Two Weeks of Bluebonnets

Blue Sky and Bluebonnets
oil on canvas

    Last Sunday, Kent Brewer and I went down to Ennis to look for bluebonnets to paint and to scout for a place to paint this weekend. We drove around quite a bit looking for a place. They are really thick along the roads and highways, but finding a place where you can safely pull over and get some distance from them was not so easy.

Kent painting on Liska Rd.

     We finally found a place along Liska Road. I reworked the painting from Glen Rose since the scene had the same elements of cedar trees and bluebonnets. Then started a second painting. I've still got to rework it before posting.

Me painting on Liska Rd

     It was a really pleasant place to paint. After we finished we continued looking for a place for our group to paint out, as nice as this place was there wasn't enough room for a large group. We found a Corp of Engineers Park on Lake Bardwell called Love Park. It had wildflowers, places to park, and clean restrooms. We decided this place would work well. So we headed to our houses. Later during the week I started calling, texting and emailing my friends to come paint there on Saturday.

Part of my gardens.

     The bluebonnets have been really pretty this year as are the flowers in my garden. I always am thinking that I'll have to paint my garden but I never get around to it. So I took more photos and today, Saturday, we all went down to Ennis to paint.

 

The view I chose to paint.

    It was a beautiful day. Sunny and warm with a pleasant breeze. I had a nice drive down, a little over an hour from my home, until I stopped for an iced tea and realized  that I'd left my wallet  with all my money, driver's license, and credit cards at home. Luckily I brought my lunch.

 

Some of my friends painting.

     We had a really good group today of about 20 including my friends Kent Brewer, Candy Clynch, T.K. Riddle, Olivette Hubler, Hai Chi Lee, David Trip, Chris Toplyn, Dan Spangler and his wife, Sheri Jones and her husband, Nancy Bozeman, Trish Wise, Tina Bohlman, and artists from the Trinity Arts Guild, Texas Artists Coalition, and the Ellis County Art Association.

Some more of my friends painting

 There were two large fields of bluebonnets that most of us painted near. Some of our group used watercolors, some used oils, some used pastels, and others used acrylics. Many of the artists finished more than one painting. We were there from around 9:00 to 4:30, so a full day.


David and Chris, two of our watercolorists.

 

 Sheri and her husband B.J. drove their antique truck down for the group to paint. Some really great paintings were created of the  truck surrounded by wildflowers and mesquite trees.



Sheri and her husband brought down his restored old truck for our group to paint.

 After we had had enough painting, many of us  went to dinner in Waxahachie at the Tuscan Slice. It was a super day, spending it outside with friends and then going to dinner together. Special thanks to my friends Kent and T.K.,  who loaned me money for dinner and for gas to make it home.


Kent and Olivette painting.

Art in April

Some of my art at Chandor Gardens

    Spring is here and a very busy time it is for me. Last weekend I participated in the Spring Fling at Chandor Gardens. it is a smallish event but growing and in a beautiful setting. I painted a few paintings while I was there and had a very enjoyable two days.


Little Range Rover
8 x 10
oil on canvas
SOLD

 

 Several of my artist friends participated including Sheri Jones, Jill Randal, Dan Spangler and Olivette Hubler. My friend Tosca bought the armadillo painting above that I recently finished. The garden is always beautiful but it was filled with song on Sunday.( The song of mating toads.) The fountains were full of courting toads.


One of the fountains full of toads in Chandor Gardens.

 I placed an add in the April edition of Western Art Collector and it really paid off this time. I sold one sculpture last week and three this week so my thanks go out to the good people at Western Art collector.


Glen Rose Goats

 Today, Saturday,  a group of us went down to Glen Rose to paint bluebonnets. It was a beautiful morning. We were going to meet at the back entrance of Fossil Rim, the wildlife park. I got down early to look for a place to paint. The area around Glen Rose is a very hilly region and famous for its dinosaur tracks, hence the name Fossil Rim.


A friendly donkey near Glen Rose

The area abounds in wildlife as well as farm animals of all kinds. I saw lots goats, sheep, horses, donkeys, longhorns and other cattle. Everything is green and lush and there were many fields of livestock that would have made beautiful paintings.


Texas Bluebonnets - in the lupine family.

The one thing that was somewhat lacking were the bluebonnets. However a short distance from the back gate I did find a nice patch of bluebonnets. They were not as thick as usual but beggars can't be choosers.


View from the Overlook.

I went back to Fossil Rim and the overlook to wait for our group. In the photo above from the balcony of the Overlook restaurant you can just make  out part of a herd of giraffes. Fossil Rim is most famous for its conservation of endangered animals especially rhinos, but I didn't see any where I was.


Olivette, Maryann and Sheri painting bluebonnets.

