“I was kind of embarrassed about liking to draw when I was a teenager. I didn’t want to tell my friends, ‘Hey, when I’m not hanging out with you guys, I’m in my room drawing Disney dogs.’ I figured they’d think I was weird.

“As I got older and explored more, I gained confidence. I stopped caring what people think and focused on what I enjoy.

“When I got into painting on canvas, pretty much all I did for two years was people’s pets. They weren’t that great, but it’s how I learned painting techniques. I didn’t want to be typecast as a pet portrait artist, though, so I told people I wasn’t going to do it anymore.

“Now that I’m in my 30s, I’ve gone back to being a kid again and paint what I like. I always loved to draw animals, so I started painting dolphins, whales, frogs, turtles and panda bears. I used to watch old horror movies with my grandparents, so that inspired me to paint Creature from the Black Lagoon, Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein.

“I’ve had good luck selling my originals. They usually fly out the door the day that I post them. And I’m continually amazed and thankful when someone pays $200 of their hard-earned money for something I did. Especially right now, when the economy is terrible and people are struggling. I work, too. I have a full-time job outside of this to help pay bills and put food on our table. Art is a luxury, not a necessity. So anytime someone buys from me, it blows my mind.

“When I was a little kid, my mom plastered brown packaging paper on my bedroom walls. She made it so that I could paint or do whatever I wanted. Even with my brothers and sisters, she ensured we had space to be ourselves, to express ourselves.

“I feel so fortunate that I found something as a child that I loved, and that I took care of it and nurtured it. Some people find things when they’re kids that they could be passionate about, but they don’t stick with it. I feel lucky that I have art in my life.”

— Jamie James

Follow Jamie James on Facebook, jamiiejames on Instagram, and JamieJamesArt on Etsy.

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“I really like to paint military rocks, eagles, U.S.A. rocks. I’m proud of my country. I love my country. One time this lady wanted me to paint a picture of a tattoo. It was a military scene with a flag and these soldiers shaded in. I thought, OK, tattoos are straight-line work, so it should be pretty easy. When I looked at the tattoo more closely, the bottom had these tombstones all lined up. And it almost killed me to paint that. I just had a very emotional, really hard time painting it.

“When I finished, the lady who ordered it never came to get it. So I kept it for a long time. Then we did a show over in Crosby, and they were having a gun show the same day. There were a lot of people interested in the military. So this one guy came over and said, ‘How much do you want for that rock?’ I told him $20 is usually what I charge for the big ones like that. He gave me $50 and said, ‘Thank you very much.’ He loved that rock. He said, ‘I’m going to keep it forever.’ I went back over to the gun show later, and he had a display. That rock was showcased on his table. I told him how difficult it had been for me to paint it.

“That’s one that just really resonates with me, that stays with me. But I was so happy he ended up with it. Because I think these rocks really find where they need to go. I mean, that woman wanted the rock at first. But I guess it just wasn’t her rock. It was his rock. It ended up where it needed to be.

“I think a lot of times, when people find these rocks that we hide, the messages we paint on them are really meant just for them. And that’s pretty cool.”

— Vickie Sims

She belongs to the Baytown Rocks group, which helped launch the local rock-painting craze. You can find some of her creations there, as well as on her Vickie’s Rocks page.

Related:

• Painted rocks help build human connection

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“When I started, I painted very simplistic rocks. They might have a little heart or a bee on them. Then I saw what other people were doing, this very detailed artistic work, and I decided to challenge my abilities. I found a bunch of ideas for designs online, and I just started painting.

“It’s been great fun. I’ve painted all sorts of things. I love to paint encouragement phrases, lettering with flowers and details. I also started getting requests from people for specific things, like a memorial rock for their pet that passed away. It kind of mushroomed into a pretty big thing. Before I knew it, I had painted hundreds and hundreds of rocks.

“Besides being a great artistic outlet for me, I really enjoy hiding rocks around town for others to find. People will post photos showing their kids holding some of my rocks. And they’ve got these big, beautiful smiles on their faces. I’ve also seen tears for the rocks placed at loved ones’ graves.

“The impact these rocks can have on people is really amazing. The ability to spread a little happiness, a little hope, makes what I do so meaningful. It’s more than a hobby. It’s building a connection with people.”

— Vickie Sims

She belongs to the Baytown Rocks group, which helped launch the local rock-painting craze. You can find some of her creations on their Facebook page, as well as on the Vickie’s Rocks page.

Related:

• Painted military rock finds its true home

The post Painted rocks help build human connection appeared first on The Baytown Project.

The family that paints together stays together.

“This is my wife. She used to work at Church’s Chicken. But after Hurricane Harvey, we got lots of calls for jobs. So she said, it’s time to work together. And I said, yes, it is. So it’s me, my wife, my brother and my brother-in-law here today. In our other group, I’ve got my son and two nephews.”

