December 23, 2024

Little Boxes by artist Bob Briddick

: Artists: Written by : 11-07-2014

Not a Peep Out of Little Bo by Bob Briddick, photo courtesy of D.M. Allison Gallery, Houston

Opening this weekend on Gallery Row in Houston is an exhibit called Little Boxes by artist Bob Briddick. I’ve known Bob for 25 years and did not realize that he did artwork until I ran into him at a cocktail party a year ago. Low and behold, all the years that I knew him he had been quietly perfecting his craft of collage. Apparently he has made hundreds of collages in his spare time, never really intending to show his efforts in the form of an exhibition. But since retiring from the decorative trade he has devoted more time to …continue reading

Monet and a river, in Houston

: Artists, Destinations, Galleries & Museums: Written by : 11-06-2014

Claude Monet The Thaw at Vetheuil [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Claude Monet said, “I have painted the Seine throughout my life, at every hour, at every season. I have never tired of it: for me the Seine is always new.” And the latest exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) is a testament to that lifelong obsession. Oscar-Claude Monet (1840-1926) was perhaps the most revolutionary artist of the 19th Century. He is one of the founders of the French Impressionist movement and was the most consistent practitioner of that artistic philosophy. His body of work based on the Seine is the repetition of plein-air scenes at not only times of …continue reading

Art & fine dining in Houston: La Colombe d’Or

: Destinations, Food & Beverage, Galleries & Museums: Written by : 11-05-2014

La Colombe d'Or, Houston, Texas

I enjoy getting together with Sisterwoman (Julie Boggio) every week for dinner. Last week she was headed in from Memorial on a Friday night—we had plans to attend art openings and then have dinner. In the meantime I received a call from dear friend Shannon Schrader. He and Charles Leigh III were dining at La Colombe d’Or and requested that we join them. Located in the heart of Montrose, La Columbe d’Or occupies the historic Fondren mansion which was originally built in 1923—the Fondrens being the founders of Humble Oil, which with Standard Oil would become Exxon. On the first …continue reading

The decorations Next Door

: Food & Beverage: Written by : 10-29-2014

Halloween decorations at The Next Door featuring art by Greg Wheeler

The Next Door Bar is a Montrose drinkery on the same block as Rudyard’s at 2020 Waugh in Houston—seems like it has been there forever. The bar serves up strong cheap drinks, Lone Star in a bottle, a rockin’ juke box, old fashioned video games, and plenty of people watching. I stopped in last week for a nightcap and to see the Halloween decorations—this is a neighborhood watering hole that tends to go all out at Halloween. I’ve been a patron for at least a decade. But Next Door isn’t only a hard core drinking bar; it is also, as …continue reading

Dog on Monday: Sydney

: Dog on Mondays: Written by : 10-13-2014

Sydney the Australian Shepherd

This week’s Dog on Monday is Sydney, a frisky Australian Shepherd.  Her people are the Jurgensen family from Pearland, Texas–Steve, Jenee’, John Michael, and little Jillian.  Here Sydney is shown, ready for Halloween, wearing one of Jillian’s princess dresses, though she seems more interested in the tennis ball! According to Jenee’, Sydney is becoming more frisky as the cooler weather moves to Texas–look at her thick coat, I can imagine.  But she’s afraid of the rain, she’ll try to jump into the bathtub or laundry basket when it starts to pour.  But one of Sydney’s most endearing qualities is empathy; if …continue reading

Dog on Monday: Katie Scarlett

: Dog on Mondays: Written by : 10-06-2014

Katie Scarlett, English Springer Spaniel, ready for bed

Well, I posted my new companion Delta Dawn (See TroysArt Dog on Monday, September 15, 2014), but today’s Dog on Monday is my former four-legged friend, Katie Scarlett, also an English Springer Spaniel. She was gorgeous, sweet, athletic, and extremely intelligent.  She enjoyed travel (was great in the car until she ate the inside of my red Mercedes) and we went across the USA together (we did Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah), she liked to rollerblade, swim, camp out, climb mountains, and she always loved a party.  But she was also quite the devil.  In fact she was a window breaker …continue reading

Dog on Monday: Garcia

: Dog on Mondays: Written by : 09-29-2014

Pampered poodle Garcia

Today’s Dog on Monday is Gucci-poochie Garcia.  This petite poodle enjoys splitting his time between homes in Houston and Galveston.  Garcia’s people are Graham Gemoets and Robert Iris, the masterminds behind fabulous Butter & Co. Catering. The little lamb has been the subject of a couple original Troy Broussard pet portraits, one for each house … Butter & Company