 Our group today consisted of Sheri Jones, Olivette Hubler,Maryann Brummer and Candy Clynch. We parked along the Side of the road and painted the bluebonnets I found. It was a beautiful spot and a beautiful day. We all enjoyed it very much. I painted bluebonnets and cedar trees with a trail going through them. I had to meet my family for a movie so I had to leave before I was really finished. I'm posting it now but I'll do a bit more on it still..


Texas Spring
9 x 12
oil on canvas

Looking ahead,  I'll be painting at Prairie Fest at Tandy Hills in East Fort Worth on April 27th. On Saturday May 11th I'll be doing a sculpture demo at Dutch Art in Dallas where Sheri Jones will be doing a painting demo. The next week I'll be painting at one of the homes in my neighborhood, Ridglea Hills, during the Historic Society's Hidden Gardens Tour. The gardens will be large, one to three acres in size. Finally at the end of the month I'll be painting in paintout in Waxahachie.

The Texas Masters Show

Me working on my demo at The Texas Masters Show at the Insight Gallery
 

     This weekend was one of the ones  I most  look forward to every year. It was the start of the Texas Masters Show at the Insight Gallery in Fredericksburg. This year I did a sculpture demo during the opening reception.  It was really great meeting some of my collectors. I was truly impressed by them.
   
      Another thing that I thoroughly enjoyed was visiting with the other artists. Because I was doing my demo I didn't get to talk with all of the great artists there, but  some of my favorite artists that  I visited with were Gladys Roldan-de-Moras, Jill Carver, D. Larue Mahlke, Bob Guelich, Mary Buchholz, George Halmark, and Chuck Rawle.


       The next morning after the show I drove around to enjoy the scenery and wildlife of the Hill Country and then went back to the Insight Gallery to watch painting demos by Cheri Christensen and Mark Haworth. It was a very interesting demo and a nice way to wrap up the weekend at Fredericksburg. This turned out to be a profitable and enjoyable weekend.

Two of my bronzes in the show.

 

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Three of my bronzes in the show.

Two more of my bronzes in the show.

A Merry Christmas and a Grand Art Show

My Labrador Scout and me in my den.

 Christmas 2012 has come and it has been a terrific one. Christmas Eve we had dinner at my sisters and it was delicious, complete with Christmas crackers, and paper crowns. Then we drove around to look at Christmas  lights. At 11:00 I went to midnight mass at All Saints. Then back to my sister's house to spend the night. My nephews woke me up around 6:00 in the morning to see the presents.

My Mom and Dad's house on Christmas Day. 

After having breakfast I went home for a while. It was raining and then the rain turned to sleet and very quickly to big flakes of snow.  This was our second white Christmas in three years, and only our third in almost 70 years.

My sister and some  of my nephews in my parent's backyard on Christmas Day.

I went out to help my Mom and Dad get ready for Christmas dinner. That evening my sister, brother inlaw, my four nephews , and my brother inlaw's dad came for dinner. The boys brought their sleds and headed for the hill in the backyard. It was bitter cold but the sledding was good and even I made a few  runs. We had another great dinner and then we all headed home before the roads were too icy.

My house on Christmas Night.

 That night I had a fire in the fireplace lit my tree and slept on the sofa. It was a pleasant way to top off the day.

Me in the large gallery space at the downtown library where my friends and I have a show.

 Today was a very enjoyable day. On the 21st a large group of my friends, about 30 of us, hung a show in the Fort Worth Central Library. The show is called Texas and the West. It is very diverse, oils, acrylics, watercolors, photography and for the reception even a few of my bronzes.

My five paintings in the show.

 I really can't say enough good things about the quality of the work in the show. I would love to have any of the pieces in my home. Today was our reception. We had lots of delicious food that the artists all brought and we had piano music thanks to my friend Emilia Hernandez. Many of my friends from work, church, other art groups and some of my relatives came. I wish all the artists in the show great success.

The banner for our show with some of my paintings on it and one by my friend Sheri Jones.

My Paintings for the Preservation is the Art of the City Show

 My paintings are finally ready for Historic Fort Worth's Preservation is the Art Of the City Show.  I had a bit of trouble with my photography, meaning I think they look better in person than here on the computer. I will have one painting in the Stories from the City category, that is the painting above. Heading for the Shade- Fort Worth Nature Center. I have really enjoyed the nature center this summer. I hope my painting at the show will introduce and encourage new people to visit and become interested in the nature center. I think it is a real hidden gem in fort Worth.

 I have three other  large paintings all based on my photography and sketches from trips to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. I have been there several times  and love it but I am so pleased that we have our own bison herd right here in Fort Worth at the nature center.

