Coming At Ya - colorful cow portrait by Debbie Grayson Lincoln

12 X 12 on gessoed 1" ash panel ready to hang 
Available through the Dutch Art Gallery in Dallas

I HATE scraping my paint palette and throwing away all that delicious color. But I need to start with a clean slate, so to speak, when I start a new project - and there are several waiting in line. So instead of throwing out the paint, I smeared it around on this panel and a cow emerged...how strange!
Psalm 81:9  There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
If you are interested in this painting, click here to send me an email. I accept checks and Paypal. I can also arrange LAYAWAY. To view my latest paintings on Daily Painters go HERE. To view larger paintings, go to my Website HERE. To view a wealth of OTHER Texas Artists, enjoy THIS site!

Cowboy Up - cowboy oil painting by Debbie Grayson Lincoln

8 X 10 Oil on Canvas mounted on MDF board - $150

Includes Shipping and Insurance in US

Our recent unusually cold weather has afforded me the opportunity to learn a few new skills - including figuring out how to manipulate, edit and produce little time lapse videos.
In the past, when I filmed a time lapse painting, I had to do it in one take (usually 2 to 3 hours long), because I had no software to both convert my cameras video to a format I could work with nor did I have the software to edit said video. I do now! See it here:

This painting was completed in one afternoon over about a 4 hour time span. Actually painting was less than 2 hours, though. I figured out how I could paint for 30 minutes, stop the camera, stir the cheese, and start painting again. My main concern was keeping the camera and the easel in the exact same locations between "takes", which I think I did rather successfully. Over all, there were 7 different video sections that I merged into one single video. AND I shortened it somewhat to make it fit the music. Whew - that was a LOT for this old dog to learn in one day!
The background of this image comes from a trip Mike and took several years ago to Parumph, Nevada. The cowboy is a neighbor who gladly lets me photograph him whenever I catch him on a horse!
Jeremiah 5:26

Among my people are the wicked who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch people.

If you are interested in this painting, click here to send me an email. I accept checks and Paypal. I can also arrange LAYAWAY. To view my latest paintings on Daily Painters go HERE. To view larger paintings, go to my Website HERE. To view a wealth of OTHER Texas Artists, enjoy THIS site!

Better Days Ahead

6 X 8 Oil on Canvas Board
Contact Artist for Availability

In the winter, my benchmark for when I need to start giving the horses more feed is Easy's rib cage. When I begin to see it a bit, it's time to up his hay rations. PJ stays fat year round, even on dead winter grass. And Dandy gets fed separately because she is still growing. Easy is an ex-racehorse and tends to stay on the leaner side naturally - even while PJ stays fat - so I need to moniter him a little more closely. He really isn't too thin - he actaully looks quite fit at this body weight. But it is still an indication that I need to try to get him a little more and/or make sure he's covered if the weather turns nasty.
This painting is in my more painterly style, and I kinda like it. My pasture really looked like this this morning - cold, damp and dark, yet lit by the promising morning sun. The title reflects my continuing feeling of optimism as the days get longer toward Spring. Now if it would only rain....
1 Samuel 15:22
But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

Dandy Dandelions

6 X 8 Oil on Canvas Board $115

Includes shipping and insurance in U.S.

I couldn't resist painting green grass today. It's winter outside, the pasture is dead, but I had this great photo of Dandy hanging around and begging to be painted. Think Spring.
We have passed the Winter Solstice, so the days are (theoretically) getting longer. That's the only thing that gets me through these winter months - knowing that tomorrow I will have about 2 more minutes of daylight. We lived in northern Illinois back in the early 70's and I remember the REALLY dark winter days - getting up and going to work in the dark and coming home the same way. REALLY depressing. And we weren't all the far north. Poor Canada! How do they endure it? Just knowing that summer WILL follow. Faith. It's how we all survive, isn't it?
Matthew 8:26
He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

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Price: $115 USD
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Time to Play

6 X 8 Oil on Canvas Board $115

Includes shipping and insurance in U.S.
This painting was donated to "Walk for the Cure" and is no longer available

I think I will stick to this format for a while. Mike cut me a bunch of 6 X 8 panels, to which I glued canvas that was already gessoed. I then primed them again with gesso that was tinted either warm or cool and painted from there. I use an archival, water based glue and a quality cotton duck canvas. The panel board is quite stable and doesn't warp ike masonite does. PLUS it will fit into frames designed for watercolors as well as canvases. This year I may spring and buy a roll of linen, but for now I have enough cotton canvas to last a long time, and I like the tooth of this fabric.
Yesterday was icy and miserable - temperature never rose above freezing. Today the sun has shone, the wind blew hard and temperature is around 60 F. Crazy Texas. I have stayed indoors both days trying to get over this cold. This too shall pass.
I may paint flowers tomorrow and think of spring.
Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.

