Graduation Card

Time to start celebrating the achievements of some hard-working, persevering students!  I just finished drawing this card for a young friend who is finishing college.  I want to encourage her to soar on wings like an eagle, to run and not grow weary, and to walk and not faint. I want her to be assured that God goes with her into her future and to wait for Him!

Triumph!

Joe Patterson

The dictionary explains triumph as being victorious or successful...conquest is also a part of the package.  This is a feeling that causes the human spirit to soar.  We love being triumphant.  Each of us has areas in our lives that we struggle with....there are issues to be overcome, to gain ground on, and to press on to experiencing conquest.  As so often in life, the physical experience of triumph can help in training for emotional or spiritual triumph in our lives.  My own experience of training for long distance running taught me a lot about perseverence.  My son Joe trained last year for competition in the Tough Mudder event up in the Colorado mountains in June.  This is a grueling test through a variety of physical challenges that causes one to dig deep inside for fortitude and stamina.   So how did Joe do?  He FINISHED!  And strong at that!  Congratulations, Joe!  This is a quick sketch in pencil and watercolor to commemorate that feeling of triumph.  May you experience some triumph in your life today, too!  All the best!!

All About Teamwork

"All About Teamwork"

Charcoal/graphite

25 1/2" x 33"

(click on photo for closer look)

Watching ranch roping events highlights one feature in a major way....and that is teamwork.  Beauty flows in the attentive and responsive way the horse interacts with his rider.  The horse seems to intuit when to pull harder or slacken the rope, where to be at just the right time.  I love watching the interplay between horse and rider.

Teamwork also shows up between team members as they work to bring a calf down. With smooth understanding of where each horse and rider needs to be, both pairs execute their tasks efficiently.

Working on this large drawing has been a special pleasure for me.  The cowboy in the black hat is my son Elijah Patterson.  I believe he was born in boots and a saddle.  This kind of work is his great love.  And he is skilled at it.  Elijah has a way with horses.  I have watched him quietly and successfully train wild mustangs and work with other problem horses.  

One sad note about this drawing is that Elijah's horse Ally had to be put down on Elijah's birthday this past fall.  Ally was severely tangled in a barbed wire accident.  He was a great cow horse and long time companion of Elijah's.  Ally...you will be missed from the team!

Not Horsin' Around

Being a fun-loving kid from the very start, I remember times when my dad would have to remind me to "stop horsin' around" and do whatever I was supposed to be doing at the time.  Well, Dad...I have been "horsin' around, but it is what I'm currently working on...this magnificent horse Ally.   These are some update shots for you to look at some of the latest details.  Enjoy...and go ahead...."horse" around a bit!  Mouse over the top and click on each photo to catch a closer look at the details.

You can see that it takes more than one kind of pencil to get this drawing made!

Honk, Honk, Beep, Beep

The great migrations of countless wings and beaks are beating their way north.  Spring is in the air!  Traveling this weekend allowed me to see ribbons of geese flowing in the sky as well as fields white with snow geese stopping for a break.  What can beat the wonder of tilting your head to detect the beating of wings or the distant honking of Canadian geese on the move.  The great migration....what a marvel and a mystery!!  Makes you want to take off and travel along to see where they all go.  

With such beautiful weather today, I  couldn't help  but abandon the detailed work at my easel and go for a walk with sketchbook and pen in hand.  The above sketches are the end result.  Get out and enjoy what's happening in the skies!  Honk, honk!  Beep, beep!  

Like a Snail On An Aquarium Wall

I know that one is supposed to keep titles brief, but this one just needed to fly.  The phrase "like a snail on an aquarium wall" aptly fits how I feel drawing away at my easel.  This is no small piece of art...it is made for TEXAS, if you know what I mean.  My progress mirrors that of a snail often when I'm doing detailed pencil drawings.  Snails just ooze along making headway at about a centimeter an hour, it seems.  The photo reference often leaves dark areas that make it difficult to determine just exactly how that rope goes or how that hoof angles.  And as I've said before...the devil is in the details with this genre of representational art.

I spend so much time scrutinizing the reference for details that are very hard to see, and then there comes the slow laying down of line and value on the drawing, double-checking as I go.  So it's tedious but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I'll set my timer for 20 minutes as I work standing at my easel.  Then I'll take a break for 10 minutes and sit at my art desk studying in my art books.  Beep, beep and it's back to the easel.  That technique helps to keep my focus refreshed.  I alternate that schedule for hours at a time.  So... back to more oozing at the easel!  

La Casa Spring Show

What a brutally cold winter morning to transport artwork!  My sister, Robyn Milligan, generously gave of her time away from teaching to assist me in loading and unloading my artwork.  Our destination was downtown Omaha to one of the last family-owned Italian restaurants here in Omaha.  Since 1953, La Casa Pizzaria has been dishing out fine Italian food located at 4432 Leavenworth St.  I believe they are now shipping frozen pizzas coast to coast if you wish to order.  Check them out at www.lacasapizzaria.net for some legendary NY style pizza.

La Casa Pizzaria hosts a spring art show for the Bellevue Artists' Association for the months of March and April.  As a member,  I entered 9 pieces of art, 5 of them new since moving to Omaha this fall.  The La Casa Pizzaria is just south of the University of Nebraska Medical Center and east of the University of Nebraska-Omaha campus if you are ever in Omaha and craving good Italian food.