Pronghorn and Prickly Pear

Pronghorn and Prickly Pear
Bronze on Granite
Edition of 33
$1600
10 x 5.5 x 9

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apples, peaches, pears, plums...

North Texas Blue
11 x 14
oil on canvas

    Spring is a busy time in the  gardener  and the outdoor painter. There is never enough time to do everything. But I have always remembered the words of a preacher that I saw on television. He said that we always have time for what we put first. I try to follow this and group my priorities where they should be . One of the things I always give time to in the spring is painting the bluebonnets. The smell alone is worth going out to a big field to experience. But the pleasure of being outdoors painting with friends in great weather (or even not) is the best part of it. This spring we have painted in the Corp of Engineers Parks around Benbrook Lake on weekends and after work.

Scout in front of one of the rose bushes.

     The other demand of my time, this time of year, is my yard and garden.  We had a hard winter and some of my shrubbery is still looking very grim, but the roses have been incredible. I have so many colors and different sizes and they have all put on a show. The peonies were really nice also.

Roses and peonies in the background.

    Every spring my garden tempts me to get out and paint in it but the pull of the country and the wild flowers always wins out. I do take plenty of photos for later use.


A bloom on one of my yellow roses.

    We had some VERY late freezes and frosts this year. They took there toll on the plums. But, the apples, peaches, and pears are covered with fruit as are the grapes and raspberries. The trick will be to keep the squirrels and birds away later in the spring.

Apples on one of my two apple trees.

     I don't think of apples as doing really well around here but my great grandmother had a tree that produced large crops of green apples. So with that in mind two years ago I purchased two trees and they have grown well. This year they have lots of apples on them.



Belle Of Georgia Peaches

     The peach trees, I have two, are Belle of Georgias. They are covered with peaches this year. This is a white peach and one of the varieties my grandmother grew. They are covered with peaches.

One of the pears on my tree.

 

      I have one pear tree. It was planted two years ago and has several pears on it. There are three plum trees but they have  no plums left on them.


Part of my vegetable garden - tomatoes, peppers, beans , squash, pumpkins, and raspberries

   Besides the fruit trees, I have vegetables and herbs planted in a couple of different places. It takes a lot of watering and weeding to keep it all going.

Two Plein Air Events In One Day

Tandy Hills Morning 2014
8 x 10
oil on canvas
SOLD

    Saturday was one of the most exhausting and rewarding days that I have had in a while. The days events started for me at 7:00 when I left my house to drive east to Tandy Hills Park. When I got there my friend Carol Ivey was just setting up to paint. Today was Prairie Fest and a group of us were painting there for part of the event.

    The weather was great. We were joined by several other artists including Claudia Davis, Janice Weaver, Olivette Hubler, Jeff Ott, Dan Spangler,  and others . We turned in our paintings to be auctioned off. (Mine sold.) Then four of us had to head on to the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge for a second event, Fort Worth Wild a VIP celebration of the 50th anniversary of the nature center.


Fort Worth Bison Herd
8 x 10
oil on canvas
SOLD

    The great weather continued at the nature center. The four of us were joined by the rest of our group including T. K. Riddle, Mary Rabine, Sheri Jones, Tina Bohlman, and Steve Miller. We had painted out there a few weeks earlier so we already each had one painting for the show and were there to paint a second one before the auction that evening. I chose to paint the bison but in a much looser style.



Me working on my painting along the trail to the tents.

    This event was held for the 50th anniversary of the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge as a fund raiser to restore the parks CCC structures. Everyone painted wherever they wanted. Then before the start of the event they set up their easels along the path to the tents where the event was going to be held, and finished their paintings there as the guests walked past.


Me painting along the path, Tina Bohlman is painting across from me.

    It was a little windy but not too bad. There was a huge turnout, over 300 people who each paid $275 to attend. So from the point of view of the artists, exactly the sort of people you want at an art show.
The tents were set up on the site of the CCC structures, on a large hill with great views of the park and lake. There were several tents set up with tables in them where we were going to be eating as well as a tent where the paintings and other auction items were displayed and an area where the caterers were set up. Bonnels of Fort Worth catered the event. The food was delicious. Besides the artists painting along the path my friend Vince Villafranca  did a live sculpture casting in front of the tents.

