Sketches - buffalo bison continuous line drawing

Got my buffalo hide - had to go nearly to Burleson but it was worth it - it's Beautiful! AND I think I made a new friend - Cecil Miskin. He and his family not only raise buffalo (bison) but they also market all manner of buffalo fiber products and hides. Their company is called "Buffalo Gold Premium Fibers" and their website is HERE.
I saw samples of some of the knitted products and the softness is indescribable. They claim that the fibers are better than wool at keeping in warmth (look how well the buffalo survive with it!) I tried on some gloves that leave the fingers uncovered and I have added them to my Christmas wish list for fly fishing and camera work in the mountains....hint hint, Mom!
This afternoon I tied a strap around PJ's lower jaw and rode her bareback with just the strap and my legs to guide her, as an Indian would. No problem - she kept her head nice and low, and wasn't spooked by the smell of the buffalo hide at all. Of course, nothing spooks that mare, anyway, so I wasn't surprised. Hopefully the wind will lesson tomorrow afternoon and we can get this project underway.
Isaiah 59:3
For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things.

Sketches - cows continuous line drawing of gunfighter

I'm off to Burleson today to track down a buffalo robe that a man has agreed to loan me. I am pulling together the necessary elements for the next book cover and this is the most difficult. Got the paint horse, the kid and the background (thanks to all the snow we had this winter). Now I just need the robe. Weather permitting we'll have this in the can by the end of the week and I can begin painting.
This drawing is part of a painting I am working on now; image acquired at Doug Prine's last "Shoot out". I am enjoying the illustrative turn my paintings have taken lately.
I had the BEST birthday ever this past Sunday. My kids showed up, a long time friend dropped by, another camping buddy came by, I rode my horse (and she BEHAVED), and Merideth cooked AND cleaned up. Then another friend showed up with desert and Mike and I watched a Netflix on TV. Perfect ending to a perfect day.
Ezekiel 18:16
He does not oppress anyone or require a pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked.

Bull Dookey

6 X 8 Oil on gessoed panel $100
SOLD to a collector in Oregon

I attended a bucking bull test the other evening and this is one of the crazy young bulls who showed us his credentials. I was on the outside of the arena, 100 feet from him, and he STILL came at me! Thank goodness for stoutly made fencing!
Job 12:11
Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food?

This painting is sold, but I can paint another similar...
send me an email

Sketches - cows continuous line drawing

Patience, dear viewers....I only have a few more of these....meanwhile, I AM painting!
Proverbs 25:15
Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

Sketches - continuous line drawing of horseback riders

Still drawing and painting. Don't forget to find me this afternoon on the Square in Granbury, Texas. I'll be painting at Cynthia James' Artefactz - a really neat shop of unusual gifts, art glass sculpture and jewelry, and fiber products - both completed and for construction.
Acts 10:3
One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, "Cornelius!"

Sketches - wild horse bucking bronco continuous line drawing

Another sketch while I continue to paint on a couple large canvases. Tomorrow evening I can be found painting a couple little ones at "Atefactz" on the Square in Granbury from about 5 to 8 pm. If you are in the area, come find me! I promise you will love the stuff in this store: jewelry, UNIQUE gifts, and fabulous yarns. The owner, Cynthia James, will be demonstrating her glass jewelry making. Upstairs you'll find fiber artists busy at work, and Teddy Bear Artist Dona Sorensen will be crafting her trade as well.
Matthew 24:43
But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.

