Biography - N. Gail Garrett

Gail Jones Garrett was born on Dia da Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, in Norman, Oklahoma on a Navy base in 1944.  Her father brought her to San Antonio, Texas at the end of WW II. Garrett begin painting as a child when her mother, also an artist, took her on outdoor excursions with Texas artist Porfirio Salinas, Maggie Putnam, and others of the Onderdonk family. Receiving praise from these now recognized artists she continued to draw and paint as a child and excelled at art in high school and college.  Eventually Garrett had her own mural art business, painting in homes and businesses and around San Antonio. In her late sixties Garrett decided to get "down from the ladder" and become a fine artist.  In 2012, at the age of 67 Garrett began attending workshops with such greats as William Kalwick, Kaye Franklin, and Kim Casebeer in cities such as Wimberly and Fredericksburg, Texas, and became a full time painter of the Canyon Lake, Texas area.  She also became a collector of art.  She was recently commissioned to do a painted history of the Alamo and surrounding missions as a museum exhibit, and in April of 2013, she won top awards at the CLAG show in New Braunfels, Texas, including the coveted 2013 People's Choice Award.