One of the tents before the event.

    The location was just perfect for this sort of event.  I saw so many people I knew. It was sort of a whos who of Fort Worth. There was a table set aside for the artists but I was invited to join several groups of friends at their tables. Everyone I talked to said they thought this was a first class event.

Marty Leonard and Mayor Betsy Price

    The mayor was one of the first speakers. Other guests included local and state politicians and the head of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (who was a very funny guy.)  All of the speakers did a great job .The nature center is such an amazing place, over 3600 acres, and they all were effective in expressing what a treasure the nature center is.

    As the night went on the tents were lit with colored lights. And the views of the sunset out of the ends and sides of the tents continued to just get nicer and nicer. Hal Jay from WBAP  was the master of ceremonies and he was so funny as well as incredible in getting the guests to bid more and more on some live auction items including the right to name the new bison bull which went for $10,000.


Spring Bison
8 x 10
oil on canvas
SOLD

    Almost every piece of art we created was sold. I sold both of my paintings. The event lasted until after 9:00 . I didn't get home until after 10:00 and I was pretty tired. It had been a great but long day.

Happy Easter!

Texas Blues
8 x 10
oil on canvas
SOLD

     Today was Easter and a very beautiful day. I woke up early and went out to Dutch Branch Park to paint the bluebonnets. I didn't see any turkeys this morning but I did see lots of deer, ducks, buzzards, and song birds. The bluebonnets are Getting prettier every day and the other flowers are coming along too. I finished this painting and worked on two others. I didn't paint long but I enjoyed it.



Bluebonnets (and light bluebonnets)

      I worked in my yard and then went over to my sister's for Easter lunch with our family. We had a very good dinner, played some games and watched some sports. Then I came back home and did a bit more in my garden before the rains started.

Caught up as of today!

Mustang Spirit
bronze on granite

    March 7th was the Texas Masters Show at the Insight Gallery in Fredericksburg. As always it is a tremendous honor to be part of the show. This show features some of the very finest representational artists working in Texas. This year my newest sculpture in the show is a running mustang called Mustang Pride.
     One of the most enjoyable things about this time of the year has been the Sorolla exhibit at the Meadows museum in Dallas. This has to be my favorite show of any artist''s work I have seen. It really gives a complete view of the artist, his process, and his work. By the time the show ended this weekend I had seen it six times. Each time I went it was with  different groups of friends and each time I saw different things and in different ways. Some of the pieces were from private collections and so there was a certain feeling of sadness in thinking that I would never see some of them again.



Bison in Spring
8 x 10
oil on canvas

    I had two big events on March 29th. The first was a paintout with ten of my friends at the Fort Worth Nature Center .I painted one of the bison. These paintings will be auctioned off at a dinner and fundraiser on April 26th at the Nature Center. The show may be viewed online on their website.



Spring in Texas
8 x 10
oil on canvas

      The second event of the day was the Fort Worth Art Dealers Association's Spring Gallery Night.I had paintings and sculptures at a place called Portfolio on Camp Bowie. My friend Margaret did a sculpture demo and I did a painting Demo. I did a painting of bluebonnets and cattle. This one was started from photos and finished in plein air.



Dutch Branch Park

       The last two weeks I have discovered a new place to paint, Dutch Branch Park at Benbrook Lake only a couple of minutes from my house .It is a beautiful place with wildlife, hiking trails, horse trails, and nice views. ( I used to take my Labradors here to practice their retrieving in the lake.) Last Saturday a group of seven of us went out around sunrise and painted there. I started two paintings there and also worked on my painting from Gallery Night. I had to leave early to take some sculptures to David Dike Fine Art to replace several that had recently  sold there. Then I went back to the Meadows Museum to see Sorolla for one last time with some more friends. I ran into several other fellow artists there. I think almost every artist I know who saw it went more than once.
      Today I met my friend Linnea back at Dutch Branch Park to paint again. It was a beautiful day, not nearly as windy as last Saturday. We saw a flock of six wild turkeys and several deer. I worked on my two paintings from last Saturday, started a new one, and finished the one from Gallery Night. I would have liked to have painted longer but my nephews had baseball games today. In the evening I worked on several sculptures and watched a movie on Theo and Vincent Van Gogh.

