A work in progress

A new longhorn sculpture

Here's a new longhorn sculpture that I'm working on. I hope to have it ready to cast by later in the summer or at least by early fall. I've actually got a few new pieces about ready to go but I'm not sure what order I'll do them in.

Beyond the Garden Gates

Beyond the Garden Gate
8 x 10
oil on canvas panel
$150

     This is a painting that I began last Monday in the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens before going down to the Texas coast. I t was a very nice morning for painting outdoors.   I was joined by some of my friends including Olivette Hubler, and Sheri Jones. Many of us chose this view because we were able to paint  in   the shade.  After we finished painting all of us but Sheri , (who had to return to work) went to lunch.             

Rockport Palms

Rockport Palms
8 x 10
oil on canvas

   Just returned from the coast and I've got several things to post.
   This was the view from our campsite in the Ancient Oaks Campground. I really enjoyed the pond. There were so many birds on and around it. There were seagulls, whistling ducks, a redhead drake, a blackduck, blue herons, several varieties of doves, grackles, and lots of others as well. At night the tent was filled with the songs of crickets and frogs. I really was drawn to this thick clump of palms and the strong vertical it presented as a composition.

Mallard Hen sculpture



Mallard Hen

8.5 x 5.5 x 8.5

bronze on wood
$900

This was the model that I created to show the developers of Watters Creek for my large scale installation of a mother duck with ten ducklings. This one is sized to fit on a table or shelf. The one at Watters Creek in Allen, Texas is large enough for children to sit on. The entire process from start to finish took over a year to complete.

two of my pet Canada geese

 I spent a lot of time watching and sketching my flock of ducks and geese not only to get the anatomy, but to also capture the character, personality, and gesture for the family of ducks I created.  I had just taken a Sandy Scott workshop on avian anatomy  the summer before at the Prix de West in Oklahoma City. The class was very useful. I believe the combination of study and working from life led to the success of this group of sculptures.

















Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park

In Velvet
8 x 10
oil on panel
Not for Sale

    This is an older painting, but probably the oldest one that I'm still pleased with after several years of painting. It is from an area near Sheep Lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. The bull elk still has the velvet on his antlers.
    RMNP is one of my favorite places in the world. The scenery is just amazing as is the wildlife. Elk, deer, moose, and bighorn sheep are some of the animals I usually see. I've been many times but one of my favorite trips was in the fall. The gold of the aspens made this a vacation I'll never forget. The temperatures were super and at night  the quite of the mountains was broken by the bugleing of the bull elk. It was a true blessing to experience  the whole trip.

Pastel Portrait

Pastel Portrait
life size
pastel on paper
not for sale

I don't use pastels and I don't do portraits, BUT this week I've been working on them and having a lot of fun.

Western Road Trip

Western Road Trip
11 x 14
Watercolor
Not For Sale

   After painting with my friend Kent Brewer at the Waxahachie paint out I have a renewed interest in watercolors. ( He won the best of show award in the paint out. You can check out his work at kentcbrewer.blogspot.com.)
   I haven't painted with watercolors in a very long time but this is still my favorite one I ever painted. I did it back in 93 after a three week long camping trip across Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.
I tried to include scenes from the major places I visited. Technically this is not a good painting but I love it because of the memories attached to it of visiting places like Mesa Verde National Park, Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone National Park among others.
   I've still got my watercolors. Maybe I'll dig them out and give them a try again.

Stop and Smell the Roses



Stop and Smell the Roses
8 x 10
oil on panel
$150

    I began this painting several weeks ago when I was painting in the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens with a group of friends and fellow artists including Cecelia Robrtson, Cece Turner, Olivet Hubler, and Linda Reedy.
We got to the gardens early and enjoyed wonderful weather as we painted. The roses were especially thick and beautiful that week. We broke for lunch and ate at the Gardens Restaurant.The food was good but I have to say the service was slow. However, there was lots of interesting conversation related to art. After we painted some of my friends came back to my house for dessert.
   I'll still work  on this painting a bit more, but I was interested in capturing the big shapes and colors and minimizing or omiting the details.

Early Morning in the Garden

Early Morning in the Garden
8 x 10
oil on linen panel
$175

Yesterday, I had a great morning painting. I went to the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens at 7:00 to find a place to paint. There were blooms everywhere, it was as pretty as it was earlier in the spring. Finally I selected this location, I  liked the composition and I liked the shade that lasted all morning. I was joined by my friends Olivette Hubler, Leslie Talty, Audette Asher, and Sheri Jones. It was a perfect morning for painting and everyone produced a painting except Olivette, who produced two. At lunch time we went to the Kimbell Art Museum for lunch. Then we went to the Amon Carter museum to see the Hudson River School Exhibit and then to the Fort Worth Community Art Center to see Exhibits by our friends Ann Hardy, Claudia Davis, Jan Bateman and Shirley Kinworthy.

A Peaceful Moment

A Peaceful Moment
9 x 7 x 6
bronze on wood
$900

This was the second sculpture I ever made. It was inspired by photos and sketches that I did in Yellowstone National Park when I stayed at the Old Faithful Lodge. There was a bison cow with her calf  resting behind the lodge that I watched as I took an early morning walk.

Last painting from the paintout.

Small Town America
8 x 10
oil on linen panel

I finally got around to painting one of the houses from the gingerbread tour of homes. This one was across the street from my friend Kent Brewer's house. He was already painting it when I drove up. It was a lot more fun having someone to paint with, plus it was great being able to watch someone else paint the same scene. (Kent won the top award in the paintout this year, Best of Show.) I'm really not finished with this one yet, hopefully I'll have time to make a few changes in the next day or so.

Paint Historic Waxahachie

Round Bales
8 x 10
oil on canvas



View of the courthouse and  down town from the parking garage.

    This is another painting I did at the paintout. It looks like a stable, but it really is the old train station by the feedstore, thus the bales of hay. This has been a great paintout. There are so many things to paint and so many great artists to paint with. Olivette Hubler and I both painted this building, but from opposite ends,
she got a great painting.

Fountain With Reds and Greens



Fountain With Reds and Greens
8 x 10
oil on canvas
SOLD



          Today I painted down in Waxahachie at the Paint Historic Waxahachie Paintout with my friend Debob Jacob. I added a few highlights to this painting that I had begun on Monday and turned it in. Then we went and painted a neat old Texaco building. She finished hers but

I didn't.   However , I was  really happy with the start I made on mine. It was a great day.