The Shopper 30" x 40" acrylic on canvas Another from my Key West series, this is shopping at dusk in downtown Key West. The shadows and highlights were vibrant that day and I'm a sucker for lights and darks. I'm loving painting on larger canvases.
	Road to the Gulf 36" x 24" acrylic on canvas On the road that runs through the Keys, while still on Key Largo, I took a turn down a residential street that turned into a dirt road that ran off into the Gulf. The house was standing alone like it was abandoned and I think it was. Who could abandon such a wonderful place?
	Blue Roofs of Key West 20" x 16" acrylic on canvas Accepted into the Marin Society of Artists 2009 Annual Juried Art Exhibition A residential street in the old part of Key West, very near the Hemingway House. The area is a mix of several eras of architecture. If you don't like the house you're looking at, look next door. You may love that.
	Gulf Turquoise 12" x 16" acrylic on canvas We saw this tiny island home on a recent trip to the Florida Keys. The color of the water was breathtaking and such a rich turquoise.
	Green Chairs 10" x 8" acrylic on canvas From the emerging Street Scene body of work, this painting took awhile to create simply because it was difficult to accept the funky 60's style mosaic building.
	West Broad Street 20" x 24" acrylic on canvas The main highway through Mineola is West Broad Street. Unfortunately this is not that street. I thought it was. But recently while driving through Lindale, TX, I saw this intersection and realized I'd mistitled the painting.
	Laughing 24" x 20" acrylic on canvas My usual and favorite model in a typical pose - hand over mouth, laughing.
	West Nineteenth 16" x 12" acrylic on canvas Blue-ribbon winner, Tomball Art League Spring Art Show, 2009 Third painting of a storefront along West 19th Street in the Heights, Houston. We were at a gallery opening at M2 Gallery and caught these people taking it easy outside.
	Old Hotel 20" x 16" acrylic on canvas Accepted into the Marin Society of Artists 2009 Annual Juried Art Exhibition Accepted into the Live Oak Art Center 2009 Annual Juried Art Exhibition Same hotel as in Postcard from Mineola. When I went back, they had added a row of adirondack chairs. It's no longer a functioning hotel but I believe it houses a few people and a music studio.
	East Texas Winter #1 24" x 20" acrylic on canvas SOLD Street in Mineola during the winter. Winters in Texas always are a mix of dead branches and greenery. I used a larger pallette than usual. I can't count how many different but similar greens are in this one.
	East Texas Winter #2 24" x 20" acrylic on canvas SOLD This street is a few blocks over and closer to downtown thus the larger houses.
	Red Chairs 6" x 6" acrylic on canvas We visited some downtown clubs in Houston one hot summer and found these people having a few beers.
	Westside 14" x 11" acrylic on canvas This was recently in a show in Bellaire, TX and the people there tried to guess what street that was in Bellaire. But it's not Bellaire, it's Mineola. I need to paint some streets in Bellaire but it makes me sad because so many of the old houses have been replaced by new mansions.
	Eastside 14" x 11" acrylic on canvas This also was recently in a show in Bellaire, TX. Bellaire is another one of my favorite urban small towns in Texas but I haven't painted it. I went to high school in Bellaire and refused to join the art club. My teacher threatened to give me bad grades for not joining. But he was just joking thank goodness because I would have failed art class.
	The Dream as I Recall It 18" x 24" acrylic on canvas Hazy memory of loved ones. The sky was blazing through the trees and skewed my memory of the colors. The Light Show show at M2 Gallery, 325 W. 19th Street, Houston, TX July 5 thru July 30, 2007
	Red Peppers 20" x 16" acrylic on canvas My latest still life. This one took a bit longer than the others because of the complexity of the design. I had a challenge with the pineapple but since I only imitate reality in these paintings, I managed to find a solution to the intricacy of the texture.
	Magazine 12" x 16" acrylic on canvas Go Figure Juried show at M2 Gallery, 325 W. 19th Street, Houston, TX January 10 thru February 4, 2007 Woodlands Art League Second Place Oil/Acrylic February 2007
	Green Carnations 8" x 10" acrylic on canvas One spring day I gathered some flowers from the megamart and put them in a jar. On a lawn chair. And some other stuff.
	Texas Eagle 16" x 12" acrylic on canvas The Texas Eagle connects Texas with the rest of the country rail. This one made a stop in Mineola.
	Fast Lane 16" x 12" acrylic on canvas SOLD Obviously not the fast lane. More like a lazy Saturday afternoon.
	Boat Dock 10" x 8" acrylic on canvas Puget Sound shoreline at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. Birdwatchers congregate there mostly for the herons.
	Blue Pitcher 11" x 14" acrylic on canvas My dollar store pitcher that I love.
	Postcard from Mineola 18" x 24" acrylic on canvas From my photos of the historical Beckham Hotel in Mineola, Texas.
	Buffalo Bayou 16" x 12" acrylic on canvas Displayed at City of Houston Annex Art on Loan Show from April 2007 to April 2009 Buffalo Bayou behind the Aquarium. One of those Houston summer days that is so bright all the colors turn to neon.
	Blue Coffee Press 20" x 16" acrylic on canvas The most colorful things I could find around the house. Woodlands Art League First Place abstract February 2007
	Condemned #2 11" x 14" acrylic on canvas It's the house that's condemned. This property in the Museum District of Houston was tagged for demolition. I'm a sucker for large porches.
	Park Bench 12" x 16" acrylic on canvas SOLD Mother and daughter in Central Park.
	Brown Vase 9" x 12" acrylic on canvas The laciness of the leaves caught my eye.
	Out the Window 9" x 12" acrylic on mansonite SOLD Dale and Cole are waiting by the window.
	Dungeness Forest 9" x 12" acrylic on canvas This looks like my neighborhood but it's actually a forest in Washington State.
	House on Caroline Street 9" x 12" acrylic on canvas SOLD Spanish-style house in the Houston Museum district.
	The Entry 9" x 12" acrylic on canvas The two doors intrigued me. Something made me want to place everything on a field of gray.
© 2008, 2009 Melinda Patrick