Sketches - cowboy praying continuous line drawing

This sketch will probably be a painting someday. At Doug Prine's Shootout this year, I got this model to squat (or kneel) on a big rock in the middle of a stream and assume this pose. He had a good looking paint horse who kept moving constantly back and forth. But I managed to snap off a couple clear shots, and I knew I had a winner.
I was depressed all day Monday after hearing that the Health Care bill had passed the House. I refused to listen to talk radio - those guys are just preaching to the choir anyway - no one who NEEDS to listen to them turns them on. I DO listen, however, to the few liberal radio talk shows I can find (or I should say that I listen to them as long as I can stand it). Mike doesn't understand why I do this, because I always end up even madder that I was before. I listen to try and understand where their thinking comes from. One liberal talk show idiot yesterday said 2 things that inflames me: First that the Republican Party is the party of the rich. That is a huge lie. Statistics show Dems have more money (look at Bill Gates and George Soros). Most of my friends are conservative and if they are rich, someone better tell them they don't have to clip coupons anymore....
The second comment this fool made was regarding racism. She said that the Republicans hate Obama because he is black. Again, a huge lie. There are an equal number of racists in both parties (and I do know a couple), but Obama isn't despised because of his color. He isn't trusted because he is a liar. I actually have been praying for him to excel in his job - not because he is black, but because he is our president.
I have come to the conclusion that this country is suffering from "Battered Wife Syndrome". We are tied to this man. We made the choice, and we think we have to live with it so we continue to believe his lies, accept the abuse and hope for a brighter future, because the alternative means that we made a horrendously bad choice and we have no future.
I beg to differ. Our future is rough, to be sure. But better to get out now, repair the damage, tighten our belts and take care of our neighbors ourselves (instead of counting on the government). If we don't, we are ALL going to be locked in a closet with no one on the outside hearing our cries for help. Think how this world would be if everyone really would LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and lived by the Golden Rule. We wouldn't need Big Brother so badly, would we? Maybe THAT's why the push to squash Christianity is so strong....
Amos 5:16
Therefore this is what the Lord, the LORD God Almighty, says: "There will be wailing in all the streets and cries of anguish in every public square. The farmers will be summoned to weep and the mourners to wail.

Easy Sketch

My favorite model - Easy. Continuing with my continuous line sketches. There are more....
We went and viewed an interesting event this evening - a bull bucking - both to test young bulls and to let riders practice on experienced bulls.
We have several rodeo contractors in this part of Texas - these are folks that breed, raise, train and haul rodeo animals - bucking bulls and horses as well as roping calves.
The ranch we went to this afternoon provides mostly bucking bulls, and we went specifically to watch them "test" some young bulls for their propensity and skills at bucking.
A twelve pound box called a bucking "dummy" is strapped to their back. It it remotely controlled to let go after several seconds. A flank strap is also tied onto them. They are loaded into a chute, just like at the rodeo, strapped up and then released. Most of these young bulls acted nutty, and several either tried to climb out of the chute or flipped themselves over in it. They ALL attacked and chased anyone in the arena with them and even came flying at me outside the arena taking their picture! The arena walls were stout, but I must admit to jumping back several times! And several times there were close calls with the cowboys helping out....
Zechariah 14:16
Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.
.

Camping Friends

I promised to show you all the sketches and this is number 2. These are 4 good friends and their mutts - photo taken while camping in Cuchara, Colorado.
I was awakened this morning at 6:00 am (which is STILL 5:00 am to me!) by the Bluff Dale Post Office: "Your CHICKENS are here". Dang! I thought I ordered them to be delivered the Monday after Easter - still 2 weeks off! Without even combing my hair (I DID change clothes), I rushed to the post office, knowing it was critical to get the chicks warm, watered and fed as quickly as possible. It was 27 degrees outside, and I had nothing prepared for them.
I hastily called (and woke) my friend, Sandi H., who is going in with me on the 50 chicks, knowing she would probably have baby chick starter feed and a heat lamp (she already has an aviary/coop). She was right behind me when I returned home and I got them set up in the studio bathroom with heat, food and water and Georgia guarding them. They are so entertaining to watch...and noisy. Cheep cheep cheep. Loudly and constantly. They'll live inside for at least the first 2 weeks and then HOPEFULLY the outside coop will be completed enough to move them there. It will be a couple more weeks after that when we might let them venture outside - under guard. (Georgia?) This story is just beginning....stay tuned.
Genesis 8:11
When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth.

Sketches - drawing exercise

I promised myself that I would put in my blog everything I worked on, artistically speaking, good and bad. I have to admit that I haven't faithfully shown you everything, but I have come close. And there have been quite a few dogs, many of which have been painted over, removed from their stretcher bars and wadded away or even burned.

Today's post is a drawing I did recently using the continuous line method and paying attention to the "negative space". It means drawing the SPACE around the horse instead of the horse. It's a great exercise to make you pay attention to proportion and perspective. And if you practice it well, you can draw anything you can see - not just your favorite subject.