 I have five smaller paintings in the show most of which are plein air. Four of them are 8 x 10s and one is a 6 x 8. The first is a painting of Belted Galloways from Fredericksburg, down in the Texas Hill Country. Two others are fall paintings from Aledo and Granbury, two towns near here.The fourth is from our Botanical Gardens right  here in Fort Worth. The last painting is the 6 x 8. It is a painting of a sunset in New Mexico, just outside Santa Fe. I guess what my paintings have in common is that they are all  landscapes from some of my favorite places in Texas and the Western United States

Botanical Gardens Painting and the Breckenridge Show

The Girl in the Garden
oil on canvas
11 x 14

 Again it has been a great week of art activities so far. Yesterday morning ten of us went to go paint in the Fort worth Botanical Gardens. It was a super morning, there was a great breeze and we had shade. It could not have been nicer.(For some reason my painting photographed lighter than it is.)

Linda Reedy and Tom Kelley painting in the garden.

The artists who came today were Sheri Jones, Olivet Hubbler, T. K. Riddle, Linda Reedy, Dr. Tom Kelley,Margie Whittington, Connie Michaels, Dan Spangler, and Beatriz Welch.  It was really neat seeing all the work created. Some people painted in oils, one in acrylic, one in water color, one sketched and one took photos.

Dan Spangler, Margie Whittington and Sheri Jones in the garden.

At about 10:30 some of us went over to another artist's (but not a plein air painter) house for lunch. Maryann White had created an incredible lunch for us including sandwiches, guacamole and other dips, chips, brownies, watermelon, and iced tea. It is always a treat seeing her house. You can really tell it is the home of an artist.

Mother and Child
bronze on granite
edition of 25
$2700

Today I had to drive across a few counties to the west, to the town of Breckenridge to drop off one of my sculptures for an art show at their art center. It was a nice drive west. First I passed through Weatherford, the county seat of Parker County. It has a beautiful courthouse with a clock tower. I took a photo but it didn't turn out. I'm not sure how that happens with a digital camera.

The Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells

I continued west to Mineral Wells. One of my favorite sights there is the Old Baker Hotel. This was quite a grand hotel long ago when movie stars and the rich came to enjoy the mineral waters. Many well known people stayed there including the Three Stooges. The hotel has been closed for a long time and is in bad repair. I hope some time it will reopen in some form or other.

One of the old houses in Mineral Wells

Like many of our older Texas towns and cities there are some grand  houses, so it is always worth while to drive around a bit if that sort of thing interests you. There are also some old businesses too like the Crazy Water bottling company.
 I had lunch at the Black Horse Bakery and Deli. I have to really brag on the desserts. I had the French Coconut Pie. It was so good, I bought a slice to bring to my Mom and Dad when I came back to Fort Worth.

Crazy Water Bottling Company

 Past Mineral wells the land changes and becomes rougher with larger hills and Mesas. It is one of the nicer parts of our state I think. There are lots of farms and ranches, but not the really big fancy ones like you see in the hill country west of Austin. You don't see as many cattle, sheep, and goats or exotics as you do down there either.

An old barn I thought would make a nice painting

 The land is big and open. Sometimes it is flat but other times the road goes up and down or is cut through rocky hills.. I was surprised how green it was for this time of year. This area reminds me of some parts of New Mexico. There are lots of cedar trees, prickly pear cacti and yuccas.

Highway 180  Winding Through the Hills

Mesas Along the Highway.

As I continued west I came to the town of Palo Pinto. This is the county seat for Palo Pinto County. It is  a fairly small town. Many of these towns once had beautiful old courthouses with clock towers built in the late 1800s. But, a lot of them tore down these in favor of larger more modern looking court houses. Palo Pinto used some of the stones of their old courthouse in the new one. (Not that it is really new, I think it was a WPA project during the Great Depression.)

The Palo Pinto Court House

 From there I continued west to  Breckenridge the county seat of Stephens County. The town itself like most west Texas towns has a certain feel to it. The people I met at the art center and in the post office where I dropped off a letter, could not have been any nicer. From them, I was left with a very favorable impression of the town.  Sadly like a lot of these older places, many of the local businesses appeared to be closed in Breckenridge.

Breckenridge, Businesses and an Old Oil Well

 The court house is a nice looking building that was built when oil was discovered in the area.Oil was very important to this region and  in fact it looks like there was an old oil well right across the street from the court house.

The Stephens County Court House

The court house at Breckenridge

 One of the neat things they did here was leave a bit of the old courthouse. The new one looks nice but I think I would have liked the old one better. Many of the county seats  around Fort Worth  including Weatherford, Waxahachie, Granbury, Glen Rose, and Hillsboro still have their old court houses and they are very beautiful. Our own Tarrant County court house in Fort Worth is really special. I have shown photos of it and the Waxahachie and Glen Rose court houses on some of my other blogs.

Remains of the Old Stephens County Court House on the Grounds of the New One.