Sayles Ranch Guesthouses

08/18/2024

“Big Magic”

You may be familiar with Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, “Big Magic”. It’s full of insight and it provokes much thought regarding creativity and inspiration and from whence they come. You may feel a bit uncomfortable with a strict interpretation of her theology regarding creative inspiration but if you read with flexibility what she has to say, it is very intriguing.

I believe art drives culture, enriches lives and illuminates people’s homes. Sometimes it’s worthwhile to also make a strong and somewhat outlandish statement when you incorporate art into a room, and one way to accomplish that is with scale. The image here is a good example of that and the oversized roses make such a strong but pleasing statement, don’t you think? Do you need “Big Magic” in your home and in your life?

07/31/2024

Sold!

“Enchanted Tree”
60” x 48”

It’s so enjoyable to see how art makes people feel. You probably think I’m exaggerating but through the years of creating and selling my work, I have often seen people get emotional and even tear up a bit. People like how art looks, but even more important, they like how it makes them feel!

07/28/2024

Journey

Life is just a journey isn’t it? Sometimes we are actually traveling and traversing but sometimes we are quiet and contemplative— but even in those moments we are still following a pathway.

A few days ago I made a brief, solitary trip to Santa Fe to spend some encouraging moments with a lifelong artist friend, to do some gallery hopping and to meet with a gallery there to confirm an ongoing collaboration with them regarding representing my work. I left home early on Thursday morning, spent the night in Santa Fe and was back home by days end on Friday evening.

New Mexico, especially the northern high desert, is indisputably the “Land of Enchantment”. The windshield photo posted here confirms my experience that I’m not sure I have ever approached Santa Fe without encountering rain clouds approaching from their emergence over the Sangre de Christo Mountains. “Sangre de Christo”—“the blood of Christ”.

The round trip’s 16 hours of windshield time provided much opportunity for creative contemplation. It passed so quickly! Many people think that artists just slap out paintings effortlessly because they are “so talented”! (Note to self: Don’t say that to an artist. Although undoubtedly a well meaning compliment on your part, the message it conveys to the artist is that you disclaim their efforts and diligent hard work. ). I often have people remark that I must really be enjoying this stage of my life because painting is “so relaxing”. That’s a myth. That may actually be so for some random artist somewhere in “Lala Land”, but for me, and for most artists I know, painting is demanding, unpredictable and a constant challenge. I pray a lot for guidance from the ONE who bestows the “gift”. It’s not a straight line continuum. The “gift” is not just, “Bam” and you got it and the rest is smooth sailing. Painting is a journey of hard work, passion, experimentation, failures, and sometimes….success, or at least, resolution and statement.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He will make your paths straight.”

My friends, as you travel your own journey, may you…..”lean not on your own understanding”!

07/27/2024

Sold!
“Daybreak”
48” x 48”

06/30/2024

Harvest “dinner” in the wheat field served from the back of a ‘57’ Ford

When the blistering summer sun bears down on our existence this time of year, I often think back to the summers of my childhood…and wheat harvest. It’s branded into my memory. Brutal heat, blinding dust, choking chaff, combines, grain trucks, trips to town to the elevator —and the blessing of “dinner” brought to the field and served by my angel mother from the back of her ‘57’, finned, Ford Fairlane. Her act of mercy and provision was a sustaining force in our operation and although she was humble and dutiful, I think she understood the deep, soulfulness of this back breaking, overwhelming chore. She was the redemption of the day, the spark of hope and mercy in the form of wholesome, comforting food. Farm food! Chicken fried steak and pork chops and meat loaf. Home grown vegetables like black eyed peas, cantaloupe, summer squash and mashed potatoes with gravy. And iced tea….ice…cold…tea! All you could drink- served in re-used (recycle wasn’t heard of back then) quart sized Miracle Whip glass jars with screwed on lids.

The image here is my digital modification of a random photo taken one day, at noon, in an Oklahoma wheat field, with my mother’s Brownie camera, one very hot, blistering, summer day in 1961. It’s a miracle the photo survived….and come to think of it, it’s a miracle that I survived too!

06/27/2024

….still a few summer roses in my gardens!

