Further Work on the Stockyards Watercolor

Fort Worth Cattle Drive, East Exchange

This is my last evening to work on this watercolor.  I leave immediately after school Friday for Edom Festival of the Arts.  I regret that I will be unable to post to my blog while there.  No Internet service will be available in that remote area.  In fact, there will be no electricity on the festival grounds.  I know that from past experience, this being my third year to participate.  The festival is absolutely wonderful, with patrons driving long distances to reach that remote East-Texas setting.  The beautiful pastureland and shade trees make the festival idyllic, and I can hardly wait to get there.  Once my tent is up, I plan to relax under the trees and perhaps get in some quality plein air watercolor sketching done of the surrounding terrain (I enjoyed doing that last year).

I am getting attached to this stockyards painting.  The color and textures on the hides of the longhorns are proving to be a real challenge, and are pushing me into some color schemes I haven’t explored previously.  The banners hanging from the lamp post also hold a fascination for me, as do the signs in the right background.  I am still exploring the contrasting values of the longhorns and the street surface below, and haven’t quite decided where to push that.  Much work remains on the horse to the left, and the horses and riders in the rear center are not even yet underway.  Plenty of work remains.  At this point, it appears that I will not be able to touch this till Monday.

Thanks for reading.

Tags: cattle drive, Edom Festival of the Arts, longhorns, Stockyards