Self Portrait - PJ and Me

5 X 6 Oil on Canvas board NFS

The Daily Painters are featuring a "theme day" once a month (the first Wednesday) on the Daily Painters Website. The first one we did was in October, and was "Orange Day". The assignment was simple: paint with orange. About half the daily painters participated making for a very colorful home page.
The theme for January is a self portrait. I have very few pictures of me alone - I am either with Mike and Georgia on a mountain top or with one of my horses. Technically, I guess the painting should be only of me, but I had to include at least one of my "loves" - and Mike and Georgia will forgive me for leaving them out, I'm sure!
February's theme will be "Valentines" and March is tentatively "Reflections". Personally, I like being forced into doing something artistically that I would not ordinarily do on my own. Sometimes I like the results, and sometimes I don't. I am just learning to do portraits, so this was a good challenge, though I am less than happy with me - the horse I like, though!
Psalm 125:2
As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore.

Afternoon Ride 2

6 X 8 Oil on Canvas Board $115
Includes shipping and insurance within U.S.

Here's a better rendition of yesterday's little painting, as I promised. I still like the other, kinda distorted, loosey little one. This one looks more like me, though.
As I enter this, freezing rain is falling outside, I am still in my PJ's nursing a head cold, and my little wood stove is glowing with warmth. The horses have been fed an extra ration of hay under the barn overhang. Georgia reluctantly ventures out to go to the bathroom and comes back quickly. She hasn't asked to chase the frisbee today. I can tell she's bored and restless, though. Bad weather is hard on an active dog.
I have drunk 4 cups of coffee and rescued 2 cardinals that knocked themselves out flying into the front glass door.
The bird feeders are standing room only today, and every now and then I hear a loud THWUMP either from the picture window or the front door. Most of the time the birds simply fly off, but occasionally they fall stunned to the porch. If I beat the cats to them and put them in a shoebox for a while, they usually recover. Guess I'm going to have to do something with my windows. I am open to suggestions....???? We have a million cardinals, so it's not like their numbers are seriously threatened, but I do hate to see them hurt - and this mostly happens in the winter when they are thick on the feeders.
This is one of my favorite verses and I have quoted it often. Birds are mentioned in the Bible over 129 times. I love birds. Mike has promised me a chicken coup, by the way.....more photo ops for the chicken painting collectors!
Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Afternoon Ride

5 X 7 Oil on gessoed masonite $100
Includes shipping and insurance

I am nursing a bad head cold and almost didn't paint this afternoon. But I like the colors of this little study and I think I will do it again bigger (and better drawn). There is something intriguing about silhouettes - undefined edges and faded outlines. Let the mind define the image rather than the pencil or paint brush. Sometimes it's hard to know when to stop adding details.
I have known people that do that with their lives - try to define and regulate and compartmentalize everything in their life. That's just too must for me to deal with. I take most people and situations at face value and worry later if there is deception involved. But then sometimes I still insist on details, and truth....
Jeremiah 9:6
You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me," declares the LORD.

Three Friends

8 X 10 Oil on gessoed masonite
Check with me for availability

Mike and I went over to a friend's house last Sunday to watch the last Cowboy Football game fiasco. At halftime, it was evident that the Cowboys didn't show up to play, so we 4 girls went for a walk in Bettye's pasture. The sun was getting low, and I just knew there would be some lovely photo ops. I was right. I trailed along behind the other 3 and snapped away. Around every corner the sun played games with the foliage as it sank lower and lower. Despite the drought situation in this part of Texas, I still love where I live and actually don't NEED to travel anywhere to find plenty of things to paint. As Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz said "There's no place like home."
Proverbs 4:14-16
Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go your way. For they cannot sleep till they do evil

Where Cows Are Happy

SOLD to a California Collector
8 X 10 Oil on gessoed masonite $125
Includes shipping and insurance in U.S.