48” x 48”
Acrylic painted on circa 1899 ledger pages glued to gallery wrapped canvas.

06/23/2024

“Summer Roses”
24” x 24”
Acrylic painted on vintage ledger pages glued to gallery wrapped canvas.

Another painting for the floral collection! Many of you have asked me to paint something smaller in a floral so here it is! It’s just two feet square so it would go most anywhere. No more excuses about not having room or wall space! As with all my floral paintings, these are roses I grew in my gardens here at Adobe Walls Studio. I’m guessing this one will go quickly. Let me know if it strikes your fancy!

06/20/2024

Not many roses left in my gardens as the heat of summer settles in, but it’s mid June so it’s a miracle that I have any! I just cut these “Ingrid Bergman” grandifloras because I thought it would be better to enjoy them for a few days on the dining table instead of letting them languish in the heat. They are the velvetiest red roses I have ever had! Could be inspiration for another great painting….The Great Creator never ceases to amaze me with the beauty He shares with us!

06/17/2024

“Junius Peak Oak”
108” x 36” (9’ x 3’)

I’ve shared the process on this painting and many of you have asked to see the finished piece so here it is! I’ve worked on it for weeks and weeks but really the more accurate time frame is 70 years because every painting it a culmination of a lifetime of experimenting and practice.

It’s better in person and wouldn’t it look great above your sofa? It’s iconic Texas and I think it’s one of my best pieces…..

06/14/2024

Don't leave anything for later.
Later, the coffee gets cold.
Later, you lose interest.
Later, the day turns into night.
Later, people grow up.
Later, people grow old.
Later, life goes by.
Later, you regret not doing something...
When you had the chance.

Life is a fleeting dance, a delicate balance of moments that unfold before us, never to return in quite the same way again.
Regret is a bitter pill to swallow, a weight that bears down upon the soul with the burden of missed chances and unspoken words.
So, let us not leave anything for later. Let us seize the moments as they come, with hearts open and arms outstretched to embrace the possibilities that lie before us. For in the end, it is not the things we did that we regret, but the things we left undone, the words left unspoken, the dreams left unfulfilled.

~ from 'Before the Coffee Gets Cold' a novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

05/18/2024

Only 2 more weeks!

If you haven’t seen my current solo art exhibit, “Art in Context” you still have time! The show will be up for two more weeks at the Center for Contemporary Art, at 220 Cypress in Downtown Abilene!

I’ve spent the last year preparing for this show and have put a lot of time and effort into producing something that hasn’t been previously done in Abilene.

In addition to the 40 paintings, most of which have been completed in the last 12 months, I hired a moving company to move most of the furniture and accessories from our hundred year old Pueblo Revival home, downtown, to stage the entire gallery. My house is virtually empty and the walls and floors echo when we walk through it!

All this to say that I have created something extra special and I would love to share it with you! It’s easy to see—11am-5pm, Tuesday-Saturday. Run by and I think you will be glad you did if your life could use a dose of beauty and illumination!

02/15/2024

Limited Edition Print!

I received an overwhelming response from all of you about this painting, “Charlie Blanks-Don’t Let Mama Find Out” when I posted it yesterday on social media It seems the back story of mystery, taboo, intrigue and good memories of this segment of younger days and Abilene’s history has captured the hearts of some.

The quirky statue of the faceless cowboy riding the two headed beast, part bull, part horse sat in front of the Charlie Blanks Niteclub in Abilene’s earlier days.

I have entered into a discussion with the Center for Contemporary Art for collaborating on a limited edition print series. I have never before considered offering prints and this is definitely a rare consideration. The proceeds of the print sales would go to the Center and this would be a very small, one time offering. The limited edition would be a finite number, and when they are gone, there will be no more

The details have yet to be worked out, but if you would like to be added to a waiting list, please comment here. Thank you!

01/01/2024

“Jubal Mesa”
48” x 48”
Acrylic painted on pages from a vintage, pre-WWII Firehouse daybook which chronicles their daily activities.

It is important to me to finish a new painting on this first day of 2024 because it is a symbolic act of creating to mark the beginning of the year. In the Hebrew Biblical reference, Jubal was deemed the inventor of music. The name is descriptive of the lyrical movement and expression of the West Texas landscape in this piece—the interplay of the colors and shapes. “Jubal Mesa”! My song of delight and thanksgiving!

