Dennison Ranch Arroyo

Finally the snow has begun to melt and the air is beginning to warm. Life is looking better and I finally have had time to get back to the easel. Deadlines for upcoming spring shows have something to do with it also. I am finishing up a 11x14 piece "The Arroyo" done in oil. It is of an arroyo on the old Dennison Ranch outside Dubois. I have wanted to paint this arroyo for some time and finally got to do it.

Quest for the Ivorybilled Woodpecker

I just returned from a very chilly week in the Cyprus Swamps of North Florida hunting for the allusive Ivorybilled Woodpecker. The morning temperature ranged from 13 degrees above zero to 22 degrees above zero. It was sunny so the afternoons warmed up into the 30s and 40s. We were not successful this trip in verifying the existance of the Ivorybill but it is a 500,000 acre swamp we are searching so it is a little like a needle in a haystack. I did get a nice picture of a Redshouldered Hawk though. Our team consisted of 18 artists, scientists and adventurers, as well as a videographer. We hope to have some paintings and a video as a result of our trip.

Masterworks visits Eiteljorg

Gosh, I forgot to mention my annual trip to Eiteljorg for the Quest for the West exhibit held every fall. I went with four other members of Masterworks for Nature, John Agnew, DeVere Burt, Ann Geise and Mary Lou Holt. We attended the first week in October which is the last week for the show. It is great exhibit and wonderfull western art museum with lots of classic work by most of the famous western artists of the past and present. Wish I could show you photos of some of the Quest for the West work but you are not allowed to photograph of course. The permanent exhibit you are allowed to photograph so here is a Russell and a Farny.

Finally have gotten some time to work on a new piece. I loved the red trade blanket and it authencity. I was intrigued with the character of his face and what you can read into it. No matter what you might think he is thinking it is all with a "Quiet Dignity"

This past weekend was the opening of my latest show with Masterworks in Nature at the Cincinnati Nature Center. It was well attended and most of us sold at least one piece. On opening night I sold "The Trail Boss" . Pictured is myself with fellow artist John Ruthven and Cincinnati Nature Center board member Deb Krehbiel. Also attending over the weekend was my high school freshman English teacher Mrs. Nadine Wilson. My what a surprise and I can't imagine the shock when she saw her freshman student with no hair and a grey beard.

Masterworks for Nature Show

I did a few new smaller pieces for the upcoming Masterworks Show at the Cincinnati Nature Center. "Trail Boss", "Horsecreek Hayfields" and "Winter Camp" are 8x10 and 9x12 pieces. Trail Boss is of Rob Culbertson, a rancher from Nebraska. He is an excellent cowboy, horseman and model and I need to do more of him

Dubois Hikes

Well, just a quick note to catch up on my stay in Dubois before getting back to serious painting. The Susan K Black Workshop and show was held in Dubois in September and the painting of the black cowboy, "For Hire",that I did this summer, received a first place in oils. We did a lot of plein air painting and visiting with other artists. We took many hikes to places like Jade Lake with Gary Keimig and my wife Kathy. It is not hard to see where the lake got it's name. We also went to Gunsight Pass above Green Lake and the Green River on the Pinedale side of the Wind River Mountains with fellow artist Steve left and Ann Wernike . What a spectacular sight in the fall of the year.



Last but not least was a very tiring but moving hike to Bomber Falls where a B 24 Bomber crashed in 1943 during a training mission and all 11 aboard were lost. It is very high up in the Wind River Mountains just above a beautiful falls. The crash site is still littered with debris after all these years. Things take a long time to break down in this dry climate. The aluminum fuselage still is as shiney as the day it crashed. Fitting that I post this on Veterans Day.

Boedeker Butte

After leaving AR, I made a quick trip to the Sioux Trading Post at Prairie's Edge in Rapid City. It is a great place to see traditional clothing and regalia made by todays Native American Artists and the trading post has anything you could want for pow wows or to construct a reproduction of native art or clothing.
Soon after arriving in Dubois Wyoming, my friend Sig called me to invite me on a hike he was taking to Boedeker Butte with his friends Bob and Kay. We drove about 15 miles into the Absaroka Range to Bog Lake and then hiked a few miles and a couple of thousand feet higher to Boedeker Butte. That is me on the left and Sig with his dog Ruger on the right. It was over 10,000 feet and absolutely gorgeous. On the way up we passed a sight where Sheep Eater Indians had cut down trees many years ago to get to the pine nuts. The trees were laying where they fell. Bob bored some of the fallen trees as well as some live ones to try to match up growth rings to determine how long ago. I have not heard if he was successful. We also passed an ancient sheep trap used by the same Indians to trap and kill the Big Horn Sheep on which they depended for food, clothing and much more. We packed our lunch and dined under some Limber Pines near the Butte. I imagine we could see for at least twenty to thirty miles. I was pretty bushed when we returned not having hiked at altitude for a while.

Artist Ride in South Dakota

It has been a busy two months. The photo shoot for western artists was held the last week of August on the Shearer Ranches North of Wall South Dakota. For those of you that wondered where we get our references for 18th and 19th century paintings, one of the places is Artist Ride. It is by invitation only to 50 of the top western artists in the country. There are anywhere from 50 to 80 models including Native Americans, mountain men, cowboys and cowgirls, both modern and historic as well as a lot of livestock, wagons, stagecoaches and about any senerio you would like to create. Most artists take any where from 1,000 to 4,000 photos in a weekend. Digital photography has probably expanded that number quite a bit in recent years. It is a working weekend but also a retreat into the unspoiled land of the Cheyenne River Valley and a socializing between artists and models alike. We have many friends in both camps. We take time to remember those who were no longer with us and even more time renewing old acquaintances and making new ones. These are but a few of the wonderful models that equip themselves with the correct outfits and gear to make our paintings realistic and authentic.

Summer Time

Well, it has been a busy couple of months back here in Ohio. My daughter moved into a new home and my 95 year old mother who lives on her own has agreed to some in home caregivers. Whoopee! It has taken a bit of painting time getting all this done, but it is time to head back to Wyoming. I have to make a short stop at the "Artist Ride" photo shoot in South Dakota on the way. It is by invitation only and an excellent opportunity to replenish my resources. We also get to meet new models and renew friendships with other western painters. Unfortunately I will not be out there soon enough for "Crow Fair" near the Apsaroka (Crow) Indian Reservation in Montana. I did do a few smaller pieces in the last two weeks. Portraits are always what I go back to when getting into my painting mode.