Bonnie recently won TexasHillCountry.com‘s Magazine Cover Contest for the 2014 2nd Print and Online Issue with her artwork “River Terrace“.  Her “Gruene Hall Buick 56 Special” was also chosen as one of the top 11 images to be included on a double page spread inside the magazine.  Click the Cover below to see the full online version of the Texas Hill Country Magazine available at most NE Hill Country Chambers of Commerce, Convention and Visitor Bureaus and many other businesses. It will also be delivered to many others in the Hill Country over the next weeks.

Created from an original photo taken by Bonnie Feaster Chapa May 2014, in Troy, Texas.

There is something about this bird.

Rising above the thorny harsh mesquite out in that Texas pasture.

He was there by himself and he flew from spot to spot but always watched us out there on those 4 wheelers and I, there with my camera.

There is so much more to this story….creative clog sucks.  Nothing was coming out the way I wanted it.  I would try and try and get discouraged knowing eventually it would come, but this bird…..he knows.  I poured it all in there and he came flying out saying, “Tough, thorny, sharp, loud, out there, different, alone…whatever it is….you can’t knock me off my branch.  I’m here to stay.”

Special thanks to my long time friend Tonya Sacket for allowing my boys and I to come out and play.  We were chasing sunsets and bluebonnets before they were gone.  We had so much fun that day.

If it’s just killing ya to know what kind of bird this is, you can read all about it by clicking the link below 🙂

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/dickcissel/id

Hand signed by Bonnie Feaster Chapa.  Art Available At Bonnie Chapa’s Etsy Store Ridin On The Right Side

Created from an original photo taken by Bonnie Feaster Chapa summer of 2013, in Leakey, Texas on the Frio River.

The Hippo Hole.

My Nirvana.

My Oasis.

My favorite spot on EARTH!

Every year we go to The Frio River Cabins and this spot is IT!  This is what the Frio River all about for me.

There is a limestone ledge in water on the underside of this cliff and the river at this spot can be as deep as 8-9 feet in the summer.  In the morning, if you go down and stand on the side of the river from this view point, it’s like looking into an aquarium.  You can see every rock, every fish, ever detail of color.  It’s truly magnificent.  This is where my kids jump off, what they call, “cannon ball rock” for hours.  This is where we hang out until dark after all the tubers have gone for the day.  This is where I come up with great ideas and we all dream big dreams.  I believe if you wish your wish in this spot it WILL come true.  THIS spot is where it all began for my art.

This will always be my happy place.  This is my Texas.  This is my Frio River.  🙂

Hand signed by Bonnie Feaster Chapa.  Art Available At Bonnie Chapa’s Etsy Store Ridin On The Right Side

The Legend of the Bluebonnet

The Texas fields are covered
With a blanket of deep blue.
But for a little Indian girl,
This would not be true.

Texas land was buried and dry.
Rains just would not come.
Indians danced and prayed for rain,
And beat upon their drums.

The Chief made a proclamation.
He appealed to one and all.
A prized possession must be sacrificed
Before the rains would fall.

The Indian camp was silent,
While each person searched his heart.
But when it came to sacrifice,
With possessions they would not part.

Suddenly a little girl stepped forth,
Holding her blue-clad doll.
She placed it in the roaring fire
and raindrops began to fall.

The rain brought forth the grass,
Among its blades, flowers of blue.
To be a sign for all the time
Of a love so pure and true.
~Author Unknown 

Created by Bonnie Feaster Chapa from an original photo Misty Feaster took in Santa Anna, Texas.
Hand signed by Bonnie Feaster Chapa.  Art Available At Bonnie Chapa’s Etsy Store Ridin On The Right Side

Misty’s Bluebonnets © Bonnie Feaster Chapa

Created from an original photo Bonnie Feaster Chapa took at the Lone Star Motorcycle Museum in Vanderpool, Texas September 2013.
Hand signed by Bonnie Feaster Chapa.  Art Available At Bonnie Chapa’s Etsy Store Ridin On The Right Side

BGE 696 © Bonnie Feaster Chapa

I noticed this as I was walking across the South Congress Ave. bridge in Austin on December 31, 2012 and snapped this picture real quick, thinking there was a statement if I ever saw one.
My husband and I were on our way to Threadgill’s to eat.
That day just happens to be our wedding anniversary.
I do like him. Actually, not only do I like him, I love him. A lot.
When I look at this picture, I think of a castle covered in vines, surrounded by a moat in a mythical forest submerged in fairy tales.
A prince and his princess.
It’s the modern day Prince Charming’s graffiti to his Cinderella.
Happily ever after.

An update and a further thought on “I Like You” …. as of 2/26/14 (because the thoughts on these kinds of things sometimes evolve)

Recently, thoughts of “perfect just the way you are” filled my head out of nowhere….. but first, the rest of the story…..

Originally, I threw out this piece and just was not sure about it, although there was something there I knew I liked. Then, my mom kept talking about it. Mentioning it over and over again as one of her favorites that ranked up there with “Cracked Beauty” and I thought, “Well, maybe there is something to this?” Sure enough, it’s well liked by others too, no pun intended.  I create for me first.  From there, when I let it go, it may or may not speak to others and that’s ok…..but….

