Lilies and More Lilies



Botanical Gardens Lilies
11 x 14
oil on Ampersand panel
$200

I painted out twice this weekend, yesterday at the Arboretum in Dallas and today at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. I went to the Dallas Arboretum with my friends to paint on Saturday. I met Olivette Hubler, Sheri Jones, Hai Chi Lee, Chris Toplyn, and some of the Dallas artists that we never met up with;  it is a big place. Our group painted near a series of pools with water lilies. when we got there only one lily was open by the time we left. There were pink, pale yellow, white, and purple lilies blooming.

Arboretum Lilies
5 x 7o
il on canvas panel
$75

 I was really inspired by the brushwork of Olivette and the palete knife work of Sheri.I am trying to get a more impressionistic style with looser brushwork. It was very hot yesterday, 107, but we hung in there and painted from about 9:00 to 12:00 or so. Then Olivette, Hai Chi and I had lunch at the restaurant in the gardens. We ate outside but in the shade so it wasn't too bad, plus we had plenty of iced tea.

Chris and Hai Chi at the lily pond at the Arboretum.

 After painting at the Arboretum I was inspired to try painting some more water lilies so this morning at 10:30 I went to the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. It was 107 again today and I was in  full sun but I was able to paint for three hours. I did the painting at the top of this blog.

Lilies with green and purple pads.

The big lily pond at the Arboretum.

Olivette and Chris painting lilies.

Sheri painting lilies, I believe she finished three paintings.

Texas horned toad bronze sculpture, Horned Victory

Horned Victory
bronze on granite
9 x 4 x 3.5

     This is a new version of my Horned Pride sculpture. I individually sculpt each rose and  have it cast and attached to the horned toad sculpture. Thus, each new sculpture is a unique piece. I call this new sculpture Horned Victory. This sculpture commemorates TCU's 2011 Rose Bowl Victory. This sculpture is only available at The Varsity at 3515 Bluebonnet Circle, in Fort Worth.
     I have been doing quite a bit of sculpting this week in my studio. First I have been working on the roses for Horned Victory and second on the longhorn cow and calf that I  began over two years ago. I am very much looking forward to the completion of this sculpture. In fact I worked on it last night until after !!:00. It will be the first sculpture that has two figures on one base,

A great day of art.

Garden House
8 x 10
oil on board
$125

 This was my first week back at work. It has been a great week. Today I went to a workshop on pastel portraits taught by Vilas Tanape. My good friends John Davis and Beverly Fletcher were also in the class. John is a sculptor and painter also and Beverly is a painter as well. It was a wonderful gift to learn, and have reinforced, some important skills while drawing a portrait from life. Vilas is an amazing artist and a really great teacher as well. I'm not posting my drawings though because you might not believe me when I say what a great teacher he is. You will just have to trust that I learned a lot as I think everyone did in the class.

Two of my finches on the patio

 After the workshop I came home and worked a bit more on a painting that I had started in the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. As usual I worked on my patio. It was terribly hot again, but I guess we are getting acclimatized to days over 100. The house in the painting is actually some kind of a children's playhouse.


Part of my herb and flower garden.

I have managed to keep my yard and gardens green despite the soon to be record number of days over 100 degrees and our severe drought. However my water bills have been very high.

My chocolate lab, Scout, with her duck toy.

 After I finished with art for the day. I played with my dog Scout and let her practice retrieving her ducks. This is her favorite thing to do. She is a really sweet dog and a great hunter. Sometime I'm going to have to do a painting of her. I have quite a long list of things I need to paint.

Scout retrieving her duck.

Upcoming shows this fall.

Southwest Garden

       The  first  show I have this  fall  is called  Art in the Garden,   It is a multi artist show in our  Fort  Worth  Botanical Gardens.  It  begins on  September the 11th and runs in conjunction with the  Fort worth Art Dealer's Association's   Fall Gallery Night. I will have the above painting, Southwestern Garden  in this show,Many of my friends will have paintings in this show also, including Sheri Jones, Beatriz Welch, and Olivette Hubler. It should be a great show with beautiful art.

Santa Fe Sunset

Yellowstone Bison

Winter in the Garden

Belted Galloways

My second show begins on November 5th at the Dutch Art Gallery in Dallas. It features art by the Artists of Texas. I will have the four paintings shown above in this show. I am really looking forward to participating in this event. My friends Linda Popple and Sheri Jones will have work in this show also.