A Beautiful Winter Day

The farm in Winter
8 x 10
oil on canvas

    Today was a beautiful day and much appreciated after this cold and dreary week. Ten of us headed back to Five Points to paint outdoors. I chose to go back to the old farm and hay field on Anderson Road. I went out a few hours earlier today and the light was a bit different.

Steve Miller painting with an audience at the cotton gin.

   Several of the group went back to the cotton gin to paint the gin, old store, and the sheep. The son of the owner took us to see inside the gin and the old cotton office and scale. A pair of barn owls live in the gin but vacated the building when it was invaded by artists. This site appeared in the movie Places in the Heart.

Barn on the Hill
8 x 10
oil on canvas

   After doing our first paintings five of us went to another farm on a hill on Anderson Road. The house was over 150 years old. I painted one of the barns on the hill.  It was interesting how different all five paintings turned out. We started painting around 10:30 and stayed until after 4:00. It was a beautiful day and all of us had a very good time.
    A day like this, spent out doors with friends,  is always a good day!

Some of our cars parked on Anderson Road

Red Dots, Painting, and More Painting

My Historic Stock Yards paintings, 5 red dots.

I haven't posted in a while but I haven't neglected art. Saturday will be the final day of two shows at the Fort Worth Community Art Center that I participated in. The first show is one I put together for my friends and I called Worth Painting, Plein Air Paintings of Fort Worth.   This is a show of about 15 artists and around 50 paintings. I sold 6 paintings in this show including the five pictured above from the Fort Worth Stock Yards.

Me at the Preservation Show with five of my small paintings, two with red dots.

 The second show is the Preservation is the Art of the City Show which benefits Historic Fort Worth. This is always a great show. I sold two paintings in this show, One of a horned toad and a small bluebonnet painting.

My good friend Kent Brewer with 5 of his paintings.

 Several of my friends were in this show including Kent Brewer who was one of the top sellers, T.K. Riddle who won one of the awards, and other top artists including Beatriz Welch, Carol Ivey, Steve Miller and Dan Spangler. This was a really diverse show although most of our group showed landscapes.

Round Bales, Round Buildings
8 x 10 oil on canvas
$150

 Then last week was the Outdoor Painters Society's paintout in Glen Rose. About 12 of us painted there and enjoyed a great lunch at the Green Pickle, I painted near the old feed store.

Old Bales and New
8 x 10 oil on canvas
$150

 I painted two paintings of the bales of hay and two round tin buildings. Five of us painted in that area. This was a really great day for painting out, there was a real feeling of fall in the air which in Texas is always appreciated after a hot summer.

Waxahachie Morning
8 x 10, oil on panel
$100

 Something new I have started  is painting a thirty minute painting each day. I got this idea from my friend Travis who has been doing it. I have been going through my photo albums to select my subjects.

Wheeler Peak Rains
8 x 10, oil on panel
$100

 I  am painting 8 x 10s. I'm trying to paint them like they are plein airs. I'm using brushes larger than I usually do and obviously working faster.

Arizona Desert
8 x 10, oil on panel
$100

 I have thousands of vacation photos from all over the western United States. Many of them are from the National Parks and a lot of them have wildlife in them. I really feel like I am learning so much from these. I plan on doing these for quite a while. I am finding it really energizing to do one each day; knowing that I have only 30 minutes frees me to work fast and loose.

Rocky Mountain Elk
8 x 10, oil on panel
$100

Kachina still life paintings and one by Qiang Huang

The Crow Mother
12 x 16
oil on canvas

    Last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I was very fortunate to take a workshop in Granbury Texas on still life painting with my friend Qiang Huang. I have known Qiang for several years from several events we were both involved in with Camp Fire USA and from the Insight Gallery where we both show and I have  always admired his talent as a painter and I can honestly say that he is an amazing teacher. Being gifted at painting and able to teach it do not always go hand in hand. but when they do you are in for a treat. Qiang is a very organized and thoughtful painter and teacher.



