Pronghorn and Prickly Pear

Pronghorn and Prickly Pear
Bronze on Granite
Edition of 33
$1600
10 x 5.5 x 9

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bluebonnet Time

Spring in North Texas
oil on canvas
8 x 10

 As a painter this is one of my favorite times of the year. Many of our wildflowers, including the bluebonnets are at their peak. Plus, the temperature is very nice to be out painting and the mosquitos and chiggers don't seem to be out yet. Like all great times in life, you are aware that it won't last, so the only thing to do is appreciate it while we can. So today after work my friend Sheri Jones and I met to paint near Benbrook. ( Sheri is a real trooper, she is up painting an hour before most people are awake in the morning and today after working all day she was out painting in clothes that looked like she was headed for church; and not a speck of paint on her.) Besides bluebonnets there are so many other wildflowers in bloom. There are also prickly pear, yucca, and mesquite and oak trees with fresh foliage. There is so much to appreciate and enjoy. Hopefully we will have more great days like this before the heat sets in,

Wildflowers and Cacti

Happy Easter!

Texas Blues
8 x 10
oil on canvas
SOLD

     Today was Easter and a very beautiful day. I woke up early and went out to Dutch Branch Park to paint the bluebonnets. I didn't see any turkeys this morning but I did see lots of deer, ducks, buzzards, and song birds. The bluebonnets are Getting prettier every day and the other flowers are coming along too. I finished this painting and worked on two others. I didn't paint long but I enjoyed it.



Bluebonnets (and light bluebonnets)

      I worked in my yard and then went over to my sister's for Easter lunch with our family. We had a very good dinner, played some games and watched some sports. Then I came back home and did a bit more in my garden before the rains started.

Getting caught up

Frog Princess
bronze

     One of my new sculptures from this winter is a horned toad with a tiara that I call Frog Princess. My horned toads continue to be some of my most popular sculptures as well as among my best selling pieces.





The Shed on the Hill
8 x 10
oil on canvas

    This winter was a mixed time of very cold days with snow and ice as well as some weekends of very nice painting weather. We continued to paint in the Five Points  area near Waxahachie as well as other areas close to there. I revisited some of the same locations and painted them again as well as venturing Into some newer areas like Maypearl.




Memories of Fort Worth
acrylic on guitar

   Some of my friends and I, who helped out the North Texas Alzheimer's Association last year by painting stars for them to auction off last year helped out this year by painting guitars. I was not horribly enthused about painting on a guitar and I struggled with what to paint. In the end I decided to paint a sort of collage of scenes and symbols of Fort Worth. Once I started however I really enjoyed this project. I hope it will raise a lot of money for a very worthy cause.



closeup

     Another event that I was involved in was called All Out Trinity. I was on a committee that helped to organize a days worth of outdoor activities along the Trinity River in Dallas. My part was to bring some local artists out to paint in plein air near the new Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge



Poster for All Out Trinity

     This was  not so easy to do as several other events were going on at the same time and the weather started out very unpromising. In fact, most of the time that I was there it was  so foggy that I could hardly see the bridge let alone the Dallas skyline, but I actually wound up enjoying the effect of the fog and the way it softened everything.


Foggy Morning in Dallas
8 x 10
oil on canvas

Two Projects Finished

Fort Worth Nature Center
oil on steel star
Donation for the North Texas Alzheimer's Association

      Here are two pieces of art I've been working on recently. The first is a painting that I've been working on for a while. It is a steel star that I painted for the North Texas Alzheimer's Association. I, along with several of my friends, decorated these stars and they will be auctioned off at a fund raiser at Ridglea Country Club early in the spring for the group. My painting is inspired by the landscape and animals of the Fort Worth Nature Center. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the others come up with.

Marine Creek Schoolhouse
20 x 24
oil on canvas

     The second is a painting of the Marine Creek schoolhouse, Fort Worth's first school. This school was originally in Fort Worth's Northside and now sits in Log Cabin Village.It was built as a school for the 20 or so school age children in Fort Worth at that time.
      Today Fort Worth has beautiful trees everywhere but in the oldest photos of the city there are very few trees. I imagine most of the first trees were cut down to build the early structures in the city and also as fuel for heating and cooking. I wanted to capture that empty feel but decided to add a few bare trees for the purpose of the composition.
       