I was searching for a barn to use in a background horse painting and came across the photos I took 2 1/2 years ago in upstate New York. This farm was right out of a movie set, somewhere in the Finger Lakes region. Grass so green my eyes hurt. Clear blue skies with just a hint of clouds. Cows so perfect, it looked they they had just been washed for show. Up there, the dairy herds are still small and managed by families - not like the 1,000+ cow herds in Texas and California. THESE cows are individually known and cared for. Some dairy farmers in Texas are still like that, but so many have turned to the mechanized processes and use a hundred hired hands, rather than family members to work the farms. They HAVE to when the milking is done practically around the clock.
We had a milk cow back in the early 80's when my kids were babies and I was still a hippy. They were started on raw milk and butter and never suffered from it. Knowing how to milk a cow came in handy later when we were raising the Simmentals. Occasionally a momma cow would reject a baby, and in the interest of getting colostrum into a calf quickly, we would catch the cow and I would milk her (unwillingly) and get it into the calf. Often that was all the incentive the cow and calf would need to bond. Momma cows were sometimes like people - they just needed a little instruction on how to care for their babies. Usually after a little help and a push in the right direction, they'd be just fine.
Proverbs 30:33
For as churning the milk produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.

Who's "It"?

SOLD to a California Collector
6 X 8 Oil on gessoed masonite $115
Includes shipping and insurance

This cold weather we have had lately makes the horses playful - especially while they are waiting for me to come feed them.
Georgia, the border-collie-wanna-be, has a morning routine that is fairly predictable. I get up first around 6:00 and go straight to the studio, Georgia on my heels. I immediately let her out, make coffee, start a fire, turn on the computer, and let the dog back in. Same routine, every morning (unless it's too warm for fire and I skip that step.) It's still dark out, so Georgia comes back in quickly and settles down in an arm chair in the studio and waits for Mike to get up. I then make breakfast for us and feed the dog. About 9:00 Georgia needs to go make her rounds and check on the horses. If I'm smart, I'll go out then, too and take my camera in anticipation of frisky animals. Of course my favorite subjects are Georgia and Dandy - they have their game of tag all worked out. Dandy knows that the teeth are only for show and Georgia knows how to avoid a well placed hoof (she's good at staying close to a fence line where she can duck under if the horse gets too close!)
I have heard of single horses becoming attached to dogs - they are both herd (or pack) animals and need the comfort that comes from associating with their own kind. I have heard of race horses that had goats for stable mates, too. Comfort comes in many forms, doesn't it?
Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

The Gate's Always Open

9 X 12 Oil on stretched canvas
Contact me for availability

Boy, this painting just screamed symbolism all day to me as I worked on it.
I have used this background several times (or one like it). The actual image is from a neighbor's gate down the road from me. I say "neighbor" even though they are at least 3 miles from me, but here in the country, anyone within 15 miles of my gate is considered a neighbor, and in all honesty, I'll bet I can name 25% of the people within 10 miles of me. No one in the city can do that. Heck, many can't even name their next-door-neighbors. I know mine quite well. We depend upon one another. Ron and Phyllis (neighbors to the north) left for Decatur the other day and when a few miles from home, Ron remembered he hadn't turned off the water to his cows. He called us (thank goodness for cell phones) and Mike obligingly drove over to his house and cut off the water. When bad weather hits, I check on Pat (to the South) - she's alone and not visible from the road. We both share our despise for the gas companies that are currently disrupting our peace and quiet.
I digressed, didn't I? Back to the gate. This neighbor's gate is always open, partly due to the fact that it is off its hinges and there are no longer any cattle on the property. And partly because that is the way this neighbor is. Welcoming.
We have a big iron gate at the end of our drive and it is rarely closed. In fact the only time I close it is when an animal gets loose and I'm afraid of it getting out on the road before I can catch it (usually a cow). Or I deliberately let the horses loose to graze around the house - a rare event since they are non-discriminate eaters and the vegetable garden isn't fenced off from the yard.
Our gate is always open. Welcoming symbolism.
Isaiah 26:2
Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith.

