Mule's Ears Winter

One of the pleasures of living in Texas is enjoying the geological differences in our state. We have the piney woods of East Texas, plains in the Panhandle, mountains in West Texas and hundreds of miles of coastline along the Gulf of Mexico.  I had been to all parts of the state except one: the Big Bend area of far West Texas. This summer, my wife and I and friends made the long drive from North Texas to West Texas to see the legendary area I've heard about for years. Big Bend sits in the western bend of Texas where the Rio Grande river separates Texas from Mexico. The river travels through beautiful canyons, over waterfalls and through remote deserts as it travels to the Gulf.  It's one of the least populated areas in Texas and is know by astronomers as one of the darkest skies in North America.  McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis is a popular place to star gaze and see the wonders of the universe.

"Mule's Ears Winter" is an 18x36 original oil on canvas.
$500 + shipping. Contact via email at rpm56roo@gmail.com.

The painting is a famous landmark in the national park called "Mule's Ears" and I think it's pretty obvious why.  I took pictures from the road because I wanted to capture the distance and vastness of the land.  I added the cowboy to give the painting life and perspective.  The landscape is depicted as a winter scene so that I could use different colors of the sky, dead plants, yellowing grasses and canyon walls.  I was surprised at how many grasses, trees and flowers grow in Big Bend.

I cannot properly describe the vastness of the land and the creativity of a majestic God.  After spending hours in the park, it has become one of my favorite get-aways in the state.  If you call yourself a true Texan, visiting Big Bend is necessary because there is no place like it.

Bluebonnets In Pasture

One of the coolest things for an artist is being commissioned to do a painting.  I recently completed a painting for a friend who I've known since sixth grade. We graduated from Killeen High School and went to Texas Tech together.  She's one of my dearest friends and it's always fun for me and Dedo to get together with her. 

Bluebonnets In Pasture
18 x 18 oil on canvas

Several months ago, she stopped in Grapevine to say hello and we met her in Downtown Grapevine for coffee. I mentioned that some of my art was sold in The Willow Cottage, so we walked down over to the shop to see the paintings.  I was surprised when she bought two paintings.  Then we started talking about bluebonnet paintings, which every Texas house should have one.  She asked me to do a bluebonnet painting for her and this is the result. 

Doing commission work is a lot of pressure, but I enjoyed the challenge and I am happy with the way it turned out.  More importantly, my friend loved it. It's like I gave her a part of myself as a gift.  That's the best thing we can do for our friends, isn't it?