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

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

Fort Worth Nature Center Painting, Chandor Gardens

Heading for Shade -  Fort Worth Nature Center
Work in Progress
24 x 20
oil on canvas

 This is a painting that I began last week at the Fort Worth Nature Center. I am working on it for the Preservation is the Art of the City Show in the fall. I went out to the nature center last week and found most of the bison as well as lots of deer taking advantage of the shade to escape the Texas heat. I hope to finish this in the next few days.

A neat view in Chandor gardens.

I went back to the Chandor Gardens in Weatherford to paint again today. I was joined by T. K. Riddle again and Dan Spangler. My painting from today is far from finished and until I finish the bison painting I won't be able to finish it, so I'm not posting it yet. Instead, I'd like to post some more images from  the gardens.

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An Asian portal in the gardens.

It was an absolute blessing being out painting in the gardens today. The temperature was delightful. This was the sort of day that we can't really expect to see until late September. It was not a bit hot. It was a cloudy day, and it even sprinkled a bit on us as we had lunch. Speaking of lunch, it was great.  T. K. picked it up for us from the same place as last time.

A quiet pathway .

The gazebo.

One of the beautiful fountains in the gardens.

A peaceful spot.

A very photogenic  cadmium red dragonfly.

A small waterfall in the garden.

A blue dragonfly  near one of the streams.

A cicada shell on an agave leaf.