The Right Spot

The Right Spot
Bronze on granite
Edition of 50
16 x 7 x 12

I have been away from my blog but not from my art. Since my last posts almost a year ago I've had many shows and created lots of paintings and several new sculptures. The next major show I will have work in will be the Summer Stampede at the National Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech. I participated in the show last year also.

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.

Texas Masters show Demo, Painting at the Fort Worth Nature Center, and Jill Carver's Workshop

      First my big news, Friday, March 1st, I will be doing a sculpture demo  at the Texas Masters Show at the Insight Gallery from 6:00 to 8:00. They always have a really top notch opening to the show with Texas foods and drinks and some of the best artists from the state will be there. I was so thrilled when they asked me to do the demo. Other artists who have done demos recently there are Scott Christianson, Quang Ho, and Jill Carver.



View from the boardwalk at the Fort Worth Nature Center

   Today I went with six of my hardiest friends to paint at the Fort Worth Nature Center. I say that because the temperature was about 40 when we started. If it had been warmer we would have had about 15 artists instead of just seven of us.


Me Painting on the end of the boardwalk at the Fort Worth Nature Center.
 

    When we got there we decided to go and paint out on the boardwalk. This was probably the worst place for us to set up as it was really cold being there above the water, exposed to the wind and in the shade. However we liked the color of the grasses and the water. There was also an abundance of ducks and other waterfowl in the area..



Steve Miller, Dan Spangler, Olivette Hubler, and Linnea McKinney painting at the end of the boardwalk.

   Despite the cold it was a great place to paint. After we got to a stopping point some of us left and the rest of us went to lunch and then back to paint. By this time it really had warmed up to a very nice temperature. We were glad that we had returned. The nature center is such an amazing place. Several of us said that we felt like we were  on a vacation just being there surrounded by the beautiful scenery.

The second  study  I worked on today.

We went to a different location to paint in the afternoon. I chose to paint a study of some cedar and prickly pear cacti, a very Texas scene. I took a workshop last week at Acton Texas with Jill Carver. We worked on values mostly but also on painting looser. I was pleased with the looseness on this one but am still working on the values.

The paint was wet and shiny, so my study looks lighter here than it really is.

    The Jill Carver workshop was really super. She is an extraordinary teacher.  The workshop was at Campfire USA's El Tesoro campground in Acton, Texas. It was three days, Tuesday through Thursday. I love Jill's work and without doubt this was three of my most productive days with regard to education.

Jill brought several paintings showing her work . I bought this one she painted at Port Aransas, one of my favorite places.

      The subject of the workshop was composition (using Notan - creating a black and white  painting to simplify and check the composition before beginning the actual painting) and value by limiting the painting to three or four values. This was a very different way of approaching painting and all of us felt like beginners. .


Some of our group at Maryann's in Acton.

      This was a very intensive class. I think all of us were exhausted at the end of each day, but still we had time for fun. There were 15 of us in the class and I knew, and had painted with all but one of them. The first evening after class we met at my friend Maryann's property for a bonfire and cookout.We had  hot dogs and wine and a lot of other great things.



A view at camp El Tesoro

The last day of class was one of the best, the weather was incredibly nice. Warm, sunny and no wind. We painted along the stream bed with the limestone cliffs, winter grasses, and cedar trees. Then Jill bought us pizza for lunch and she did one last demo that afternoon.  I would recommend her as a teacher to anyone. She talks about everything from the creative process to safety issues regarding artist's materials. I will absolutely take another class from her when I  have the opportunity again.


Jill doing a demo at camp El Tesoro

Texas Speed Bump- my new armadillo sculpture

Texas Speed Bump
edition of 30
$675
bronze on granite

It has been a really busy and productive fall. So my posts have been few and far between. I've had several shows and have several more coming up.
Starting this Friday there will be a group of 30 of us in a show at the Fort Worth Central Library called Texas and the West. More about it later.
This newest sculpture is one of my favorites. I call it Texas Speed Bump. It is an armadillo. I tried to capture the essence of the animal with a bit of  personality too. They don't see well and if you are quiet will walk right up on you. Then if they hear you they will take off running. They are very primitive looking and my mom could tell you, they can really mess up a lawn and flower beds with their digging.

Texas Masters Show

Mother and Child
bronze on granite

I  have two shows coming up this weekend.  The Texas Master's Show at the Insight Gallery in Fredericksburg and

Art  Reach at  Christ  Chapel. I will have my newest sculpture, Mother and Child in both shows as well as my sculpture of a crucifix in Art Reach. These will both be really enjoyable shows. I am looking forward to  seeing  many  of  my  good  friends  and  fellow  artists  at  both  shows.