A lot of catching up to do.

Draft Horse #1
oil on canvas
8 x 10

    I have been away from my blog for several months, but not away from my art and art related activities. So what that means is that I have a lot to get caught up on. Going back several months ago some of us went to the Fort Worth Stock Show Parade. We went to the area where the parade assembles and took lots of photographs there as well as along the parade route.


Draft Horse #2
oil on canvas
8 x 10

   I placed my horses in fields rather than in the parking lots but I really enjoyed painting them. The first two paintings were draft horses who pulled the carriages and wagons in our all horse drawn vehicle parade. The third painting below, was of one of the riders from the Mexican clubs and groups that come up for the rodeo and parade. These are some of my favorite groups with their traditional clothing and style of riding, (the ladies all ride side saddle.) This particular lady was an Indian from Zacatecas, I think.


Senora in Red
oil on canvas
8 x 10

     The parade was really good this year and after that a group of us went to the Kimbell Art Museum to see the exhibit called The Age of Picasso and Matisse: Modern Masters from the Chicago Art Institute. My friend Beatriz Welch gave us a great tour of the exhibit. This takes me through the end of January. In my next blogs I will try to get through February and March. I have many new paintings and sculptures to post.

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.

American Cutting Horse Association's Summer Spectacular, Prix de West, Fort Worth Nature Center, Fort Worth Zoo ,Dallas Heritage Village

Some of my sketches.

    I have not posted in a few weeks. I should have because I have created art in a lot of super places and at some really wonderful events. For the last few  weeks I have been sketching at the American Cutting Horse Association's Summer spectacular at Will Rogers Coliseum. These sketches are just for my own use and reference as I observe how the horses and cattle move.

A cowboy and his cutting horse approaching the herd.

    I have been there almost every day. It is really entertaining watching the horses work the cattle. Once the calf is separated from the herd the rider turns everything over to the horse. A really well trained horse is a pleasure to watch. I have done page after page of gesture drawings. I have met many people in the cutting business and have made plans to go to some of the local ranches to work on a new sculpture I'm starting of a quarter horse.

My button quail chicks a few hours after hatching.

   This morning I had a bit of a late start as my button quail began to hatch. One of the females was sitting on some eggs and unexpectedly died a few days ago. I got the eggs and put them in an incubator. They began to hatch this morning. They are about the size of a quarter.

The End of the Trail statue in the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.

   Yesterday, July 24th, I took my parents up to Oklahoma City to the Prix de West show at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. We had lunch at the museum and enjoyed the art. Then we stopped off at my gallery in Oklahoma City, The John B Strong Gallery, where I dropped off one of my bronze longhorn sculptures. It is a beautiful gallery. I am very proud to have my art in it.

Morning Bison
work in progress
8 x 10
oil on canvas

    On Saturday, July 20th, about ten of us went to the Fort Worth Nature Center to paint the bison. The temperature was fairly pleasant. The bison came right up to the fence to model for us.

My friends lined up to paint the bison.

   We lined up on one side of the fence and the bison lined up on the other. I think they were smarter than us because they were the first ones to decide that enough was enough and head for the shade.

The white buffalo cow and calf.

   Every time I go it is with the hope of painting the white buffalo cow and calf. However, they always seem to be the farthest away of all the bison. I will have to paint her in my studio. After painting we left for lunch at an Italian restaurant just out of the gates.

The new baby elephant calf and its mother.

   On Wednesday, July 17th, my Friend and fellow artist Linnea and I went to the Fort Worth Zoo to see the new baby Asian elephant and to sketch. It was only 10 days old and very cute. We did more looking than drawing, but it was hot anyway.

Cowboy at the cutting horse show.

   On Sunday, July 14th, I went to the cutting horse show with Janice and Linnea and we sketched and took photos at the cutting horse show. This was the first week of what is a three week event. It is a great place for anyone who likes to be around horses, cowboys and cowgirls, and millionaires. Ha ha. Participants come from all over the world including Venezuela, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, France, Canada, and Brazil. Of course, many of the best riders come from right here!


Shotgun House
8 x10
oil on canvas

    On Saturday, July 13th, a group of us went to Dallas to paint at Heritage Village. There were about six of us there this day, Kent, Olivette, Jeff, Mary, Claudia, and myself. I painted a shotgun house. After we painted most of us went to lunch at The Dancing Marlin. Eating out after a morning or afternoon of creating art is always a good way to finish the outing.