Grandmother Kachina
12 x 16
oil on canvas

   One of the things that excited me about the class was that we were able to bring our own objects to paint. I gathered some indian corn I'd grown, picked some peppers from my garden and then raided my collection of Hopi kachinas and pueblo pottery. Being able to select what I wanted to paint really created a lot more interest in painting for me. Several of my good friends from the area were in the class also. The first day I went out to lunch but after that I was too busy painting to go out for lunch. Friday night we did all go out to dinner as a group which was very fun.


painting by Qiang Huang
9 x12
oil on canvas

   On the last day of class I traded Qiang one of my small bronzes for his first demo. I have pieces of art from many of my friends and I'm always eager to add more, I just wish I could add more wall space

American Cutting Horse Association's Summer Spectacular, Prix de West, Fort Worth Nature Center, Fort Worth Zoo ,Dallas Heritage Village

Some of my sketches.

    I have not posted in a few weeks. I should have because I have created art in a lot of super places and at some really wonderful events. For the last few  weeks I have been sketching at the American Cutting Horse Association's Summer spectacular at Will Rogers Coliseum. These sketches are just for my own use and reference as I observe how the horses and cattle move.

A cowboy and his cutting horse approaching the herd.

    I have been there almost every day. It is really entertaining watching the horses work the cattle. Once the calf is separated from the herd the rider turns everything over to the horse. A really well trained horse is a pleasure to watch. I have done page after page of gesture drawings. I have met many people in the cutting business and have made plans to go to some of the local ranches to work on a new sculpture I'm starting of a quarter horse.

My button quail chicks a few hours after hatching.

   This morning I had a bit of a late start as my button quail began to hatch. One of the females was sitting on some eggs and unexpectedly died a few days ago. I got the eggs and put them in an incubator. They began to hatch this morning. They are about the size of a quarter.

The End of the Trail statue in the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.

   Yesterday, July 24th, I took my parents up to Oklahoma City to the Prix de West show at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. We had lunch at the museum and enjoyed the art. Then we stopped off at my gallery in Oklahoma City, The John B Strong Gallery, where I dropped off one of my bronze longhorn sculptures. It is a beautiful gallery. I am very proud to have my art in it.

Morning Bison
work in progress
8 x 10
oil on canvas

    On Saturday, July 20th, about ten of us went to the Fort Worth Nature Center to paint the bison. The temperature was fairly pleasant. The bison came right up to the fence to model for us.

My friends lined up to paint the bison.

   We lined up on one side of the fence and the bison lined up on the other. I think they were smarter than us because they were the first ones to decide that enough was enough and head for the shade.

The white buffalo cow and calf.

   Every time I go it is with the hope of painting the white buffalo cow and calf. However, they always seem to be the farthest away of all the bison. I will have to paint her in my studio. After painting we left for lunch at an Italian restaurant just out of the gates.

The new baby elephant calf and its mother.

   On Wednesday, July 17th, my Friend and fellow artist Linnea and I went to the Fort Worth Zoo to see the new baby Asian elephant and to sketch. It was only 10 days old and very cute. We did more looking than drawing, but it was hot anyway.

Cowboy at the cutting horse show.

   On Sunday, July 14th, I went to the cutting horse show with Janice and Linnea and we sketched and took photos at the cutting horse show. This was the first week of what is a three week event. It is a great place for anyone who likes to be around horses, cowboys and cowgirls, and millionaires. Ha ha. Participants come from all over the world including Venezuela, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, France, Canada, and Brazil. Of course, many of the best riders come from right here!


Shotgun House
8 x10
oil on canvas

    On Saturday, July 13th, a group of us went to Dallas to paint at Heritage Village. There were about six of us there this day, Kent, Olivette, Jeff, Mary, Claudia, and myself. I painted a shotgun house. After we painted most of us went to lunch at The Dancing Marlin. Eating out after a morning or afternoon of creating art is always a good way to finish the outing.