I was co-hostess last week for our October CAMEO meeting.
Our topic was the work of local artist, Lu Ann Barrow.
Lu Ann is known for her sophisticated naive style of painting.
A type of pointillism, her folkloric style is full of joy and delight.
Ms. Barrow's paintings most often reflect rural Texas life,
Biblical stories, and her travels to foreign countries.
This one, Green Scene, painted in 1997, hangs in our home.
I wish you could see the detail up close.
Every blade of grass, every leaf on the trees,
every piece of hay in the hay stacks ~
are filled with individual brush strokes.
Represented by Valley House Gallery in Dallas, TX,
you can view more images of her Ms Barrow's work here.
We met in my friend, Alison's, home.
Of course I have to share this charming mantel
that is in her family room.
Alison styles her metal candle tree for various holidays.
I also have one of these candle trees,
so I like to make note of her creative styling ideas
These metal trees were made in Mexico in the 1990s.
They came with a set of five removable holiday toppers.
I recall that they were sold at a local holiday market
one year and many of us have them in our homes.
The cute black and orange felt garland
was from World Market's 2018 collection.
The paper maché witch figures were handmade by
Alison and her two daughters when the girls were very young.
As long as I've known Alison, she has included
these charming little witches in her autumn decor.
As a former elementary teacher, I find it very touching
that Alison values these artistic endeavors.
Children's art is whimsical and uninhibited, and I believe
we should honor and display children's creative work
with the diginity and importance it deserves.
The beautiful owl painting is new this season.
Alison shared the process of this piece on her Instagram account.
It was fascinating to watch this painting come to life.
You can follow Alison on IG here.
This is a previous years' version of Alison's mantel,
and I thought you would enjoy seeing this clever idea too.
The table was set with beautiful vintage silver
that offered up a variety of autumn treats.
Plush velvet pumpkins arranged on a silver tray
graced the center of the table.
Alison added vignettes of more velvet
pumpkins on either side.
Fresh sprigs of seeded eucalyptus
provided just the right touch of added texture.
Among the goodies, fresh fruit served in paper cups.
These cardstock style cupcake cups are great for
individual servings of many offerings and also add
a seasonal touch in both color and design.
I made acorn cakelets using another one of my Nordic pans
and my favorite recipe for old fashion gingerbread.
A tart lemon sauce
was served on the side.
Little Miss Pumpkin sits in the girls's
childhood highchair at the end of the dining room.
Happy Halloween, 2000
Alison is an accomplished artist in her own right, and
many of Alison's original paintings hang in her home.
Happy Halloween is a painting of Alison's home at the time,
when her girls were little, and dressing in costume
for Halloween was the custom.
Each year after, while the girls were little, Alison would paint in two additional figures of the girls dressed in their Halloween
costume for that year. I suspect this is a favorite family painting!
Alison specializes in primative memory paintings.
You can see more of her work here.
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