No telling the pieces I have thrown out that I didn’t “like”, that others may have connected with, or that I may have connected with for that matter.  Don’t we all do that in some way or another?  We are such an instant gratification society sometimes.  I wonder how much we miss and throw out because we didn’t let it sit for a while to realize we really do like it.

In the end, I realized, “I Like You”, though it may have not been perfect in my mind at the time, I “liked” it despite it’s imperfections and finally accepted it for what it was and in turn, found an additional, totally different meaning over time. I may have not been in “love” with it, but I sure did have a strong “like” for it and sometimes a little like can go a whole lot further than a lot of love.

So, back to my first interpretation of this piece…..
If you really think about it, Prince Charming was the one being charmed, not the one doing the charming and Cinderella was a damsel in distress with some serious baggage.

Under the surface, imperfection can be the draw to the like.  Love can be lost in search of perfection.  You never know what you may be missing out on.  If the slipper fits, wear it.

Written by Bonnie Feaster Chapa

Created from an original photo Bonnie Feaster Chapa took in Austin, Texas December 31, 2012.
Hand signed by Bonnie Feaster Chapa.  Art Available At Bonnie Chapa’s Etsy Store Ridin On The Right Side

I Like You © Bonnie Feaster Chapa

Here we are a week into 2014 and I sit with some pretty lofty goals for this year and I ask myself, “Bonnie, are you going to sink, swim or soar?”  Safe to bet, my answer is the latter and I plan on doing it with lots of gusto.

As I looked at this picture and worked on it, the gap between the reflection of the trees (those leaves are the river rocks below the surface) and the side of the bank where the ladder is just seemed to get deeper and deeper.  Almost as if you could step off that ladder and make a choice.  The obvious is that there is water there, but what a beautiful sky.  Instead of swimming, why not fly?

As we stand on the edge of the river bank of life ready to make a move, sometimes we have a tendency to hesitate.  If you hesitate too long, you never know what you miss out on, so jump!  Jump and soar as far as your wings will take you.

Here’s to a great year for us all!  2014, bring it on!

Created from an original photo Bonnie Feaster Chapa took at the Frio River, September 2013.
Hand signed by Bonnie Feaster Chapa.  Art Available At Bonnie Chapa’s Etsy Store Ridin On The Right Side

Sink Swim Or Soar © Bonnie Feaster Chapa

Every year we take a family trip to the Frio River, our shangri-la. In our opinion, there is no better river in the great state of Texas. It’s magical. You just have to see it, be in it and sit awhile to understand it. Once you have, the Frio is a part of you forever.
One year, my sister and I left the cabin to get some kayaks from the rental place up the road. We had this little dinky trailer with us and we were on a mission: We were coming back with kayaks come hell or high water.
We get to the rental place and they guy who loads them up thought we were crazy, but our determination convinced him, it could be done. We only had 3-4 miles to drive back to our riverside cabin. Surely, we could make it.
Eventually, we did after nearly getting killed on the side of the road on the way back….mainly because I wanted to stop and take a picture, but that is another story….
When we got back to the cabin, we went to unload the kayaks and there against the Texas hill country backdrop, that is our front yard every year on these trips, was this image.
Bold, bright, in that dinky trailer up against the Texas sky and hills with the Frio behind us waiting for the next adventure. It was an image that made me stop and take notice. Almost nostalgic of the images of surfboards and woodies, but of course, with a Texas river style twist….and, by the way, Texas girls always get the job done!

Created from an original photo I took at the Frio River, Summer 2011.

Limited Edition Print hand signed and numbered by Bonnie Feaster Chapa.  20×32 (100), 18×24 (100), 11×14 (open)
Hand signed by Bonnie Feaster Chapa.  Art Available At Bonnie Chapa’s Etsy Store Ridin On The Right Side

Texas Girls Vs Two Kayaks © Bonnie Feaster Chapa

One of our favorite places on the Frio River, River Terrace.  Where our kids jump off the cliffs, the rocks in the river are like smoothed out flat underwater couches and tubers float by to get out at Happy Hollow Grocery Store in Leakey, Tx.  Sitting in the river this day, celebrating my husband’s birthday weekend, we listened to the Texas Rangers Game from our radio bouncing off the canyon walls and had the entire river to ourselves.  It was a good day, great memories!

River Terrace is a great place owned by Frio River Cabins, our home away from home during the summer.  I love these people.  I love this place.

Created from an original photo Bonnie Feaster Chapa took at the Frio River, September 2013.
Hand signed by Bonnie Feaster Chapa.  Art Available At Bonnie Chapa’s Etsy Store Ridin On The Right Side

River Terrace © Bonnie Feaster Chapa

Created from an original photo Bonnie Feaster Chapa took in Leakey, Texas, Summer 2012.

Hand signed by Bonnie Feaster Chapa.  Art Available At Bonnie Chapa’s Etsy Store Ridin On The Right Side

Street Corner At The Hog Pen Leakey Texas © Bonnie Feaster Chapa