12/15/2023

West Texas Sophistication…Just in time for Christmas for that special person. Art for Christmas!

This trio from my “What the Eagle Saw” is a sophisticated approach to regional art. They are landscapes from above, but with a distinctive abstract quality that goes well with a modern interior. The colors are earthy and easy to work with.

“What the Eagle Saw—Buffalo Gap”
24”x24” each
To be sold as a trilogy.

The details are delightful in person!

DM me if you would like more information.

11/30/2023

“Burning Bush….holy ground.
48”x48”
Acrylic painted on vintage ledgers, on gallery wrapped canvas

11/26/2023

“annuntiatio”
(Latin for annunciation)
5’x8’
Altarpiece in Acrylic painted on 125 year old, hand written documents.

Luke 1:30-32—“The angel said to her, “Mary, do not be afraid. You have found favor with God. See! You are to become a mother and have a Son. You are to give Him the name Jesus. He will be great. He will be called the Son of the Most High!”

As we begin the Advent season, I’m posting one of my favorite pieces, an altarpiece called “annuntiatio”. It’s large—5feet x 8feet. Artists throughout art history have painted the annunciation. Usually they depict Mary and Gabriel but I wanted give Mary’s perspective as she incurred this frightening, heavenly messenger. Gabriel holds the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove in his right hand. And behind him is the broken, defeated cross, a secondary prediction that Christ would defeat death and the cross.

I hope you are blessed by my attempt to herald the Advent Season.

“

11/21/2023

https://candysdirt.com/2023/11/21/the-legendary-sayles-ranch-properties-in-abilene-are-officially-up-for-sale/

A collection of properties in Abilene dubbed Sayles Ranch is now on the market. These homes come fully furnished and ready for business.

11/17/2023

“Caprock Escarpment”
24” x 24”
Acrylic painted on vintage ledger pages glued to gallery wrapped canvas

The history and drama of the Caprock Escarpment is legendary in the hearts of West Texans!

11/05/2023

Starting on this 4ft x 10ft commission piece of Steamboat Mountain. I’m using 1880s, handwritten Texas deed documents. It will go in my client’s living room over their sofa, and it will definitely illuminate their home!

11/05/2023

Illuminate your home and your life! Art is the answer.

“What the Eagle Saw”—landscapes from on high.
48” x 48” each

This duo of paintings follows my series of landscapes from an aerial perspective. It’s influenced by topography maps and aerial photography. My growing up on a farm explains my fascination with the patterns of plowed fields and curving terraces.

11/04/2023

“Art will Illuminate your home!”

…..and your life……

Painting: “Autumn Rhapsody”
60” x 48”
Acrylic on canvas

11/03/2023

“Autumn Hallelujah”
48” x 48”
Acrylic painted on pages from a vintage, handwriting firehouse day book ledger, glued to a gallery wrapped canvas

In art school I learned that “true” artists are offended when the customer asked for a painting that matches their sofa. The theory being that fine art should be independent of its environment and where it might be hung. Since art school I have matured and learned a few things….so I say, “Nonsense!” What good is art if it doesn’t illuminate your life, your home and your environment? I’m sure Gertrude Stein would have agreed, since she hung all those exquisite paintings she bought from Picasso and Matisse in her Paris salon.

This new painting, “Autumn Hallelujah” is another in my Mesa series and is just off the easel this morning It’s expressive and abstract and fits the name, don’t you think?

“Autumn Hallelujah”—pretty good match for the sofa!

10/31/2023

Happy Halloween from Adobe Walls Studio and Terry & Laura Browder!

10/27/2023

So….maybe you’re just not the “purple velvet sofa” kind of person….

A lot of people tell me, “I just like neutral colors and simple, clean lines and not a lot of things to dust. I don’t like a lot of fancy things and I just want to be comfortable in my home.”

I totally get it but you know what?—art is still the answer! The right painting can enliven a room that is otherwise without ornamentation. Just because you don’t want to live in an overly “done up” home and you want to be comfortable doesn’t mean you have to live without beauty. Comfortable doesn’t have to mean souless. …

…..art is still the answer…

10/26/2023

“Art will illuminate your home!”