My 101st post

Tip Toe Through The Garden
5 x 7
oil on canvas panel
$75

This weekend I went to paint in the Dallas Arboretum with my friend Olivette Hubler. I did this painting fairly quickly, then we had lunch and both started a second painting. It was a really hot day and an orange level pollution day but the gardens were beautiful and a treat to be in.

Lush flowerbeds surrounding a broad lawn.

The gardens in Dallas are on a former private estate on the shore of White Rock Lake. I was really impressed by all the blooms and the lushness of the gardens,

Part of the house from the original estate.

 This is the front of the home that sits in the middle of the gardens. I think it is sometimes opened for tours but wasn't today. There is a restaurant on the back side of this house.

Water lilies in the garden.

 The gardens are full of all sorts of water features in addition to being right near the lake. There are streams, fountains and pools. The sound of splashing water make you feel cooler even on a very hot day.

More flower beds.

A large pool on the edge of the lake.

A frog sculpture in the Arboretum.

 The gardens have many large sculptures in them that sometimes add a bit of whimsy and/or beauty. This is one of four large frogs shooting water at a ball. People are allowed to get in the water to cool off.

Beautiful crape myrtles.

Outdoor seating at the restaurant.

I had never been to the Arboretum but I will be sure to go back. There were so many things worth painting. 

A Great New Store In Fort Worth

Horned Pride
Bronze on Granite
9 x 4 x 3.5
$800

Horned Pride Miniature
Bronze
6 x 3.5 x 2.5
$300

    A great store is opening here in Fort Worth called The Varsity, at 3515 Bluebonnet Circle. It will specialize in upper scale TCU merchandise and clothing. I'm going to have to get one of their TCU ties!
   They will carry my two bronze horned toad (horned frog) sculptures. I will also have horned frogs holding a rose in their mouths to commemorate TCU's Rose Bowl win last year. These should be ready in a few weeks.
   By the way this is my 100th post.

Trip to the ranch.

 

Texas Hill Country
8 x 10
oil on canvas

     I spent last weekend down in the Texas Hill Country at a friend's ranch in Leakey. One of the neat things  about this ranch was that all the gates we passed through and we drove through about 5 to get to the house were electric. (In the old days you had to get out and open and close each gate. ) This ranch really means a lot to the family who owns it. When the grandfather passed away a small portion of the ranch was turned into a family cemetery so he could be buried on the land he loved.
I went down with my sister and  my twin nephews to pick up another nephew who was at camp in Vanderpool. My brother in-law is mountain climbing and my oldest nephew is fly fishing in Wyoming. I brought my art supplies but didn't have much time to paint. I did manage to work on two studies. The one above was painted on the front porch of the house looking out across the pastures to the hills in the distance. I left the fences out.

The Ranch House

There were so many things for the kids to do. We drove around to look at game in the evenings, hiked along the river looking for fossils and relics, played games, fed the animals, and shot skeet and had target practice.

An orphaned fawn.

This s a white tailed orphan fawn that my nephews fell in love with. There were Axis and White Tail deer all over the ranch as well as all kinds of birds including several varieties of woodpeckers, hummingbirds, doves, buzzards, hawks, a king fisher, and what I'm pretty sure was a bald eagle.

A view of the Frio River behind the house,

The Frio River was right behind the house. The river was very shallow, thanks to the drought that Texas is suffering but the water was very clear. We could see catfish and sunfish swimming in the deeper parts. Normally the Frio is a great river for rafting, swimming, and canoeing but it will need a lot of rain before there is enough water for those activities. I didn't get to paint it yet, but it is sure on my list of things to paint.

Two of the roping horses on the ranch.

These were some of the ranch horses. There were also Mexican roping steers and a herd of Charolais cross cattle on the ranch. My nephews really liked the horses a lot. They struggled to find a few blades of grass to feed them, with the lack of rain this was not easy to do. There is a great arena where the cowboys practice roping a couple evenings a week. It would have been fun to watch but unfortunately they weren't doing it while we were there.

Autumn Evening

    I  recently finished this painting. I began it last fall up the road from where my friend Claudia Davis lives. It was so nice to go back and work on a painting from cooler days. I think all of us are ready for fall weather here in Texas.Last night the lowest the temperature got was 86 and I think our high was 111.
    I drove down to Waxahachie on Monday to see a demo my friend Steve Miller was doing for the Ellis County Art Association. I usually enjoy the drive out to the surrounding towns. At one point on the road south I saw some foliage that looked like it was turning colors. For just a second I thought of fall  but then I realized that the trees were dieing. It is amazing how the grasses and foliage look so dead across this region. We truly need rain very badly.