World's Greatest Medicine

9 X 9 oil on Canvas Board $125
Includes Shipping and Insurance

I really need to improve my still life set up. The lighting is terrible and I have no backdrop. I enjoy doing still lifes, and I would do more if I had a better set up. For some reason I needed to do this one.
I found this pretty ironstone pitcher in Cuchara, Colorado 2 summers ago and bought it specifically to paint. The little bottle is an empty vanilla bottle, but it looks like an old medicine bottle. The cross is the special part of this set up. There's a man in our church named Wesley, and he is probably the most unpretious, uncomplicated and direct man I have ever known. Wesley is over 70 and still lives in the same small, neat farm house that he and Barbara have lived in for over 50 years. He is a man of many talents, his most recent being woodworking. He also knows a lot about farming and ranching and still builds and repairs fence, although Barbara gets on him for doing it in the 110 degree Texas summer heat - especially since his bypass surgery.
Wesley makes all kinds of wooden things, but my most favorite are his crosses, and he always has a supply of them in his truck to pass out to first time visitors to our church. They are made of native mesquite and if you offered to pay him for one, you would greatly offend him. He gave me mine nearly 10 years ago when I first attended the Morgan Mill United Methodist Church and I have treasured it ever since. My cross has a story, too. Soon after I received it, I noticed an odd little ticking noise coming from it periodically. It was almost as if the cross was speaking to me! I came to discover that my cross had a wood worm in it, and it eventually ate its way out. Hopefully he is not now in my piano or another beloved piece of furniture! The hole in its side makes MY cross special and easily identified!
God Bless ya'll on this Christmas Eve. I'll be back soon, I hope.
Isaiah 51:8
For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations."

My Turn

5 X 7 Oil on Gessoed Masonite $115
Includes shipping and insurance in U.S.

I told ya'll that I attended a sorting this past weekend, and a variety of riders participated. When I first saw this cowboy, I thought I recognized his horse. Typically I recognize the animals before I recognize the people with them. I did the same at the business we owned for 11 years - an oil change shop. I knew people by the cars they drove; "Oh, you're the 2001 Diesel Ford Expedition with the chrome grill guard, dent on the driver's side from the deer". You get it.
Anyway, I thought I knew this horse, but I was wrong. So I then focused on the guy riding him and saw that he was doing a pretty good job exposing his mount to the cows and getting him to sort them. They need more work, but I do think they had fun. The rider was generous to his partners and the horse was cooperative. What more could you ask for?
Proverbs 11:25
A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
There are 5 comments in Proverbs about generosity. hmmmmm

Cattle Sorting

nodp
I spent Sunday afternoon at a sorting. For those of you not literate in horse lingo, that's a cattle working competition that is probably one of the best ways to have fun on a horse. I didn't go to participate, though. I went for photographs. And I got a bunch, including the one above that will probably become a painting.
I used to compete in sortings on PJ's dam before her seizures became too frequent and made her unsafe to ride. PJ can work cattle, when she wants to, but no where near as good as her momma, so for now I remain content just watching. But I have to admit that my legs were itching to climb on a horse....
The rules of sorting are as follows: Ten numbered calves, plus one un-numbered dummy calf are wandering around a small round pen which is connected to another round pen via a small opening. Two riders must "sort" the cattle in numerical order from one pen to another - in order and without letting any calves "leak" back. And do it in a prescribed amount of time - usually 30 to 90 seconds. If a calf goes through out of order or one comes back to join its herdmates, the run is over and does not count. The team with the most calves moved with no penalties in the time allotted wins. Every team pays to compete, and part of the money goes to the cattle supplier and part goes out in winnings. And a good time is had by all!
All skill level of horsemanship can have fun doing this - young and old alike. All you need is a horse that reins fairly well and isn't afraid of cows.
Don't forget to check on my paintings up for grabs on eBay! I am really cleaning house!
2 Timothy 2:5
Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules.

Winter Coat

SOLD to a California Collector
5 X 7 Oil on Canvas Board $115
Shipping and Insurance included within U.S.

While I was painting on a large canvas today, Georgia hopped up into a chair to look out the picture window into the front pasture. We have moved the horses to the "North Pasture" for the winter. It's easier to feed them there, and they have the barn for shelter. Ron has moved his cows off, so now I watch horses instead of Longhorns out the studio window. And so does Georgia. And if one comes close to the house or barn, she thinks it's necessary to go out and check on them. Georgia saw PJ coming up to drink and wanted out to go check on her.
I obliged and let her out, and she immediately proceeded to try and start a game of tag with her. Dandy was behind her mom half way to the barn and immediately started running, thinking it was feeding time, I guess. I grabbed my camera and snapped a quick action shot. She is very fuzzy and shows no highlights when the sun shines on her. All her dense velvety fur absorbs sunlight (and heat, too, I guess) and reflects very little light. She must be very warm on sunny winter days. Her winter coat is nature's furnace....
Earlier today friends Pat and Ken stopped by to announce a milestone in their Financial Peace University class - they paid off their truck EARLY and are snowballing their horse trailer now. They are following the class instructions as well, if not better, than everyone, and I am so proud of them! Keep it up, Gazelles! They will be debt free in no time...
DON'T FORGET: Go HERE to bid on current paintings on eBay!
Psalm 12:6
And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times

Like Mother Not Like Daughter?