“Prairie Flower”
48” x 48”

10/24/2023

“Sway”
108”x60”

There’s just nothing like the right context for a stellar piece of art….Art Illuminates your home, don’t you think?

(…message me if you have that right context!)

10/24/2023

“Whitewashing Indians”/“Killers of the Flower Moon”
60”x48”
Acrylic painted on 1890s deed documents glued to gallery wrapped canvas

With the new movie, “Killers of the Flower Moon” just out, there is a heightened awareness of the atrocities committed regarding indigenous tribes. I thought it might be a ideal time to reintroduce this painting, “Whitewashing Indians”.

This is my symbolic interpretation of 100 years ago, our European white culture’s attempt at assimilating native Americans, especially children, into our culture through Federal Indian Schools and other ways. The painting shows a white owl (white owls were evil in plains Indian lore) as the symbol of the white man, clutching a paint brush in its talons, painting the Indian Chief white, as well as the lodges and warriors in the background. It also shows the approaching locomotive with the engine having the face of a devouring skull and little Prairie Flower (the name of Cynthia Ann Parker’s baby daughter that died after she was recaptured), the cactus flower has a drip of white paint on it.

The vintage documents used as the substrate of the painting are 1890s Texas deeds that conveyed lands once controlled by the plains Indians and are a relic from the time period. It gives an added dimension to the piece.

If you like art that is not only decorative but full of symbolism, story, activism and content, this painting might really appeal to you.

10/23/2023

Laura and I spent a glorious weekend in Santa Fe meeting with art galleries, eating Northern New Mexico cuisine and soaking in the Autumn hallelujah of this truly enchanting place!

10/17/2023

Work in progress…..”Treaty Oaks Triptych”

I started this trilogy several weeks ago, but set them aside for a bit….to incubate in my soul. They are in their early, rough stages so there isn’t much to see yet, but that’s the point. Just sharing a little bit of my processes.

This morning I carried them out to the garden to drink in the dappled light,
so that in the autumn hallelujah I could look and listen for whispers of where they are going and what they want to say….am I a goofball or what?

My intention is for this set to be looser and more abstract than some of my other paintings. I’m seeing a significant interest in more modern, sophisticated art these days with some segments of my audiences. My tribe is all over the board-some prefer more traditional presentations but some have a taste for edgier art. One direction is pulling me to satisfy the appetite for more urbane and youthful pieces. On a scale of one to ten, what is your tolerance for abstraction? (One being “Thomas Kincaid” and Ten being “Rothko” or “Picasso”)

10/16/2023

“Selling Art on Social Media”
They say…….

I continue to read and research all I can about how artists should/should not use social media for marketing their work. There lots sophisticated advice out there.. and rules! And I sincerely want to do the right thing…..and God forbid I break any rules!

THEY SAY: You shouldn’t just post pictures of your paintings and expect people to like them and buy them. “Social media isn’t a marketplace,” They say. “You can’t expect to sell art on social media, that’s not what it’s for.”

I SAY: Wow! I’m sure glad I didn’t know that sooner…I sure hope I don’t have to give all the money back and take all those paintings back cause it wasn’t supposed to happen and I was doing it all wrong!

THEY SAY: You should instead, use Social Media to post something called “Content”. That’s what social media is really for.

I SAY: I have done a lot of reading and research about what the heck “Content” means. I kinda, sorta, sometimes , maybe, but not for sure, think I know. I kinda, sorta, maybe, but not for sure, think I may have accidentally posted some of that “Content” stuff a few times. But I sure never recall making a trip to the bank because of it!

THEY SAY: “The true goal of social media is something called “Engaging” your audience”. Now again, I kinda know what “engaging” means cause I did that once…and we ended up getting married. One wife is all I can handle…and I can’t for the life of me figure out what polygamy has to do with selling art on Social media!

So, what do you say? Should I try to post more of that “Content” stuff and try to figure out how to engage you? Or is it ok with you if I just keep posting a new painting when I finish it and see if you think it might look good hanging over your sofa?