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

Back to Five Points to Paint

The Pink Barn
8 x 10
oil on canvas
 

       Yesterday the temperatures were fairly pleasant. The winds however were only somewhat less than a small hurricane. If one drove down farm road 876 near Waxahachie he or she would have seen several vehicles parked along the edge of the road, and if one approached from the opposite direction he or she would have seen that at the side of each vehicle, crouched out of the wind, an artist was painting. The barn we painted was not one of my favorites, being small, narrow, and painted pink with tin structures on each side of it. However the greatest thing in its favor was there was room on the sides of the road near it to angle park our cars..



A barn. not the one I painted, in the area,

     Before deciding on this site my friend Kent Brewer and I drove around the area in search of things to paint. We found a lot of things that on other days will be great, but were not right for this day. We drove around until we both were almost out of gas, We were joined to paint by Olivette Hubbler and Nancy Bozeman. (Olivette came out despite having a cold.) Our friend Tina came by and visited and scouted around a bit herself but didn't paint. I took another way home and saw horses, donkeys, cattle, sheep, and even a herd of elk (behind a game fence.)
    



Some of the local cattle.

A Merry Christmas and a Fitting End of 2013 and Start of 2014




My dog Scout and I

    This has been a very good year. My family has been blessed with health and happiness. The end of the year came and went very quickly. We had an ice storm that kept our roads frozen for days. The roads were so bad that I had to miss the opening of the Christmas small works show at the Insight Gallery. I wasn't able to get my car out of my driveway for four days, but I did get some nice photos of the Christmas lights with all the snow and ice. on the lawns and trees. Christmas was wonderful. Christmas Eve we were at my sisters and Christmas Day at my parents. We had delicious meals and played games and enjoyed each others company.


Round Bales in Winter
8 x 10
oil on canvas

     After Christmas the weather has been somewhat erratic with warm and cold days but my friends and I have made good use of our time. Last Friday, Dec.27th a group of six of us went down near Waxahachie at a place near an area called 5 Points. It was a beautiful day. There were so many interesting things to paint including an old cotton gin, farmhouses, out buildings, and barns with rusted tin roofs, round bales of hay, cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and chickens. On this day I began a couple of paintings and finished the one above.


Texas Farm and Field
8 x 10
oil on canvas

 On the next day Saturday even more of us, around 10 or so, converged on this small community. The locals were intrigued to find artists painting their farms and livestock. They were all very welcoming and hospitable. We received invitations to paint on peoples ranches and even had an offer to cook hamburgers for us. I painted a hay field with the farmhouse in the background. The following Sunday was going to be cold and windy , so no painting, but a group of us used this day to go to Dallas to see the Sorolla exhibit at the Meadows Museum. This is an incredible exhibit. I can not say enough good things about it.


Winter Sun
8 x 10
oil on canvas

    On Monday it was a little cool again, no painting. I had lunch with my parents, two of my nephews, and some cousins. Then in the evening we went to my sisters to watch the Alamo Bowl.
    Tuesday it was still somewhat cool, but it was New Years Eve and I wanted to get one last painting in during 2013, so I went to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. The scene I painted is one that I have painted before .  I like it because when almost all the leaves are gone, this tree still has glowing orange leaves.


Winter Greens
8 x 10
oil on canvas 

    Today on January 1st, 2014, I wanted to get the year off to a good start. I went back to the 5 Points area with my friend Kent Brewer. We were joined by our friends Tina, and Mary. We were painting an old barn beside the road when the owner showed up. She unlocked the gate and invited us to park and paint on the property. She was on the way to another ranch and just told us we could close the gate and put the lock on when we left. The hospitality of the people of rural Texas is so amazing. It was a very nice day for being outdoors and painting.

Thanks to the Chapman Family

Blue Sky and Bluebonnets
11 x 14
oil on canvas
$250

 

 

First let me share a plein air painting from a few weeks ago that I reworked a bit in the studio this afternoon. I worked on the values overall, and did a bit more to the bluebonnets. I believe it is a stronger painting now.

Chuck wagons and cowboy cooks.

 Today is one of the days that will live in my memory forever. The Chapman brothers open up their Squaw Creek Ranch, just west of Fort Worth, once a year in the spring for their cattle branding. This is an incredible taste of Texas history, Texas hospitality, and Texas cuisine.

One of two cooking areas.

 Last year about 400 people from the area came and I'm sure at least that many were there this year. From early in the morning the cooks are busy preparing breakfast for everyone who shows up. Breakfast included, cowboy biscuits, coffee, sausage, bacon, and gravy. (Best biscuits ever!)

One of the two chuck wagons.

 Everything is cooked just like it would have been cooked on the old ranches and cattle drives of the past.

The cowboys from the Chapman ranch as well as those from the surrounding ranches and counties show up to ride in the cattle drive and to lend a hand with the branding.

The cattle drive on Bear Creek Road.

