The last straw

 

-home again after the Texas National 2017 show. I am so grateful to have been selected by Benito Herto and for all the people that worked so hard to put the show together. 

THE LAST STRAW

12" x 10" X 24' bronze and reinforced concrete 2014

photo by Will Michels

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Cole art center  

Suffrage-

I stepped into the tack room at the via organica ranch in San Miguel when I was there last month and I saw an exhibition of saddles. I took note - I would like to find more saddles to exhibit with suffrage. 

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Finding the right pieces is a challenge. 

Degating "gust"

Thursday I worked on my series of small bronze castings "gust".  

I use an angle grinder with a metal cutting blade and cut off the stubs of the gates flush to the surface of the hat.  

 

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Here you can see the stubs of the gates.  

 

 

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More gate stubs.  

 

 

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After cutting of the gates.  

 

 Cutting off the gates leaves a shinny smooth surface. I then use various air tools to recreate the felt texture. This process is called chasing. 

 

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The texture is repaired.

 

 

Follow up note and gratification

Before I left for Greece I shipped a "happy dog" sculpture on a bronze bed to a gentleman who saw my work at the Conroe Art League show this spring. I finished his piece the day before we left. I had not heard from him and was worried maybe he was not happy. I am a worrier. Yesterday I emailed him to make sure all was good and also to remind him that if he ever tires of the sculpture I have a buy back policy. I will buy back any of my work for the price I originally sold the work for. It has to be in good condition, not damaged. I do this to keep I my work out of the secondary market - estate sales, auctions......etc. 

 

Here is a cropped screen shot of his response. 

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Wow! It pays to follow up. I could not be more pleased and gratified that my little sculpture means so much to his family. I hope I can come up with a moose that he is equally pleased with.  

This as still as I can get-

I am taking a brush and ink washes workshop with Suzzane Manns. My purpose is to maybe pick up a new and technique of mark making. 

Today was painful. She set up a still life and wanted us to render it in ink washes. 

I am more of a gesture type.  But here goes-  

the still life-  


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The still life 

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the above photo in black and white.

 

I ran out of time but- this is as still as I can make myself get.

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I decided to ignore all all the noise in the background. It was people drawing from the other side.

Getting ready for this falls "known and underknown" show at art Brookfield- downtown Houston

My piece  "that ball is not going to throw it's self" was selected along with my "fetch I-VI" lenticular. 

I will be replacing the pedestal on the "tat ball is not going to throw it's self" piece with a chair. I am going to paint the chair with drippy, thick, flat white paint. It will look like plaster. I will then attach the wire dog to the back of the chair. 

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I bought this chair on Montrose at a 1/2 price sale.  

 

The painting will start next week and probably go on all summer.  

 

 Known and Underknownexhibition to be installed in the lobby of 1600 Smith on September 8-  November 13, 2017. 

Happy dog- shipping to Dallas

My HAPPY DOG - on bed

4" X 8" X 11" bronze and concrete 2015 was on exhibit in the Conroe  art League national artist call exhibit. Shortly after the show I was contacted by a family in Dallas who saw the show and were interested in having one of the castings. This bed is in bronze. They have been lovely to work with and I am  honored that my work will be in their collection. He ships out Thursday. 

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Bronze happy dog on bronze bed.