More from Fort Worth

Fort Worth Livestock Exchange
8 x 10
oil on canvas
$350

 On Sunday I went to the Stock Yards to paint with my friend Olivette Hubler. It was a very nice day, sometimes cloudy but wonderful for January. I began by painting the Fort worth Livestock Exchange building.

My painting and the subject.

 There were many tourists as usual. People come from all over the world to Texas to see and experience the Old West and this is one of the best places I know of to experience remnants of that period of history which is gone but not forgotten.

Me, painting on Exchange Street.

The livestock exchange is one of the most beautiful buildings in the stock yards. Once it was a great place of business and commerce. Now I think a museum is in it and some offices. During the summer various demonstrations and events (like armadillo races) are held on its lawn.

Stage coach on Exchange Street

Every weekend there are stage coach rides, cattle drives and other events. It is an experience meant to be a pleasure for the entire family. I truly enjoy painting here and although this is my home always feel like a bit of a tourist myself while I am here.

The colors of Winter
8 x 10
oil on panel
$300

 After painting on Exchange Street, Olivette and I had lunch at Riskys and then walked over a street to a totally different view. This is an area near the train tracks for the steam locomotive that comes into the stock yards. There is an old house, windmill, and great clumps of sage and cactus.

Olivette on the other side of the tracks.

 These photos were taken when the sky was clearer and there was more color. But while I painted my painting it was very overcast and everything was shades of gray and pale blue greens, except for the winter grasses which were a bright and beautiful green.

The old house and cacti.

 I had driven by this site many times and always desired to paint it. I am very glad that we painted here today. This is a small site but it has the feel and look of being far from the city. I will be sure to come back again and perhaps try painting a scene of the house and windmill as Olivette did.

A young longhorn cow with her first calf.

On Tuesday evening I went to the Fort Worth Stock Show. I've always enjoyed this from my childhood when I used to go and watch my cousins show their Hereford cattle.This event lasts several weeks. Every few days new breeds of animals are brought  to the show. The longhorns were going out today so I made a point of going to work on my longhorn sculpture while they were still there. The great thing about sculpting at the stock show was being able to work right up close to the animals. I was able to make some very important changes to my sculpture. I may go back and sculpt a Hereford  or Angus before the show ends. (I had a pet Angus calf that my grandmother bought me when I was about eight.)

Me sculpting, using a  young longhorn as my model.

Back to the Fort Worth Stockyards

Bill Pickett Sculpture
8 x 10
oil on canvas
$100

Saturday my friends and I returned to the Fort Worth Stockyards to paint. We had  a great group. including Chase Almond, Olivette Hubler, Sabine Higgins, Steve Miller, Hai Chi Lee, Janice Weaver, Trish Davidson Wise, George De Chiara, Margie Whittington and her friend Connie (I don't remember Connie's last name.) The weather was great for being outdoors and some great art was created by my friends. I began two paintings and finished neither of them although I'm going ahead and posting one of them. The one I'm posting is a life sized, or larger, sculpture of the famous African American Cowboy, Bill Pickett. It needs some more work still but there are some things that I like about it anyway. I  went back today to work on it some more and instead I started a third painting. (As if I needed more paintings to work on.)

One of the cowboys and horses  that I may use as the model for my sculpture.

One of the things that we like about the Stockyards is that there is so much to paint. There are cowboys and cowgirls in authentic 1800s gear performing twice daily cattle drives at 11:30  and 4:00. During the cattle drive the street is cleared and the cattle are hearded down Exchange Street as tourists from around the world watch and take photos.

The very orderly cattle drive.

The longhorns know the routine and walk placidly down the middle of the street. There are some really great looking steers in the herd. I've sculpted and sketched them many times. However  after talking to the cowboys about their gear I'm kind of thinking I may try to sculpt a mounted cowboy. I've never sculpted a horse so this will probably be a long slow process.

View of Exchange Street

The architecture is really interesting in the Stockyards. Some of the most distinctive architecture in the city is found in this area. There are lots of great colors and shapes. It is a lot of fun seeing how different artists interpret it.

Fort Worth Livestock Exchange

One of the most beautiful buildings is the livestock exchange with its Spanish arches, red tile, and cupola. It has a nice green lawn with shade trees in front where everything from armadillo races to pony rides occur.

In addition to watching the cattle drive, visitors can sit on a longhorn for a photo.. And of course nothing says Texas more than a Cadilac with leather seats and longhorns on the front!

Historic Stock Yards #5

Historic Stock Yards #5
8 x 10
oil on canvas

I had a chance to go back to the stock yards to paint on Sunday with a group of very gifted artists. It was a beautiful day for being outdoors painting, especially after all of our snow and ice. We had a small group this time, Cecelia Robertson, Cecy Turner, and Leslie Talty but they produced some very nice paintings. I decided to paint a portion of the old  Fort Worth Livestock Exchange. This is one of my favorite buildings in the city. I love the arches and red tile roof. It trully reflects the southwestern culture of Fort Worth.