We held a second engagement session for Ricci and Jason. This time, we included the canine members of the family, too. We had a ton of fun at Northgate and Research Park.

See the entire gallery online.

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Carrie & Kris planned a gorgeous wedding all trimmed in hues of blues! It was lovely.

See the rest of the images online.

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Currently tied for 1st place in the Texas Collegiate League, the Bombers are having a great season.

There are still some final tweaks to be made to the online gallery, but I needed to get this out there for everyone to see!

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Danielle & Eric (and their first “baby”) have been wonderfully patient while we made some really special versions of their family portrait images. Now, their first human baby will be here, soon! My how time flies!

Thank you, Danielle, for your patience. We are thrilled to have been able to apply some of our new Texas School techniques (courtesy of the teachings of Bry Cox of Salt Lake City) to your images.

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Wow. How did I not know that taking my camera to the game last night would create such excitement???!!!

As you all might imagine, I got home quite late and still have a regular day full of tasks and appointments. And, I do need to edit the photos down to a manageable quantity and do basic cropping on them.

As soon as I have them ready, I’ll post the images to this site.

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Kristin & Cory Anderson-Shaffer had a lovely ceremony on a warm spring evening.

Family and friends, view all the images online.

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see the rest of the images from the watch party

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This is a 2nd draft of Laura & Ryan’s Save the Date cards using her favorite font!

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For the second time in a row, will have a display at the Art Step!

The Art Step
June 6^th, 2008
5 – 9 or later

Follow the footsteps around downtown to nineteen different locations to find art for sale by more than 100 artists, arts demonstrations, live music from jazz to barber shop to classical….

Come explore the arts… and historic downtown Bryan!

Here is the list of who, what and where:

• HOSTS AND PLANNERS: The Frame Gallery, 216 N. Bryan Ave. 5pm - 10pm. Original art by many artists, live jazz/blues 6:30 -9:30 [(R.G. Watkins & Friends- Randy Watkins, Skot Jakubeic (6:30 - 8), Andrew Pogue, Greg Tivis), guest vocalist Karen Kraft (between 8 and 9), art activity for all, cash wine bar, refreshments
• will have works displayed at
  Housepaintings Studio, 211a N. Main St., “Contemporary/Urban Art Show”, Original art by area artists and live music
• Arkitex Studio, 308 N. Bryan Ave. original art by Dick Davison, and music by classical guitarist
• Arts Council of Brazos Valley, 200 block of S. Bryan Ave. information about the Arts Council and the various arts groups who are affiliates
• Burr’s Unfinished Furniture, 314 N. Main St. art by Stacy Taylor & Linda Fike
• James’ Studio 59, 318 N. Main St., cocktails & live music “Eugene, Eugene” 6 - 9pm, open weekends til 2am
• Texas Furniture Co., 206 N. Main St. Barbershop quartet “Double Take” 7- 9pm
• Corner of Time Antiques & Collectibles Mall, 118 N. Bryan Ave. live music by Glenn Pruitt band, demonstrations by Brazos Valley Spinners & Weavers Guild- visit the soda fountain, too!
• Parker Astin Hardware, 108 N. Bryan Ave. Ken Manthei, hand lettered signs & paintings, & Terry Baker, handcarved German style springerle cookie molds, David Elton, photography
• Brazos Glassworks, 206 W. 26th St. Stained glass art also wire wrapped jewelry demonstrations
• Chandler Arden Photography, 202-B W. 26th St. Music by The Occasional String Band (swing, blues & Americana- Kevin Duff- lead guitar, banjo, vocals; Ken Appelt- guitar, vocals; Jimmie Killlingsworth- mandolin, vocals; Ron Rushing- bass)
• StageCenter Theater, 201 B. W. 26th, hosting the Brazos Independent Business Alliance (BIBA) Happy Hour, cash wine bar. StageCenter’s “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” opens June 12!
• EarthArt 209 S. Main St., featuring EarthArt’s own Christian Reyn designs as well as art, jewelry and handicraft from the global community
• Old Bryan Marketplace, 202 S. Bryan Ave. Music by Chris Martinez
• Downtown 202, 202 S. Bryan Ave. Original art by members of the Brazos Valley Art League
• Madden’s Casual Gourmet, 202 S. Bryan Ave., contemporary fusion, lounge, and jazzy sounds spun by Lucas Naveira, original art by Nathan Smith
• Revolution Cafe & Bar, 211-B S. Main St., from 5:30 - 8:30pm, pottery wheel throwing demonstrations by Chris Lockhart, Amber Miller & Sonny Moss, and… starting at 10pm, Mr. Brown and the Dubkids (reggae)
• Square One Bistro, 211 W. William J. Bryan Pkwy, live music by Chris Clonts
• LaSalle Hotel and Cafe, 120 S. Main St., live music by Joey McGee and Adam Saenz
• The Attic Antiques, 118 S. Bryan Ave.
• Zoraida’s Massage Center, 213 N. Main St.
• The String & Horn Shop, 119 N. Main St.
• Carriage Rides, 120 S. Main St. (begin in the LaSalle Hotel courtyard) offered by Hidden Oasis Carriage, 778-3688, 7- 10pm

Additional parking available in several lots around historic downtown:

• 300 block of N. Main St. (diagonally across the intersection from Caffe Capri)
• 200 block of W. 27th St. (behind Mr. G’s Pizzeria and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church)
• 200 block of S. Main St. and S. Bryan Ave. (south of the LaSalle Hotel & River Bridge Grill & Bar)
• 200 block of W. William Joel Bryan Pkwy (Post Office parking lot across from Square One Bistro)
• 200 block of S. Tabor St. (across the tracks from Revolution Café & Bar, behind the Children’s Museum)

Sponsors:

Please thank the sponsors of The Art Step!