9 X 13 Oil on flat canvas $125
Check with me for availability

Little Dandy started out life the same color as her momma - bright sorrel. But as Spring and Summer passed, she morphed into the color of her grand-dam, Miss Jack, who was registered as brown, but turned a gorgeous black in winter. Children do that too - start out like one parent or another and suddenly they become like a grandparent, too. My mom has a creative, mathematical mind, and we share many traits. My daddy had a goofy sense of humor and a salesman's gift of gab. But my artistic genes come from my mom's mother, my grandmother who I called "Itee". It was Itee that first put a paintbrush in my hand and taught me how to draw and compose and manipulate oil paint. She was a teacher with an artist's soul who didn't actually start painting until she was middle aged. She's been gone for more than 20 years now, but I still have some of her old art supplies - including her student easels and her paint box. I like to think she watches me as I paint and smiles. Thanks, Itee, for the genes!
Proverbs 19:8
He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers.

Opportunists

SOLD to a collector in Montana
8 X 6 Oil on gessoed Masonite $115
Includes shipping and insurance in U.S.

The titles to my paintings come at various stages during their construction. My normal painting routine is to have a specific image in my head and then I search to find the proper background, rearranging the focus, changing the position of the sun, etc. if needed. Often while I am searching my archives of photos and sketches, a title comes to mind. Most often it comes to me while in the middle of the painting. This one did not occur to me until I was cropping the photo and making it ready for the blog. I rarely fret over a title - they always come. Like my Bible verses at the end - I know God will provide a verse, like He provides me with everything else I need. This one was almost tricky, though.
"Opportunists". Do you see what the young men are wearing? Civil War coats from different sides. They don't care what the color is or what they represent. They are simply warm and protective without attached labels of beliefs. The opportunity that afforded their acquiring them is not known, but we may presume that they receive greater benefit from them than the soldiers who originally wore them....maybe.

Ephesians 5:15-17 (NIV) "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."

Almost Missed Her

SOLD to an Alabama Collector
8 X 8 Oil on flat canvas $115
Includes shipping and insurance in U.S.

I have spent many hours of my life searching for animals; dogs that have run off following their noses, first time momma cows overdue to calve, cats that didn't show up for dinner and horses not following their predictable regular routines. I would include my kids in this list, but technically, they may resent being called animals! I HAVE searched for them, however, and so far always found them.
I cannot imagine managing the animals on thousands of acres of land. We crossed huge ranches this past summer on our trip up the Rockies, and the logistics of keeping track of the animals in such expanses boggled my mind. Especially before the invention of motorized vehicles (and flying machines).
This cowboy almost missed finding the mare he was searching for. If the sun hadn't just illuminated her, her would have rode on by...a comment on life, huh?
Jeremiah 46:17
There they will exclaim, 'Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise; he has missed his opportunity.'

Definition of Success

30 X 40 Oil on 1 1/2 inch gallery wrapped canvas, ready-to-hang
Contact Artist for Availability

While finishing up this panting I have been listening to a wonderful radio station - KAAM. They are playing all Christmas music today; I guess to get all the shoppers in the mood. I refuse to go shopping on this day, though. I don't like huge crowds, anyway, but standing in line and walking 2 miles through a parking lot and worrying about thieves is simply more than I care to endure this time of year - or any time, for that matter. But I digress.
While listening to this station, I heard a quote that made me think of this bison climbing a hill. "Success is whatever gets YOU closer to what YOU believe is important." Whether it be a better golf swing; lighter, fluffier biscuits; to the top of the hill; or getting closer to being the person God wants us to be, all are successes based upon our own initiatives and desires. And all should be measured personally and not by our peers. Just as my happiness should not be dependent on the actions of others, neither should my success - a comforting thought, I think.
Back to the painting. With rich colors and a great deal more texture than I usually do, this painting fairly glows and really lights up my studio. The deep sides are painted, so no frame is necessary, and it should be dry in time to get it somewhere by Christmas. I'll even wrap it up pretty if you want it shipped direct.
And if you want a better look at it, I will have it listed on my website which allows you to really zoom in close. Click on "largest paintings".
Our Thanksgiving at Merideth's was perfect. My daughter was unneccessarily worried about her ability to serve 14 people - the biggest crowd she has had in her home so far. She asked for my help, but she didn't need it. The turkey was perfect, the house looked beautiful and we were all happily stuffed in time to watch the Cowboys win! We all have so much to be thankful for! Now my son, Ben, gets to "do" Christmas!
Matthew 25:21
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!"