 The cattle are driven in groups from the surrounding pastures and taken to the branding pens. It was  amazing watching the drive and must have been really incredible to ride in as well. I am so thankful that families like the Chapmans are preserving a way of life that was once the norm and is now almost gone.

The cattle and cowboys on Bear Creek Road.

 After the cattle drive the cows and calves are driven into pens where a few mounted cowboys work to separate the cows from the calves. I've been to cutting horse events many times but this was much more interesting seeing it done on a ranch.

Cowboys working on a calf.

Today on most ranches the cattle would be driven into chutes where they could be given their shots, etc.... But here it was done as it has historically been done in Texas. The calves were roped, put down on the ground, branded, tagged, and given shots.

Cowboys at work.

Many of my artist friends were here taking photos for reference material including Sabine Higgins,T. K. Riddle, Olivette Hubler, Janice Weaver, B. J. and Sheri Jones, Georgia Clarke, Linnea Mckinnie and her husband , and Leslie Talty and her husband. My friend Alonso Zamago and his wife also came out. Between us I believe we took thousands of photos.

Mr. John Chapman

 Many families with children were there. It was just an incredible opportunity for everyone to witness first hand our Texas heritage. Two of the things that I would say surprised me were how much it smoked when the cattle were branded, and how little the branding seemed to phase them. Many of them bawled when they were roped and thrown down, and some when they were given their shots, but I didn't notice any when they were branded.

Cowboys branding a calf.

 I guess I also was surprised at how hard the work actually was just to get the calf down. One mounted cowboy would rope the calf around the neck and another around the hind legs. Then other cowboys on foot would try to grab its legs to bring it down. This usually took three or more cowboys. Then the rope was taken off the neck and while the calf was held down other cowboys and cowgirls did their work tagging, branding, banding and injecting. Then the calves were sent back to their mamas. Several cowboys were knocked down, dragged, and kicked.

Cowboy with a lasso.

After the first group of calves were finished it was time for lunch. The Chapmans provided an all you can eat fajita dinner for everyone present. They were the best fajitas I have ever had. The meat was so tender it was just incredible. I can not imagine the cost of feeding so many people, and I don't know of any where else in the state where you can just show up and be fed a delicious home cooked (pasture cooked) all you can eat breakfast and lunch.

One of the cowboys working on foot.

After lunch more cattle were driven over and the whole process continued, The only difference was these were larger calves and the work seemed more difficult. It was more entertaining to me than going to a rodeo because these cowboys were doing real work that had to be done, not doing it for a competition, like cutting or calf roping in a rodeo.

Two cowboys roping a calf.

 We stayed from about 8:00 to after 12:00 and all of us had a wonderful time. Beautiful scenery of pale green spring foliage with bright blue skies and perfect weather. In fact every thing conspired to make this a perfect day for all of us. Thank you to the Chapmans for creating great memories and teaching us all about our ranching heritage. Your hospitality and generosity are truly appreciated.


Roxie and Johnie



Fort Worth Botanical Gardens, and Home.

Where the Path Takes You
8 x 10
Oil on Canvas
$175

This morning I woke up at six and watered my gardens before heading to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens to paint. I painted today with Tosca Engish, T. K. Riddle, and Robbie Clemmer. We found shady places to paint and even though it was very hot today it was not too hot where we were.

The inspiration for my painting.

There was shade, a breeze and thanks to the water sprinklers, a little extra coolness in the air. Tosca, T. K., and I painted in the same area. It was nice being able to visit as we painted the morning away. Around noon we were ready for lunch so we decided to go to the Swiss Pastry Shop for lunch, ( and air conditioning.)

Tosca painting with watercolors.

Tosca's husband John, and two other painters Dan Spangler and Hai Chi Lee joined us for lunch. It is always nice to have lunch and visit with fellow artists. You can learn so much from the experiences of your friends.

T. K. painting in oils.

After lunch I came home. I am inspired to paint in my own gardens but it is not nearly as fun as painting with others. I water it every morning and evening and still things look too dry.Besides, I'm actually working on a painting of some bison that  I began at the Fort Worth Nature Center for the Preservation is the Art of the City show. When I finish this, I hope I will have time to finally paint some at home, and hopefully there will be green things left to paint.

One of my roses.

Sunflowers near my cucumbers.

Some of my Roma tomatoes. Next to Porters, they are my favorites

Right now there is a lot of color from the flowers, fruits and vegetables in my gardens. My biggest problems are the squirrels. They eat everything and are especially destructive  to the sunflowers which they love, and show that love by shredding to the ground. I have a live trap and have relocated so many of them and put nets over my trees and grapes, but it feels like a losing battle. In the mean time though I have lots of photos I can paint from if I choose to, but of course that is not the same thing at all, is it?.

My Bell of Georgia Peaches.

My doves

Some of my miniature oranges, I also have full sized oranges, lemons and limes.

A coneflower.

Some of my succulents, cacti, and an owl statue.