I am honored to interview EMI-CMG recording artist Audrey Assad today. We had a fascinating and enlightening talk about the “sophomore” album jinx, her favorite songs on the album (and mine), the recording process and the theological benefits of “hookah.” Ha! All you need do to win one of 40 new CD’s, T-shirts or Audrey’s handmade…

15.5″ x 15.5″ Framed & Floated Original Watercolor on handmade paper $500. Archival Giclee and Standard Prints available “Smelling and tasting this wine transports me to my childhood when I would run through Mom’s cotton sheets hanging outside on the clothesline on a summer day.” —Randy Elrod Be sure to check out all my watercolors…

Featuring over 50 new paintings. This week only: Buy one piece of art and save 10% Buy two or more pieces of art and save 20% To celebrate this week, the first 50 people to leave a comment at ElrodArt.com and/or subscribe will receive a FREE print. Go now, browse and tell me your favorite…

73.5″x 76″  Original Watercolor  on six 24″ x 36″ x .5″ canvases $2,000. Archival Giclee and Standard Prints (Best Value) available. For pricing use drop down menu on Paypal button below. “Hope is the only bee that makes honey without flowers.” —Robert Green Ingersoll This is my biggest, most ambitious painting to date. Over six feet…

1. Miner Viognier  Aromatically complex with citrus and honeysuckle notes on the nose and a plush feel on the palate. Sourced from John Simpson’s low-yielding vineyards in Madera, this quintessential summer wine was whole cluster pressed and stainless steel fermented to allow the vibrant, tropical and stone fruit characteristics of this varietal to shine. $20. 1….

“Ostracized” Exclusion comes when you offend or disappoint a community with the religious and social power to ostracize you. Original Watercolor 12″ x 14″ $550. Prints and Original  purchase available HERE.

Pardon my play on words, but I was born a rich kid, poor kid. Rich in love and nurture by my parents, poor in things and money. My parents are still very young. They were on the early side of seventeen when I became more than a twinkle in their eyes. Children having children. Both…

I was a senior in high school when I first met a red-headed fireball. Gary McKinney. At Ringgold High School the McKinney stories were legendary. They were the best (and the meanest) fighters in our town, especially the brother called Rat. And there were lots of them. McKinneys I mean. Twelve children. They all lived on…

Anxiety about reactions by others can cripple a creative. When expressed at all, this fear is usually articulated as, “What will people think of me when they see what I’ve created?” But it’s not people we’re most scared of. It’s specific individuals. The opinion of fuzzy thousands (or millions) of others isn’t what inhibits us…

“Serenity” “Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is.” —Thomas Szasz Watercolor on handmade paper Unframed: $850. 14 1/4 h x 36 1/2 w Framed & Matted: $1,000. 22″ x 44″ Dark Brown (Sepia) Wood with Dark Brown (Sepia) Mat Plus $7.95 shipping & handling Archival Prints on watercolor paper…

I received an invitation to see a screening of Blue Like Jazz The Movie a few weeks ago, and to be honest, due to the craziness of my schedule, I wasn’t planning to attend until I read THIS. It seems the “christian movie establishment” is decrying the film. That fact alone was enough to get…

So many times when expectations have been so high for an event, one is disappointed, because the real thing never lives up to the hype. SXSW Interactive did not disappoint. Despite the frustrations of long lines and being turned away from several sessions because of lack of planning, SXSWi was well worth the investment. My…

As you walk the streets of Austin this week you sense an air of expectation and excitement. Today was no exception. It is very evident that SXSW has become more than a conference, it has become a movement. My 10 Highs & Lows from Day Five (Tuesday) 1. This morning, thankfully, I was able to…

Ah, yes. Little did I realize what the day held for me at SXSW Interactive. Another beautiful weather day. Now this is the Austin I know and love. My 10 Highs & Lows for Monday. 1. Again I am disappointed when I arrive at my first chosen session and I’m turned away because it was…

Finally, spring lifted her skirts and South by Southwest saw sexy blue skies and dry weather. My Top 10 Highs and Lows from Day Three (Sunday) 1. Again, I am turned away from my first session No Brochures: Digital Storytelling for Non-Profits because it was over capacity. I was not happy. SXSWi is a decidedly low tech…

Is this really Austin? What gives with the rain and cold? Again, the day was full of umbrellas, cold feet and a very crowded convention center. No one wants to venture far due to the wet chilly stuff. My 10 Highs & Lows for Saturday (Day Two) of SXSW Interactive 1. I found a free…

Yesterday was a very unusual rainy, blustery and chilly day in Austin, Texas, but it did not deter tens of thousands of predominately thirty and forty somethings with the latest in high tech gadgetry who were eager to learn more about this very real world of social media at the SXSW Interactive Conference. Here are my top…

Last Sunday evening as I watched the Academy Awards, I saw the first teaser for “GCB.” As the naughty teasers continued throughout the broadcast, my interest was piqued. I Twittered, “What does GCB mean?” I mused, “Could it possibly be that a television series is coming on that could replace the hole in my heart…