Artist Helen Thomas

2011-11-02T10:19:00.000-07:00

Green Briar Resort in West Va....Primo Resort!!!

Everything has been wonderfully status quo for the most part for quite awhile, and I've not been here for some time .
However, last month, my husband and I spent a few days at GREENBRIAR RESORT...this was the very most pleasantly spent few days that we've experienced for some time, and I feel it's worthy of my spending a few moments telling the world a little about the place. But...actually, it would require much more than just a few moments, and I doubt that I'd manage to do the place justice, so maybe you'd like to check it out yourself. Besides being fabulously splindid there is quite an interesting history attached dating back for around two hundred years, and heads of state, world leaders and royalty from various countries have spent time here.
There are a multitude of structured activities everyday which one may or may not wish to take part in...mainly we just hung out wherever we chose and did what ever and when ever we wished. Oh and the food!!! numerous restaurants to be enjoyed without ever going outside...lotsa boutiques too (mostly very upscale)...And of course, a casino which rivals any in Vegas or Atlantic City...but considerably classier, no one permitted except guests of the resort, and then only "dressed" during evening hours.
Gotta tell ya, in my opinion this it the primo resort in the country! And, who would ever suspect to find a place like this in West Virginia??? WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS is the town closest, and the AMTRAX station is very nearby, but basically the resort is in the middle of wilderness country.
I'd upload photos that we took there, but you can find much better ones already online...good ol' google...such a useful tool I find.

House Party for Honeyboy Edwards

2010-02-04T12:19:00.000-08:00

Tom and I flew into LAX on the 27th of Jan, picked up a rental car and drove to Vegas for the two days before the event scheduled for the 29th which was the specific reason why we made the trip to LA. That evening was a celebration with Jeff Dale and the South Woodlawners honoring Honeyboy Edwards, a true master of the blues, 94 years of age and being given a Lifetime Achievement Award on Jan. 30, 2010 .
There were over a hundred invitations issued by Jeff Dale on Livebluesworld but only the first fifty to respond recieved the passes allowing attendance...I got lucky and was one of those fifty.
I took several photos that evening, had a few taken of myself with Honeyboy Edwards and with Jeff Dale and have posted a couple of dozen of these photos on my website www.105helenthomasart.com .
I've painted two portraits of HONEYBOY EDWARDS and I intend to paint one more from one of the photos that I took at the event. Was a fantastic evening, held in the home of Alan Goldman, a home which by the way, was built several years back specifically for events such as this to take place, because at the time there were so few venues in which these groups could play. The home was designed for the purpose of accomodating quite comfortably about a hundred people in a rather luxurious living room atmosphere, very impressive I thought.
I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been given the opportunity to be there that evening.

Swimmin' Down In Cane Creek

2009-03-08T17:49:00.000-07:00

They used to walk all the way to Cane Creek, the sun shining hot
on their young shoulders and burning their bare feet
and it took most half a day to get there so they'd have only a few
hours in the water to play.

Time meant little to them then, they felt as free as the clouds
drifting above them in the deep blue sky
Swimmin' down in Cane Creek was worth the long walk
this was their favorite way to spend a summer day.

They'd been told it was dangerous and they knew it might be when
they'd swing over the water on a cable hanging high up in a tree
They didn't worry much about the Water Moccasins, they mostly
just counted on them to stay out of their way

They never even thought about the hidden rocks and the underwater
snags, these were all dangers those country kids chose to ignore
since this was the only place for miles around to swim
it was all just a risk they were willing to face.

Of course there was someone watching over them, and...
those country kids survived all the hazards that came their way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~by Helen Thomas

Across The Dance Hall Floor

2008-08-09T14:23:00.000-07:00

This story is formulated from an experience related to me by some one very dear to me and it has remained in a corner of my memory for many years...I think it's time now to bring it into the light.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She walks across the dance hall floor, a happy smile upon her face
She say's she's glad to see me, though she's surprised to see me in this place

She'll say she never shoulda left me, and say "...baby, take me back again."
Well, I always knew she'd be mine once more, that someday I would win.

Remembering all the love we shared as our eyes meet in this dance hall light
You know, I never gave up waiting for her. Now, I'll be with her again tonight.

She's in my arms and whispers, "Babe, there's something you should know."
Says she's met someone who makes her happier than she's ever been before!