These were drawn from my own photographs that are on my computer and I did a number of them while on our recent trip to Matagorda. I'll show you all of them - not just the good ones!

Song of Solomon 6:9 But my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the only daughter of her mother, the favorite of the one who bore her.

Legacy of Dreams - book cover illustration for Texas Historical Fiction Novel by Dan Vanderburg

25 X 35 Oil on Canvas
Commissioned for Private Collection

Another big commission has been completed and the book is out! I have only read one chapter (and I know the ending), but I still want to read the entire story.
This commission was a joy to produce from start to finish. Dan knew exactly what he wanted regarding the characters' images, and I had a solid vision for the background (letting the tree play a prominent role, as it does in the book). We are working on a book signing in Morgan Mill and Dan is hosting an Open House to showcase the painting, his book and the home he has so diligently remodeled during this process.
In addition, I am starting on another cover for him. The sequel novel is entitled "Finding Rosie" and the cover will depict a cold snowy environment with a red headed teenager on a paint pony. You'll have to read the book to find out the details!
To learn a little more about Dan and/or to order your copy of the book, visit his website HERE.
Psalm 19:8
The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes

Five Horses Continuous Line Drawing

nodp I recently found a clever website lately of an intriguing artist who loves rhinos. She calls her studio the Smelly Rhino. On the day I checked it out, she had posted a continuous line drawing of...a rhino, and it reminded me how necessary it is to return to the basics when the painting muse decides to go on vacation...and a valuable training tool is to draw negative shapes to acquire the solid shapes and to do it without lifting the pen or pencil. Often "happy accidents" occur and a pleasing composition emerges.
This may be my next large horse painting....or not.
Genesis 2:9
And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Eventer 7 - small english rider oil painting

5 X 7 Oil on Masonite $100
SOLD to a Canadian collector

The Republican people of Texas decided to continue down the same road of self-destruction yesterday and voted to run Rick Perry for the Governor's seat for an unprecedented 3rd term. Like a battered wife who is more afraid to leave, they decided to keep him for another 4 years (he's been in the Governor's mansion since George Bush took office in 2000). Perry's main platform for re-election is "Texas is in better shape than the rest of the nation and the BEST place to live right now". ????????? I agree with that, but it's no thanks to him!

I refuse to vote him in again in November and I WILL NOT vote for a Democrat, so I guess it's write-in time again. And NO, that's not throwing my vote away. It's staying true to my convictions.
Everyone I know complains about the politicians we have now and how we need term limits, yada yada yada, but when they are in the voting booth, they do the same old thing again and again. Well, as far as I am concerned, they deserve what they're gonna get now. Business as usual - rising taxes and "public servants" taking care their own interests first. Dallas and Ft Worth just announced that they will probably have to raise property taxes to cover budget shortfalls - what a surprise - NOT. Hey, here's an idea - how about cutting COSTS 10% every year - and if that means a 10% salary cut across the board for all city workers - I say they should be glad to have a job in today's economy.
The sun is shining today and I intend to work my frustration off in the yard - doing something constructive. Fill your pantry with food...inflation is on its way.
Luke 23:2
And they began to accuse him, saying, "We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king."

Red White and Blue - large cow calves oil painting

24 X 30 Oil on canvas
This Painting will be Auctioned at the
Lake Granbury Art Association Annual Art Auction Sept. 18
Contact me for more information

I have painted this trio of colorful bovines before - I call them the Patriotic Triplets. There's a bit of symbolism in this painting, in case you didn't notice. Two subjects are focused on the distance while one is concentrating on the immediate. You could stretch this to say that this is rather like our current population. Many of us are looking ahead while others continue to focus on the here and now. Is one viewpoint better than the other? Who's to say - I DO know that we can't continue down the same path and expect to see different scenery. I'd rather take a road I haven't traveled before than stay on this deteriorating one that's full of ruts and covered with cheap asphalt.
If you feel the same way, please get out and vote today. And consider doing what I did - vote against ALL incumbents. I'd rather throw a wrench into the machine and stop it than let it keep running amuck.
Ruth 2:10
At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?"