"Art of Texas"

I'm part of the "Art of Texas" section in the March 2014 Southwest Art magazine. Here are the opening pages. It pays to have a name whose spelling starts with one of the first few letters of the alphabet, at least in an alphabetical order situation.



Although I've painted a lot of Texas landscapes, the piece shown in the story represents a New Mexico subject. Nevertheless, I think my Texas bona fides are pretty sound. I've lived here all but one of my years. Other examples of landscapes, from all over, can be seen here.

"Autumn Hill" at home

"Autumn Hill", acrylic on canvas, 24 by 20 inches, here in its new home. Nice harmonious wall color, I think.

Summer's end

It's about over. I've always had an ambivalent relationship with summer. I generally don't like cold weather, but summer in Texas is such a beating, and it has always had other issues, like money. But better to have them than not.
This painting is a representation of local summers, with cicadas chattering away. The landscape is loosely based on part of the creek and greenbelt that are across the street from my studio and home.
I used watercolor paper as a "patch" that also functions as the surface of the tree. It's titled "Summer, Elmwood Creek", it's 8 by 8 inches and it's acrylic on paper and canvas.

Their (for the time being) homes...

Here are "Outside Ouray" and "Eldorado Hill" in their on-loan placement in a cool office space.

They are both large-ish, at least for me, at 4 by 5 feet and 3 by 4 feet, respectively. Although I think they hold the space well, they still seem smaller as compared to standing directly in front of them. Especially considering the time required to paint something of that size. Again, at least for me.

"The Doppler Effect"

"The Doppler Effect", 12 by 24 inches, acrylic on canvas. This is based on the drawings I posted a few weeks ago. I like to sit and watch/listen to hummingbirds, with that amazing buzzing sound that approaches, then recedes like a train as it passes. The hummingbirds are much faster, though.

EASL

The Emergency Artists' Support League provides emergency funding for Dallas/Fort Worth area visual artists and arts professionals. You can read more about the organization at this link. They have an annual fund raising art auction, and this year's is Saturday, April 28. This is my contribution to the auction.

It's titled "Meadow 4" and it's 8 by 10 inches, acrylic on canvas.

A Magpie in Taos

"A Magpie This Fall" is now showing at Copper Moon Gallery in Taos, NM. Here are photos of the painting in the window of the gallery and inside on a cool easel.
The photos were generously provided by Taos artist and neighboring gallery owner Greg Moon.

A Magpie This Fall

"A Magpie This Fall", acrylic on canvas, 40 by 30 inches.

Some of the posts in 2011 were a bit down, noting the passing of too many people. Necessary but hardly much fun. So, as an antidote, I'm starting this new year with something lively.

Few creatures are as lively as magpies. They squabble and fly around, find a spot and very noisily make it their own. They're also very graphically beautiful, all black and white. When painting one, and when being painted by a colorist like me, it's necessary to shoot some more color into the scene. Fall colors, especially those of New Mexico, are a good way to accomplish this.
I've done several pictures with Taos Mountain in them. I'll pull them all together into one post sometime soon.

Somewhere, Texas

11 by 14 inches, acrylic on canvas.

This is the third of these longhorn/wildflower paintings I've done for shipment to Monte Wade Gallery in San Antonio.
These were done with a specific market in mind, although my past experience with cattle, limited and unwelcome though it was, gives me some pedigree to work with these subjects.
Longhorns, for all their overuse, are still cool animals. And I like painting wildflowers, and the abstraction that is inherent in them. So sue me.

"Patches" and "Drops"

This is a recent rooster painting, "Eli". It's 18 by 14 inches and is the usual acrylic on canvas. A recent discussion about it brought up something I should address. That's the use of "patches" and "drops" on some of these pieces. Seeing the paintings in photographs without experiencing them "in person" (and sometimes then) can lead to confusion about what these things are and why they are there. So here's the explanation.
First, the "patches". They aren't literally "patches". I use that term because someone once, when I first began to use them, asked me if that's what they were; I suppose the questioner assumed they were covering some a mistake or something. No, if I make a mistake big enough that the only way to fix it is to cover it up with a piece of paper, then I just discard that work and start over. The function of the "patch" is more esoteric than that.
It is usually a piece of Arches watercolor paper, sometimes 300 lb to 140 lb, attached to the canvas before painting begins. The intention is to add a dimensional element as well as a geometric rectangular design device which provides contrast to the more "organic" freeform elements of the rooster's or the landscape's forms. It's also a subtle frame for some parts of the painting, usually the rooster's head area. Finally, it gives a texture that's different from the canvas texture, adding some variety to that visual experience.
"Drops" are just that, drops of paint, usually thick enough to have a dimensional quality of their own, which add circular geometric elements to the mix. On other pieces I've used circular marks for the same purpose.
These are design devices that make the work more interesting to me in the process. Some viewers like the effects, some prefer the imagery to be more "conservatively", for lack of a better word, represented. I add these elements when the spirit, if that's what it is, moves me.
Here are some other examples (click on any image to see it a little larger).

This is a rooster painting that has neither "patches" or "drops".

This landscape features a "patch" framing the red leaf tree in the lower center foreground.

"Afternoon Hill" is "patch" free.

A prominent "patch" shows up in this cow painting, while the one below goes patchless.

Ah, the bluebonnet...

There is probably no subject more riddled with cliches and less revered by artists than the bluebonnet field. From good, classic landscapes, like those of Julian Onderdonk to really bad Sunday painter versions (not that there's anything wrong with being a Sunday painter; anything that brings someone pleasure and satisfaction is fine with me) the really beautiful Texas State Flower has been placed in an unfair and undeserved position. I think it's still possible to create a representational image of bluebonnets that, even if not designed to overturn the Social Order, can still be enjoyed by people who think they hate bluebonnet paintings. Whether this one qualifies I don't know and I'm not the Decider anyway.
My late San Antonio dealer Monte Wade, who left us last year, told me I should make a bluebonnet painting, as there were always people coming through the gallery looking for them. I actually had my version of a bluebonnet landscape already hanging there for several months with no response (it has subsequently sold, I'm happy to report), but when I pointed this out to Monte he said, "Yeah, but it needs something else, like a big ol' Longhorn or something. People like to have something they can lock onto".
Like a focal point?
"Right!"
So I delivered this piece to the gallery last week. It's dedicated to Monte in thanks for his long support of my work.
I titled it "Icons", since it has not only bluebonnets, but prickly pear cactus and that focally pointed Longhorn, as well.
As always, it's acrylic on canvas and it's 18 by 24 inches.

Illustration Friday - "Wilderness"

I know this isn't a high concept contribution for "Illustration Friday: Wilderness", but "Outside Ouray" is a painting I've always liked. It's 42 by 60 inches, so it's large for me. The size may have prevented its sale in the past, I don't know, but I'm happy with it being in our living room.

Landscapes

This is an example of how I use a photograph of a real place and situation as a starting point for a landscape painting. Above is the painting, "Those Sunshine Days", and below is the photograph that inspired it. The location is the Texas Hill Country. I use black and white photographs so the actual color situation won't be an influence on the painting. More landscapes can be seen on my web site.

Redbud

The Texas Redbud earns its name only in March, when its tiny red flowers bloom. The flowers are replaced by green leaves at the end of the month.
The piece above is oil pastel on board.
I'm including "Aspens" below, not that it has anything to do with Redbuds, which are probably my favorite tree, but because I like it better as a painting.

Face unintended

A couple of friends pointed out seeing a face (detail, below) in the above painting, "Precipicio", one of my Landscape Series.
Now I can't see anything else.