Well, I know I'll never have her back now. Lord, I know for us this is the end.
And my heart breaks as she tells me all the things that she's lovin about him.

She said I should be happy for her, that I was the first one that she had told.
Lord, I had to walk away from her, back into the darkness and the cold.

Well, I've walked alone for many hours, through this painful lonely night
and I begin to feel a bit more easy now. Things look better in the sunlight.

I'll go on with my own life now, I see our love was never meant to be
But it's gonna take a really long time. It hurts to know she don't love me.

..............................................................................By Helen Thomas

A Summer Evening In The 50's

2008-07-31T19:52:00.000-07:00

The sun's gone down already but night time is still hours away
and the evening star sparkles brightly in a crystal clear sky...
The air's so fresh and clean it almost feels like we could fly.
We're cruisin' down 67 highway in his old green Hudson
all shined up and lookin right...Only one six pack to share
between us, but we all know that money's been really tight.
He's drivin' with one hand on the wheel and tryin' to be real sly
with the other...a friend of mine's in the back seat, makin' out
with my dates twin brother.
You Ain't Nothin' But A Hound Dog's playin' on the radio then
Carl Perkins starts singin' about his Blue Suede Shoes...
I've heard these songs before but I think they're pretty new.
We stop in for a couple of dances at the Silver Star Cafe
down on highway 53 ...there's a sign up above the
juke box tellin' us... "play two songs and the third one's free!"
We're eight teen-agers out here just ridin' round and we head
on up to Wappapello Lake...got no place else to go and these
boys that we're out with, yeah, they're always on the make.
Some day we may have enough money for movie theaters
and James Dean...and those fancy curb service restaurants
that we've heard about but for now, it's the Dairy Queen.
But we do things like drag races, sock hops, and I'm wearin'
his class ring on a chain...and 3-D movies and that soda shop
way out there on Elm Street and West Main.
We wear pony tails, poodle skirts, pennies in our loafers and
saddle shoes...our new blue jeans rolled up twice, greased down
hair and D.A. hair cuts , too.
We go to a drive-in movie now and then and if we get caught
we'd sure enough be sunk...because only two of us ever pay
and there's six more crammed into that big ol' trunk.
But tonight we'll steal ourselves a watermellon or two, not
exactly a Sunday sorta picnic...we got no little cakes to eat, and
no fried chicken, but we've got hot dogs... a'cookin' on a stick.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Helen Thomas

Tribute To Mom And Dad

2008-07-26T10:23:00.000-07:00

Her parents thought she was old enough
though she was so very young the first time that he met the girl.
The parents all thought they should wed,
that's just how things were done ...in their world.
Not even sixteen when he took her for his wife
I'm sure everyone believed the two would have a good life.
A child came along every couple of years
and they loved each one, they held them all very dear.
Times were hard back in the early thirties
country life then meant sweat and blood and getting dirty.
He put together all the buildings on the farm
with his own two hands and the strength of his arms.
She washed all their clothes on an old scrubbing board
the aching back,the roughened hands were all things to be ignored.
And every morning no matter what kind of weather
she had cows to milk and hoped there would be eggs to gather.
There were no sons borne to help him with his labors
she always helped though, so did the girls and sometimes a neighbor.
Their children were all girls, all lived, and there was seven of them.
The girls were all pretty and they grew up healthy, strong and trim.
That was a whole lot of mouths for a man to feed in those days
it wasn't easy for any of them but they raised all those girls
they managed...someway.
They never complained, they did the very best they could do
there wasn't much to work with, the comforts in their life were few.
It was a hard life that he and the young girl had to endure
but they were there for their daughters, always strong, always pure.
A grandma to take care of, she lived there with them too.
She helped out in many ways, lots of things she was able to do.
They're all gone now they've passed on to a much better place
They stayed with us while they could but time always wins the race
The only thing left of the old home place is the stately old oak tree
but memories come to mind when I close my eyes... that I still see.
Most of the sisters are with us still, and most have known a good life
but, without exception all have known their share of pain and strife.
They got together once in awhile, though seldom all at the same time
each had a path to follow through life's uncertain rythm and rhyme.
In fact all seven got together only one time after about fifty years
it was a very special gathering, there was laughter, there was tears.
Very soon after that reunion, one of the sisters had to go away
they miss her very much but know they'll be together again someday.
These folks will be remembered by these lines here that I write
their memories will live forever in a soft, warm, gentle light.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Helen Thomas

