Bison Painting

Yellowstone Bison #2
11 x 14
oil on canvas
$600

  Here is another bison painting I just finished today. It may be a bit shiny in a few wet areas but I am pretty pleased with it. Bison are one of my favorite animals and I have so many photographs of them from all over but especially in Yellowstone National Park. This painting is of a bison cow and bull in the park. I always used to picture them on flat treeless plains but in Yellowstone they are everywhere, and often in lightly forested areas.  As a kid I remember seeing the paintings and sculptures of Charles Russell and thinking how neat buffalos were. As an adult,  they are some of my favorite animals to  paint and sculpt.

Five for the Small Works Show at the FWCAC

Garden House
8 x 10
oil on panel

Last Tuesday I wasn't feeling very well. I found out I have walking pneumonia. I'm slowly (very slowly)  starting to feel better. One of the worse things though is that I haven't felt like creating any art at all. I don't have a lot of good things to say about daytime television either!

Camping at Lake Granbury
8 x 10
oil on panel

 However, even though I have been missing out on this great fall weather and color, I haven't been totally idle. I did get these five 8 x 10s in the Small Works Show at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center. This is a fun show featuring all kinds of art, 9 x 12 or smaller and unframed. It is a great place to add to your art collection or buy Christmas presents.

Bad Hair Day
8 x 10
oil on panel

The stipulation of this show is that the work not be framed and must fit in a 9 x 12 mailing envelope.So the paintings I selected had to be on flat panels. Many of my friends put paintings in this show as well. Over the years I've purchased several paintings there myself. I'm looking forward to seeing the show once it is hung and maybe adding to my art collection.

The Road Home
8 x 10
oil on panel

Two For My Tea
8 x 10
oil on panel

Texas Hill Country

When Blue Skies Turn Gray
oil on canvas
8 x 10
$150

   I went down to the Texas Hill Country this weekend to take a sculpture down to the Insight Gallery for their Christmas show and to attend the opening of the two man show of Scott Christianson and Quang Ho. There is so much to see in this region and in addition to the activities in the gallery I intended to do a couple of paintings or studies but it began to rain almost as soon as I started and the rain was very persistent. But considering that we need it so badly I'm not going to complain at all. The one I started was of a field with some Angus cattle in it under cloudy skies. I worked on it until the rain became too much for me.

A small herd of bison.

One of the things I love about this area  is all of the wildlife. There are thousands of deer in the area as well as bison, longhorns, sheep, goats and exotic animals like zebra, black buck antelopes, camels, and other animals from around the world. These of course provide so much inspiration for wildlife and animal artists.


I found a bit of fall color but not much. Like the rest of the state most of the plants that were green and are not any more have changed color because they are dieing from the drought not because of cooler temperatures.

Fredericksburg house.

Another Fredericksburg House

Fredericksburg is such a great little town. It was founded long ago by German settlers. One of the interesting features of it is the architecture of the houses. Some of them are Sunday houses. These were small houses built by the farmers of the area  for their families to use on the weekends when they came into town for church. These are mostly built of stone and native timber and they were built to last.

An old barn at the Sauer Beckerman Living History Farm

Sheep on the farm

An old wagon at the farm.

So much of our state's history has been lovingly preserved in this area, much to the appreciation of artists from across Texas. There are old farm houses, barns, farm animals, wind mills, wagons, and views of great natural beauty everywhere one looks. As usual I came back with lots of reference photos. I have a lot to tell about events at the gallery but I will save that for another post.

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.

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.

Bad Hair Day

Bad Hair Day
8 x 10
oil on linen on board

Here's another of my bison paintings.These were up in Yellowstone National Park. The spring and early summer is such a beautiful time of year to visit Montana and Wyoming, but the animals are pretty rough looking until they finish losing their winter coats. I've got photos of some of the scruffiest looking bison, elk, mountain goats, and bighorn sheep from my trips up north.

Hanging Out With Dad

Hanging Out With Dad
8 x 10
Oil on Linen on Board

    Whenever I go up to Yellowstone one of my favorite activities is watching the bison. This scene is a peaceful one, but a short time later there was more action. A small herd of cows, calves, and an old bull were resting near the road. A second bull approached the herd. The old bull got up and went out to face him. The new bull turned tail and began circleing the herd, trying to join. Whenever  he got too close the old bull would start out to face him and the younger bull would trot off. He finally gave up and the old bull went back to graze among his herd.
Bison are such fun to depict. I've got several other paintings  from our paintout  in the stock yards that I need to finish. But I felt like painting bison, so I dug out my photos and thats just what I did.

A Busy March

Colonel Goodnight's Bison, Old Sikes
Bronze on Granite
8.5 x 6 x 7.5
Edition of 50

   March is going to be a very busy month. I have three shows, beginning March 2nd, I will be participating in the Texas Stampede at the Insight Gallery in Fredericksburg. I am really looking forward to this show as it will be my first year to participate in this event.  Many great artists from across the state will be in this show.  Next I will be participating in Art Reach at Christ Chapel for the fourth time on March 13th. This is a really nice local show. Finally, near the end of the month, starting on March 24th, I will be in a two man show with my very good friend and truly great artist Sheri Jones at the Meadows Gallery at the Southwestern Adventist University. I'm really looking forward to seeing Sheri's paintings. I especially admire the texture and beautiful colors in her work. You can check out her work at sheriart.blogspot.com.
   The sculpture above is one of the pieces from that show. This sculpture is inspired by Col. Charles Goodnight who in addition to being instrumental in the cattle industry was important in preserving the American bison from extinction. This sculpture represents Old Sikes,a sire of Colonel Goodnight's bison herd.

Yellowstone Bison

Yellowstone Bison
11 x 14
Oil on Canvas

Here is another painting that I put the finishing touches on today. Yellowstone National Park is one of my favorite places. I've been there many times. During the summer it is a great place to go to get away fom the heat. In fact, one July I woke up to find a coating of snow on my tent. My favorite thing about the park is the wildlife. My favorite animals are bison and bears. I've taken rolls of film, as well as many digital images, and have albums and boxes full of their photos. I've done a lot of sketching at the various lodges and campgrounds as well as along the roads and trails. I completed. this painting from my photographs. I have more reference material for bison than any other subject.