“Late Afternoon, Wagon Wheel Crossing”
This painting of a peaceful scene of a whitetail buck having a late afternoon drink in the North Fork Guadalupe River came very close to being an entirely different type of wildlife art scene. I was going to name it “The Eye-catcher.”
I was fortunate enough to have a booth in the recent Bayou City Art Festival. On the last afternoon of the festival, when things were winding down, Sally, a seasoned artist there, came over to my booth for a chat. She was very complimentary of my drawings and watercolor paintings; however she had two critical comments. She said my prices were way too low and that I needed an “eye-catcher” at the front of my booth to attract potential buyers. She pointed over to her booth, not too far away, and noted a large painting of a horse at the front of her booth that could clearly be seen from my booth. She said, “Now that is my eye-catcher.” So, I have been thinking about how to do an “eye-catcher.”
Not too long ago, I was driving slowly up FM 1340 in the North Fork Guadalupe River valley looking for scenes to photograph. After passing the Graham low-water crossing and nearing The Wagon Wheel crossing, the highway begins to run parallel to the river. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed several teenagers, boys and girls, wading up the river in the ankle deep water.
Arriving at The Wagon Wheel Crossing, I noticed that there was a SUV parked there. I parked on the other side and got out with my camera and walked back to the crossing to get some photographs. While I was standing on the crossing looking downstream to take the photograph (which I used to make this painting), a young woman suddenly came around the bend wading in the river. She was about where the young cypress tree is in the painting.
At first glance, it appeared to me that she was “naked-as-a-Jay-bird,” as my mother used to say. After getting my eyes properly squinted to improve my focus, I could tell she had on a “thong” mini black bikini. It looked just like what it was supposed to be covering up. She and the other teenagers waded on up to the crossing to their SUV parked there and drove off.
So when I did this painting, I had an option. I could make it my much needed “eye-catcher” by putting that young lady and her mini black bikini in the painting instead of the whitetail buck. The problem is that the painting would have to be submitted to the jurors of the next art festival. They might not agree that this is “wildlife art.” I planned that my counter to their concerns would be that I was sure that she was, without-a-doubt, probably “wild” and I would also bet that she was full of “life.” Therefore, it would still be a sort of wildlife painting.
I lost my nerve to make this painting my “eye-catcher,” so you will just have to make-do with the whitetail buck.
Cheers,
Acree
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