Spring Break 2013

This is the painting that I did out at the Fort Worth Nature Center, in progress.
 

This week was spring break. We were blessed with beautiful weather, and I had many opportunities to work on sculpture and plein air painting, as well as some yard and gardening work. Eight of us went to the Fort Worth Nature Center to paint on Wednesday. We had a beautiful day of it.

This is the view I chose to paint.
 

    I chose to paint part of a trail as it wound up a hill. I'm not finished, and I used a lot of artistic licence and editing, but I am enjoying it. I thought the composition was interesting. Some people did two paintings, one before lunch and one after. But, I came back after we took a break for lunch and continued working on the same painting. 

Some of the marsh grasses and ducks near the causeway to the island.

  There are still many ducks, pelicans, and other waterfowl residing in the wetlands at the nature center. Most of our group chose to paint  the water and grasses or shoreline.

Some of our group already left, but here I am with Janice, Trish, TK, and Olivette ready to have lunch.

    On Thursday some of our friends went to Weatherford to paint at Chandor Garden. We had a glorious day of it. The garden was looking very nice as a lot of work and painting has gone on during the winter. We ordered lunch (chicken salad sandwiches, iced tea, chips, and brownies) delivered from Yesterday's Sandwich Shop.



The scene I started painting.

   I chose to paint the stream, bridge, and fountain. It is a beautiful location to look at as well as to listen to the bubbling of the water.


The flower bed across the back of my yard.

   Spring is in full swing. Every morning I go out and see new plants in bloom and hear more birds singing. I love the colors of fall best, but the promise of spring is my favorite time of year.  I spent a great deal of time working in my gardens. I also worked in the vegetable garden planting asparagus, tomatoes, peppers, and raspberry plants. I already have peas and potatoes planted. 

Some of my daffodils in bloom.

The Texas Masters Show

Me working on my demo at The Texas Masters Show at the Insight Gallery
 

     This weekend was one of the ones  I most  look forward to every year. It was the start of the Texas Masters Show at the Insight Gallery in Fredericksburg. This year I did a sculpture demo during the opening reception.  It was really great meeting some of my collectors. I was truly impressed by them.
   
      Another thing that I thoroughly enjoyed was visiting with the other artists. Because I was doing my demo I didn't get to talk with all of the great artists there, but  some of my favorite artists that  I visited with were Gladys Roldan-de-Moras, Jill Carver, D. Larue Mahlke, Bob Guelich, Mary Buchholz, George Halmark, and Chuck Rawle.


       The next morning after the show I drove around to enjoy the scenery and wildlife of the Hill Country and then went back to the Insight Gallery to watch painting demos by Cheri Christensen and Mark Haworth. It was a very interesting demo and a nice way to wrap up the weekend at Fredericksburg. This turned out to be a profitable and enjoyable weekend.

Two of my bronzes in the show.

 

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Three of my bronzes in the show.

Two more of my bronzes in the show.

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.
       

Sculpting and Painting in the New Year

Coyote sculpture in progress at the zoo.
 

   One of my newest projects is a small coyote sculpture. Last weekend I went out to the Fort Worth Zoo and worked on it. When I'm finished I'll cast it in bronze. It was fairly cold but I enjoyed working from life. We have two coyotes. They are brothers. They are housed between the jaguars and bobcats in the Texas Wild section. I think they can't be very happy with their choice of neighbors.


Coyote in the Fort Worth Zoo

   I also went out to Cedar Hill State Park south of Dallas to paint out. There was a group of about seven of us including my friends Tina Bohlman and Olivette Hubler.There is an old farm on the property complete with buildings and farm machinery. I didn't finish my painting that I was working on of one of the outbuildings. One of the things I can say about it is that I'm still working on my values, especially the darks.
    I also had some very exciting news, my gallery in Fredericksburg asked me to do a sculpture demo for their Texas Masters Show. This is truly an incredible honor for me. Some of the artists who have done demos there recently include Scott Christianson, Quang Ho, and Jill Carver. The show opens March 1st and my demo will be Saturday morning, March 2nd.

The farm in Cedar Hill State Park

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.

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.

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

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