On The Blues Highway

2008-07-20T18:12:00.000-07:00

I was growing up as a very young child during the post depression era on th edge of the Mississippi Delta region. This was a time when folks were moving about just trying to find something a little better than what was where ever they were .
My father and mother were starting their family (I was the second of their seven children)
they raised on a farm that had been in the family for a very long time, so they owned land but that doesn't mean they had money, very few did at that time, so it was a difficult life for them, also.
There were times I recall being in town with my folks when they went in to sell a load of wood or just for the few items which had to be purchased ocassionally...mostly the essentials were grown on the farm...with the aide of an old mule and a lot of back breaking work. But the life didn't seem hard for us kids, I also recall many good times...such as wandering around in the crowds that always gathered to watch and listen to musicians often found on the "town Square"
trying to make enough money to reach the next town on the route which so many traveled
coming out of the south , heading for Chicago by way of St. Louis.
We lived just outside of Poplar Bluff, Mo. and sometimes my father would stop and pick up these folks walking on the road (67 highway) north out of town, there were times he'd drive by our house to drop off us kids and mom would put together what food she could manage for the travelers then dad would take them on to the next town (Greenville, Mo.) especially when it was bad weather. It was an old truck with sideboards and the folks sometimes had pieces of canvas they'd stretch over themselves to keep dry.
Since there were no interstates then as we now know them this little town of ours was pretty much on the beaten path of these wandering musicians heading north. Some of these folks had vehicles but I believe that just as many didn't as did, and the task of keeping them running, good tires and gasoline was a huge problem for people who were not even traveling and playing music basically for food.
I've always felt a connection to these folks, their music, the songs they sang, always loved the music and somehow felt we were a part of their world and all these many years that I have been painting the legends of those times there are always memories such as these walking through my mind...the sounds of the remembered music is an ever present echo of those times. I cherish these memories of my childhood...seems like only yesterday at times and I feel that in some small measure the paintings I do helps to keep those special folks from fading into oblivion.
I don't know who they were, I probably never even heard their names but I'll always remember the people, their laughter and their music.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Helen Thomas

Juke Joint Festival 2008

2008-07-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

This past April my husband and I took a trip to Clarksdale, Ms. to attend the annual Juke Joint Festival...this year I had a special interest in attending because I was sponsoring a particular old blues singer whom I had met the year before down there. The man's name is Harold Cagler and he had just released a second CD at the time we met. We had stayed in touch over the months and I managed to arrange with the owner of a blues venue in Clarksdale to allow Harold and his band to play there during the Festival. That turned out very well, in fact we met a very talented harp player (Joe Galicic.) Who happily agreed to come to Slidell, La. to record with Harold.
This did actually happen and the CD has since been released. The CD is named THAT AIN"T RIGHT and there are photo's posted on my web site http://www.105helenthomasart.com/ of Harold Cagler and his band and Joe at the BLUES BERRY CAFE . The club is now known as SUPER CHIKAN"S PLACE at BLUES BERRY CAFE by the way.
I painted a portrait of Harold last year which he used as cover art on the second release of his second CD called PO COUNTRY BOY. Someday I want to put music on this page but haven't quite taken the time to learn how to do that.

Blues Legends Paintings By Helen Thomas

2008-07-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

I have been painting portraits of both the most obscure and famous blues artists for several years and have been fortunate to have them exhibited for sale in the birthplace of the Delta blues, Clarksdale, Mississippi.
I was also fortunate to find myself in the enviable circumstance of personally presenting to MORGAN FREEMAN a painting that I did for him of the interior of his blues club in Clarksdale, The Ground Zero Blues Club.
This painting, incidentally, is permanently displayed in Morgan Freeman's upscale restaurant, MADIDI, there in Clarksdale as per his direction.
I have photos of many of my portraits posted on my personal website, along with several photos taken at blues festivals and clubs in the Delta area. Most recently I have added several of my own original song lyrics and a blog page which is sort of written as an autobiography.There will be new additions almost daily posted to this site.
Of course I happily accept commissions for portraits, and I work well from photographs.