What’s it like working with family?
“Sometimes it can be hard. I’m the supervisor. I’m the boss. So if they do something wrong, I need to tell my family to do it the right way. If someone doesn’t paint it right, it’s hard for me to say, make it straight. But I try using my best words like, please, do it the right way. If for some reason it’s really bad, it’s my fault. I take the blame. But everyone’s pretty good about following my instructions.

“We love to work. We love whatever we do, painting or remodeling. It’s really nice working together with family. My brother likes to do some funny stuff. He listens to music while he’s painting, and he starts dancing sometimes. We try to have a little fun out here. We like to laugh. It helps make the day go better.”

— Jesus Loera

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“I love painting rocks. It’s basically all I think about all day long. I’ve been doing it almost a year now. I’ve probably done a few hundred.

“I started with small rocks, and now I’m doing projects on bigger rocks. I recently painted the Houston Texans logo on a 22-pound rock for someone’s birthday.

“I came up with this special badge that I painted for our four local K-9 police officers. A history teacher wanted a rock for her classroom, so I painted one showing the Texas flag, San Jacinto Monument and some other stuff on it.

“When I first started doing these I painted a rock that said, ‘The world without art is just eh,’ and I hid it. A woman’s daughter found it. She says her daughter always wanted to be an art teacher when she grows up. So I think my rock can help inspire her. It’s pretty exciting to be able to connect with people like that. I like making their day.”

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Any time an 81-year-old takes a nasty fall, visions of broken hips dance in your head.

While Ken Pridgeon managed to dodge that bullet during a recent tumble, his right hand didn’t fare so well. And that is a scary thing for a lifelong painter whose artistic efforts are counted on by hundreds of families of fallen service men and women across the country.

But there’s little that can slow down Ken when it comes to completing his mission of capturing on canvas the stories of all those who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not even eight stitches on his middle finger and swelling in the hand that holds his brush, to say nothing of the bruised ribs, cut to his head and black eye he suffered.

Since starting the project in 2010 at age 75, Ken has painted more than 300 portraits. It began with Texans and has expanded to others across the U.S. who have fallen.

Most of the originals, on 3-by-4 foot canvas, hang in the Portrait of a Warrior Memorial Art Gallery, 308 W. Texas Ave. in Baytown. Ken donates an 18-by-24 inch print to each of the families to help honor their loved ones.

“I didn’t do anything great when I served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. I was just a communications technician. I never considered myself a hero, and most of these guys didn’t think of themselves as heroes, either,” Ken said.

“I had no real connection to them before I started painting their stories. But when you’re sitting there doing it, you cry real tears. When you hand the portrait to that family, it’s the nearest thing to him being there that there is.”

Each of the portraits features the service member, the flag and an eagle. In the background are scenes that represent aspects of the person’s life.

“I consider myself a poor man’s Norman Rockwell. I always loved him. I always wanted to tell stories in my paintings like he did,” Ken said.

He finds out all he can about service members by reading their obituaries, watching their funerals on YouTube, and gleaning information and photographs from the families.

“Each one of them has a different story, which I try to convey in the portraits,” said Ken, who made a career painting billboards in Houston after leaving the military in 1963.

When people ask Ken about his favorite painting, he tells them, “This one right here. The one I’m working on right now is the greatest.”

Because his gallery in Baytown can no longer accommodate all of the portraits, Ken is working with the nearby City of La Porte on plans for a new, expanded facility. It’s one of the things that keeps him motivated to continue his quest.

“It’s a pretty big deal for an old sign painter like me,” he said.

Ken, who will turn 82 in May, plans to keep painting as long as he can hold a brush. Even if his fingers are stitched and his hand is swollen.

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“When I was about 5 years old, I would borrow my mother’s typewriter paper and trace pictures out of coloring books. One day I decided to see if I could draw some roses without tracing the picture. When I finished and showed it to my sister, she still thought I had traced it. So I put it on top of the coloring book picture and she went, ‘Oh.’ That was when I realized I could draw.

“Then, when I was 12, my parents gave me a year of oil painting lessons with a private teacher. That taught me how to mix colors and use the equipment.

“After that, I took off on my own. I’ve been drawing and painting ever since. I just get lost in it. To this day, I love even the smell of the paint.”

What is one of your favorite projects?
“My church has this hallway that leads to all of the classrooms, and they wanted something on those walls for the children. So every day for seven months I painted murals. I divided the space into sections and did scenes from the Bible. Later, I painted more wall murals at another church for a friend who became a pastor after he retired. Those were challenging projects, but they were fun. I didn’t ask for money for either one. I thought of them more as a ministry. It was a lot of work. But when I was through, it was very gratifying.”

— Carolyn Macha

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