#111 " Three Pieces of Fruit" 8x10 on linen panel

"Three Pieces of Fruit" 8x10 oil on linen panel

I went to the studio today all excited about painting something really different. I got there and ...... nothing! So, instead of wasting my day, I decided to do a quickie. That's supposed to be an hour or less but I probably spent a little more on this one.  Painting from life is such a good exercise and keeps me honest so to speak. Not what I intended for today but it's what I got!!!

#110 "Day Ride" 11x14 oil on canvas

It's seems like months since I've been able to grab a day or two to paint in my studio. Actually it has been. After returning from Indiana, and no major responsibilities, for a few days, I decided to see if I remembered which end of a paint brush to use! My intention was to paint a bridge. I ended up with my first attempt at western art.

I was introduced to western art by some of the very best. When I came to California back in the early 1970s, I was surrounded by amazing musicians and artists. Of course, CW Mundy was my best friend and pickin buddy. We had made our way out west not on horseback but in an old VW. Probably not a lot more comfortable! If he wasn't playing his banjo, he was painting. I watched him for hours and hours for years and years, never imagining I would ever paint anything. CW's peers were Frank Locklear, Jim Vincent, Kent Butler, Steve Hills and others. All of these mentioned were such talented artists. But the leader of the pack was Donald "Putt" Putman,  http://stellargallery.com/artists/putman/index.htm  Putt as he was affectionately known, was the master. His art was and is still collected by serious art collectors everywhere and is displayed in some of the finest galleries in the country.  CW and all the rest for the most part looked to him and studied under him. As musicians and friends with Putt, he invited us a couple of times to come to Scottsdale, Arizona to play for the opening of his show. For payment he would do a water color of us. These remain some of my prized possessions.

Here we are in April of 1973 in Scottsdale, Arizona. That's Cw Mundy on the left, me in the middle and Frank Locklear on the right. We're playing out front of a gallery for Putt. That's one of his paintings in the background. My oh my...

Putt had a studio in Hermosa Beach on PCH and later went on to open a coffee shop on Hermosa Avenue with his wife Bobbie next to the old Hermosa Theater. Putt would paint right there in the coffee shop/resturaunt, often using his numerous western props and a live model. Putt later moved to the slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range and passed a way in 2007. He was as nice as he was talented. In addition to the two paintings below, both of which were painted of me as a result of playing music for him, I have several other original water colors and signed prints. They are a treasure!

So Putt, all these many years later, please let me say thanks... thank you for your amazing talent and ultimate influence in my life.

Me and my Martin D35

Now, back to "Day Ride." I ended up with this very fun painting of a trail ride. I found this photograph from a Facebook entry by a fraternity brother named Steve Clippinger who is this amazing artist currently living in Palm Springs. Steve has a horse named Darrma. Steve and Darma ride Indian Canyons several times a week. He often takes pictures of his adventures. I'm still waiting to see if this is a photo Steve took or one that was taken by one of the group.

I really enjoyed doing this. I used a palette knife on the rocks to give them the presence they deserve. I like the way the horses and their riders kinda fade off in the distance, a little dust kicking up along the trail. This is my first ever attempt at western art. The western landscape just provides so many opportunities and while it seems that western art isn't really "in vogue," these days I guess I'm not either. That said, one of the wonderful things about getting a little older, and being an artist, I can just paint what the heck I want!

So yippee ki ya! Here's to the wild, wild west!!!

Bing Crosby, along with a group that includes Martha Raye, Bob Burns, Louis Prima, Roy Rodgers and the Sons of the Pioneers, perform a rollicking "I'm an Old Cowhand (from the Rio Grande)" in Rhythm on the Range (1936).

Still gonna paint that bridge someday...