This event made possible in part through the City of Bryan, the Downtown Bryan Economic Development Association and the Hotel Tax Revenue funded from the City of College Station through the Arts Council of Brazos Valley and with the help of the following businesses:

• Casa Rodriguez Mexican Restaurant*
• Parker-Astin Hardware Co.*
• Chandler Arden Photography*
• The Attic Antiques / S&S Auction*
• Old Bryan Marketplace*
• ACME Glass
• EarthArt*
• Madden’s Casual Gourmet*
• Square One Bistro*
• Superior Rent-to-Own
• Corner of Time Antiques & Collectibles Mall*
• Caffe Capri*
• Revolution Café and Bar*
• Mr. G’s Pizzeria*
• Burr’s Unfinished Furniture*
• Brazos Glassworks*
• The Frame Gallery*
• La Salle Hotel & Café*
• River Bridge Bar & Grill*
• Zoraida’s Massage Center*
• GKG.NET, INC.

*open till 9pm or later

Restaurants in downtown:

Lots of great places to dine, too~

• Caffe Capri www.theplaceforitalian.com/
• Casa Rodriguez Mexican Restaurant
• LaSalle Cafe for coffee and dessert www.lasalle-hotel.com
• Los Nortenos Mexican Cafe
• Madden’s Casual Gourmet www.pmaddens.com
• Margie’s Bar & Grill
• Mr.G’s Pizzeria
• Papa Perez Mexican Cuisine www.papaperez.com
• Square One Bistro www.squareonebryan.com
• Subway
• River Bridge Bar & Grill www.koppebridge.net/riverbridge/riverbridgemenu.html

Coming soon!

• The Starving Artist Bakery & Café, 210 W. 26th St.
• Brauhaus German Restaurant, 109 N. Main St.
• Murphy’s Law, 107 N. Main St.
• The Stafford- Main Street, 106 S. Main St.

www.downtownbryan.com

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Kristin’s bridal session was the Sunday after Texas School…..so we couldn’t wait to apply our newly-learned hand-crafted digital watercolor technique to one of her images. We chose one that is especially vibrant. Her oranges-, lemons-, and limes-themed decor yielded a bright bouquet full of color (thanks to the stellar work of University Flowers). As soon as we saw this image, we knew it had to be the ONE.

So, our Monet-inspired version arrived! I am in LOVE with this new product. The 20×30 we ordered will be great for the wall above a love seat or over a mantle.

I can not wait to make these for clients. Our bridal portraits (and families and kids and everything else, too) are about to rock this world!

I’m so excited to show this off that I have done my first ever “mass” mailing. In late July or early August, 1,000 of you in a targeted demographic (which had to be narrowed down severely to get only 1,000, of course) will get a postcard advertising this new technique and product.

So, if you’d like to see the new watercolor, schedule an appointment today. We’d love to show it off!

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Last night, with the love of her life and their best friend just inside the house, one of our friends committed suicide. The suicide rate for her demographic 2 to 3 times greater than it is for others.

She was a private person, so I will not make big deal or ask for donations in her memory, exactly. I ask that you come up with a small gesture of support for suicide prevention and/or the community. Maybe you can donate the cost of your daily beverage indulgence between now and her memorial? If you like, I can gather these and donate on behalf of all of us. If you’d rather send it directly in, that’s fine too

I will donate half of all portrait session fees from this week to the cause and to the greater family she leaves behind.

If you can’t donate money, consider a moment of thought and reflection for those who struggle to the point of no return.

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In a hurry for a soirée this weekend? Did you spend all your time working on the catering and entertainment and now have no time left for the decorating? Or, maybe you just aren’t crafty in that way..?

can help.

• will give you a phone or email consultation; you may select the party theme/colors/style
• will shop for the décor for your event
• will offer you a live consultation so you can select from the options we have found to match your event
• will provide two people for four hours for set up on the day of the party

You get all this for only $300 plus expenses!

AsYouWishBCS.com • 979.272.4073 • Lori Luza

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is proud to unveil our new Digital Watercolor images. These heirloom-quality pieces of art are a perfect way to combine images of your family with art that will compliment your home. Available in 30″ and larger sizes, a piece like this is destined to impress all your guests. A hand-applied digital technique make each piece—even from the same image—unique. Each work of art is printed on canvas, and gallery wrapped for a beautiful presentation with or without a frame. In addition, we have created several artist-inspired versions from which you can choose. Whether you like the effect a little or a lot, you are going to love the final product.

the original image

a van Gogh-inspired version

a Monet-inspired version

a Renior-inspired version

a Cadence King-inspired version

a Lori Luza “inspired” version
while this one more closely resembles a real photograph, it still has the watercolor effect in the detail of the image, which will be exaggerated slightly when printed on canvas

Digital Watercolors can be created from almost any image and can be printed in a wide variety of sizes. Square images are particularly stunning.

Investment:

30″ images start at $ 700
36″ images start at $ 800

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Kristin Anderson’s bridal session included her mom and sister and was held on campus in anticipation of her May 24th wedding. She was a relaxed and easy-going bride-to-be, which made for a fun session with some great images!

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Texas Photography School was an amazing experience! I learned so very much and can’t wait to share new products and services with you all.

Here are some things I’ll offer soon.

• watercolor prints
• signature prints with my own texture and embellishments
• advanced posing techniques to make everyone look his/her best

I’ll debut a couple of these products (along with those amazing albums I’ve been promising) very soon.

I can’t wait to show you all these new gidgets and gadets! You are going to love them!

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