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.

Paint the Cowtown Art Show

Invitation to our show.

       This Thursday is the reception for the Paint the Cowtown Art Show at the Fort Worth Central Library in beautiful downtown Fort Worth on 500 West Third Street. This show features the plein air paintings from 12 North Texas artists - Robbie Clemmer,Tosca Engisch, Sabine Higgins, Olivette Hubler, Sheri Jones, Steve Miller, Linda Popple, T.K. Riddle, Dan Spangler, Sara Ward, Beatriz Welch, and myself. Our reception is from 6:00 to 8:00. I hope you will be able to join us.
Doug

Dedication of the Phyllis Tilley Memorial Bridge

Phyllis Tilley Memorial Bridge
8 x 10
oil on canvas
SOLD
 

This morning I, along with four other artists, went down to Trinity Park for the dedication of the Phyllis Tilley Memorial Bridge.   This is the first bridge for pedestrians and bicyclists to  have to cross the river. The other artists present were Carol Ivey, Cecilia Robertson, Blair Currin, and Linda Reedy. Almost as soon as I arrived it began to rain. So we found places to paint out of the weather and then enjoyed the cool temps and soft light.

The view of the bridge I chose to paint.



My painting on the easel with the view in the background.

Me painting my first painting of the day.

Me sitting under a tent painting.
 

The rain softened the light and colors and made it really a fun view to paint. Deborah Ferguson from channel 5 news  was the master of ceremonies of the event. Fort Worth's  mayor, Betsy Price, The engineers, architects, and many of the council men were present. They gathered on the far side of the Trinity River to begin the dedication ceremony.

Linda  Reedy in the red hat and Cecilia Robertson in the light colored hat.



The mayor's party  crossing the bridge to the sound of  "When The Saints Go Marching In".



Mayor Betsy Price making a speech.

Then while we  continued to paint, the crowd on our side gathered at the end of the bridge to greet the mayor's party as they crossed the bridge for the ribbon cutting. When they reached the end the crowd released blue and green balloons into the air. Then the mayor and other members of the delegation spoke, including the family of Phyllis Tilley, the Woman the Bridge was named for. Phyllis had been a real promoter of the land along the Trinity River. After the speeches we turned in our paintings. Linda and I both sold ours. Mine was purchased by Phyllis's daughter.

My second painting of the day after the light changed.
Opening Day of the Phyllis Tilley Bridge
8 x 10
oil on canvas
$250

My friends left after that, but I stayed and painted a second painting in the sunlight. There were air boat rides, craft booths, and catered lunches to be eaten under the tents while a variety of musical groups performed. I finished my second painting as the event ended. Streams and Valleys the group that sponsored the event will be selling the unsold paintings on their website. I think my second painting was sold also, but I am not positive.

A group from the Fort Worth rowing club.

Two air boats that were giving rides on the Trinity River

Some Of My Dads Paintings and Other Stuff

Scout, Marksman , and I - painted by my dad - Charles Clark III

 My Dad is a self  trained artist. He is really a landscape painter, but I am showing some of his portrait paintings today.He never painted more than a handful of these, and decades apart. One is from about eight years ago. It is a portrait he did of me with my two labs, Scout and Marksman. My Dad painted lots of paintings as I grew up and when he retired, he planned on painting a lot more, playing golf and traveling with my mom. Then his Parkinson's quickly got worse and sadly those things have not been able to happen as much as we hoped. This portrait is one of his last paintings and thus one of my greatest treasures.

These are the three photos my dad used for the painting. Me (at least 15 years ago), the great  Marksman (who passed a few years ago and will always be greatly missed), and  Scout who has come into her own as a great dog.

My grandfather, Charles Clark II, painted by my dad in the 1960s

My grandmother, Grace Clark, painted by my dad in the 1960s.

