New longhorn sculpture

Mother and Child
12 x 9.5 x 8
bronze on granite
$2700

This is my newest sculpture, a longhorn cow with a calf. I haven't settled on my title yet.  I just got it back from the foundry this week. This is my first sculpture with multiple figures on one  base.  I  worked on it from life at the Fort Worth Stockyards and from photos I took of the longhorns at the Fort Worth Stock Show. I spent over two years working on it before deciding that I was pleased  with it and ready to cast. I work on a piece, set it aside, and then come back to it over and over to try and keep looking at it with fresh eyes. I make lots of changes as I work. One of the things I've found is that once I change one thing I wind up having to change many other things so that the sculpture continues to work as an entire piece. I'm always so excited to see each piece as it is completed and equally eager to show them to family and friends to get their opinions.

Pumpkin, Pear, and Apples

Autumn Harvest
8 x 10
oil on canvas
NFS

    I love the fall. To me there is something so special about the change of the seasons. Our mornings are cooler, in the 50s, although the days still warm up to the 80s and 90s. The leaves are just starting to change color and I've heard the geese flying south a few times already. Fall is also the end of baseball season and we are very hopeful that our Texas Rangers will play in the World Series this year. It's also the start of football season for TCU and of course the Dallas Cowboys as well as my nephews games. Fall is the begining of hunting season. I didn't go out this year but I enjoy working with my  dog and hearing about my friends trips out.

pumpkins on my porch

 Fall is also when the weather becomes more bearable for painting out. I love to paint the colors of fall, the foliage  and of course the pumpkins. I 've bought several for my porch in different shapes and colors. So if I have the time I'll have to paint some of them. Of course with work, sculpture, and everything else time is something I don't have a lot of.

my front porch

Another thing I like about fall is Halloween. A number of the houses on my street put up orange lights and have pumpkins or other decorations on their lawns or porches. I enjoy the lights as our days grow shorter and shorter.

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.