These two paintings are the oldest paintings I have from my dad. They are some of his earliest paintings. They are portraits of my grandparents. They were in my closet because one of them had a rip in it. I decided to repair it and find a place to hang them up. I will post some of  his landscapes later to show what he was really capable of.



Work in Progress
oil based clay

 I shared these portraits because portrait and figurative art has been very important in our art circles here in Fort Worth this past week. On Thursday a group us went to the Kimbell Museum for lunch and then 14 of us went on a docent led tour of the Lucien Freud exhibit across the street at the Modern Art Museum. This show will only be shown  here in Fort Worth and in London. I can not say that I am a huge Lucien Freud fan but I truly enjoyed the tour and seeing the art. The last painting is unfinished, it is the painting he was working on when he died.
 The evening after our tour a group of us met at the community art center to sculpt, paint, and draw from a model. I am working on the figure above. We had a good group and the session went well.

Our group painting a model in the Fort Worth botanical gardens

 Then Friday morning at 7:30 (to avoid the oppressive heat) some of our group met in the botanical gardens to paint a model. We had a good group Linnea, Tosca, Olivett, Dan, Leslie, some new artists to our group, Jeff Ott, and Julie Wende, and visiting from Santa Fe Cecelia Robertson. I was not thrilled with my painting but I enjoyed the experience.

Our model, a high school dance student.

After painting we decided to go back to the Kimbell Museum for lunch, but had some time to kill so we went over to the Japanese Gardens to walk around.

The Entrance to the Japanese Gardens

 The Japanese Gardens are one of the most beautiful parts of the gardens, but you cant paint in them, so I haven't shown many photos from it. But  it is very deserving.

A Little Green Heron Fishing in the Gardens.

 The Japanese Gardens are a great place to look for wild life. While we were there we saw a little green heron, a great blue heron, wild ducks, turtles and of course the koi.

The Koi

A Pair of Mallard  Ducks

A Peaceful Garden View

An Interesting Structure in the Gardens

 After walking through the gardens and being inspired to come back and sketch, we headed over to the Kimbell Museum for lunch. This was my third time that week it was great as always. That concludes the week. More adventures tomorrow.

Cool Morning in Chandor Gardens

Foo Dog
oil on canvas
 8 x 10
$100



   Yesterday several of my friends and I went back to Weatherford to paint in the Chandor Gardens. The artists who came to paint were Olivette Hubler, T. K. Riddle, Tosca Engish, and Sars Ward. The Gardens do not open until 9:00 so we were not able to get an early start to the day.
 


The front door of Douglas Chandor's house.

The temperature reached over 100 but in the lush gardens we were never hot. The trees and water really make a tremendous difference. I decided to finish a painting I had already started of one of two foo dogs guarding the path to a beautiful fountain. I had shade and a breeze.

Path to the fountain.

 T. K. went and picked up lunch for us, most of us had chicken salad sandwiches and iced teas. We ate at a table on one of the patios and again we had shade and a wonderful cool breeze. Eventually after eating we went back to painting.


One of the most beautiful fountains in the gardens.

 The gardens were busier than usual with many families having their photos taken. This is such a beautiful and amazing place. It is no wonder it is so popular for weddings and other events.

One of the many interesting spots in the garden.

 I finished my painting and got ready to leave. It was almost one o'clock and I had not been hot at all. Then I went to the parking lot to put my stuff in the car. It was HOT there.



Parker County Court House in Weatherford

 I took a photo of the Parker county court house. It is a really beautiful building. Most mornings I pass by there are prisoners in orange and white stripes tending the grounds. I've never seen a guard, someone must be inside in the air conditioning watching them.


Some of my peppers

 When I came home I looked at my poor gardens for inspiration. I water everyday. My plants are alive but most of them don't look great. My citrus are doing really well, I'm still getting lots of okra, some peppers and a few tomatoes. But, many of the other plants are struggling. We could really use some rain. Even a small rain greens things up a great deal more than watering with sprinklers

Mini oranges

Some of my cacti and succulents.