Presidents Day (a little late)

Oh well, I did not do this drawing of a bust of George Washington until tonight at the last Sketching in the Galleries class for the month. Our instructions were to deal with the profile and the interface with the background. We were also to define a space within our paper and fill it with out drawing. My drawing materials were pencil and a soft graphite stick. The Sculpture was created by Jean-Antoine Houdon (French) in 1786.

Sunday Afternoon with the Pups.

During my Sunday at the ranch I led the pups down the hill for a short tour and took my camera. I was having fun watching. I took quite a few photos but had a difficult time tracking pups quick enough to maintain focus. When we came to a tree there were plenty of sticks to pick up and run with. Even Cooksie (Mom) got into the fray.) On the hillside between the trees there was plenty of space for games of chase and roll.

Through the Fence

I was looking for photos to send in to a book publisher and found this one. While the quality of the image was not right for book publication, I really liked this image and decided to feature it on my blog today. My preferred point of view is from a point close to the ground and no higher than chest level of my subject.

Sketching In The Galleries: Hindu and Buddhist Art

This week we went to the Hundu and Buddhist Galleries. Although this is my least favorite part of the DMA, I took on the challenge and found this gruesome god head glaring down from a pedestal, and filled my page with it.

Rain Wash Textures

Saturday at the ranch we had some very hard rains which pretty much turned the arena into a wash flat. By Monday after noon the Sun had dried things off enough to walk across the arena looking for interesting features. I am wondering what created the textures I see in the image above. Are these snail trails? Are they worm biways? Anybody have any ideas?
As the rain falls and water washes across the plain of the arena, small wash plains are created showing the affects of turbulent flow on a small scale.






The flat plains of the arena capture water in pools leaving these ponding textures.

Twisty finds his game

This morning I went to Cedar Elm Stables to photograph one of Doc O Lena Twist's Offspring Twisty demonstrate his skills at Jumping. While most of Doc O Lena Twists have found their jobs in the Western Arena either Cutting, Barrel Racing, etc.. Twisty has moved into the English Arena and found his niche as a Hunter. A few more images of todays workout make be seen in this Gallery .

Sketching in the Galleries: Nasher Sculpture Center

This week our Sketching Class was held at the Nasher. We worked in the downstairs gallery among the sculptures of Gaston Lachaise. I did 3 drawings, the one to the left being one of my favorite. This drawing was done with a carbon stick that came with a new set of drawing pencils.

New Planning Calendar

Last night I put together a Planning Calendar for 2008. Each month has a photo page from either a photo taken that month, or featuring an event I regularly photograph during that month. I have prepared a Flash Gallery including all pages in the Calendar. I was considering submitting this Calander to be printed in a hardback book, but decided to have it made into a spiral bound calender.

Sketching in The Galleries: Painting on the Wall

Rachel Cox has returned to lead our sketching class for the month of February. Today she took us to the European 19th Century Galleries and challenged us to work on our drawing with emphasis on the frames and how they were hanging, bringing in the paintings as part of the composition. I chose a small portrait, starting by drawing the frame with all details, working to show the depth and shadows created by the overhead lighting, I then added a suggestion of the woman in the painting.

Fun with the Sticks

Today I had to get the pups out for some time in the sun. As they are a full 2 mos old now and eating heartily, they have put on a few pounds and collectively are able to topple their yard pen. After their 2nd escape I decided to let them have some fun and I would supervise with my camera. This is what I saw:

Chicken Green Chili Tomatillo with Blue Corn Plantain

Tonights supper featured a Chicken with Green Chili Tomatillo Sauce and Blue Corn Plantain Chips.
The Chicken with Green Chili Tomatillo Sauce was prepared with chickeb leg quarters braised with sweet onion rings in an iron skillet. After the chicken was browned I added enough chicken broth to cover all, and then added shredded oven roasted Anaheim Green Chilis. I cooked chicken til meat fell off the bones, adding the yellow squash when chicken was almost done. I served the Chicken Green Chili Tomatillo Suauce with two Central Market Bean and Cheese Tamales. The Blue Corn Plantain chips were prepared from cut squares of green plantain, dipped in egg and then dredged in blue cornmeal. I then fried the platain just like you would potatoes. I served the plantain chips with Fisher and Weiser Mango Ginger Habenero Sauce.

Sketching in the Galleries: Iceberg

This week and final Thursday with Keri Oldham, we were assigned to do value drawing based on one of two paintings from the Rachofsky collection. I chose Iceberg by Tomory Dodge, 2006. The object of this lesson was to use value interfaces to imply line. The link for Iceberg leads to similar sreenprints to the original oil painting from which I drew.

Dallas Museum of Art

Tonight was my usual evening at the Dallas Museum of Art. I did my usual tour to see what was new. I found a couple of exhibits that I meant to photograph last time, but I did not know if they were part of the collection and photgraphy was allowed. My favorite of this current exhbit is of an Untitled work by Tom Friedman (2004).
This is a work of scale, A large blue figure looking down juxtaposed with a tiny figure (barely visible in the image) looking up. This piece was placed in the very appropriate location in the Barrel Vault. This work is part of the Rachofsky Collection. I am a great fan of large scale works, especially when the work is of a subject made to be many times its expected size.

I continued my walk through the museum looking for Silver and other reflective dectorative works. In the main hall I found some tea sets which I photographed looking to find an image suitable as a Self Portrait. In the American Galleries I found an 18th century mirror. The surface as tarnished but I could still see a good image. I took a number of images trying to get a good Self Portrait. This image shows my final choice. I brought it home and did a little image manipulation to do a horizontal rotation of the image.

Tamales with Spinach Tomatillo Sauce, Fried Plantains

Tonight I decided to create a Spinach Tomatillo Sour Cream Sauce for some Central Market Tamales I had. I fried first about 4 tomatillos cut up with 2 garlic pods and pearl red onion sliced. After the tomatillos were soft I added about 1/2 bag of cut up spinach. I cooked to the spinach was done, and then added light sour cream.
While the Sauce was cooking I cut a yellow skin plantain into 4 slices which I coated with pastry flour and fried until light brown in olive and canola oil. After the plantains were done I set them on paper towel to soak up excessive oil. I put tamales and plantains on plate and then topped the tamales with the sauce.

Coho Salmon with Kholrabi, Carrot, Broccoli Stirfry

Late this afternoon I made a trip to Central Market with a Coupon for $10 off Seafood with $40 Purchase. In the produce department I found one of my favorite but lately rare vegetables, Kholrabi.
I also got a couple of large organic carrots. In the Seafood Department I picked out a nice Coho Salmon Filet and about 6 medium peeled shrimp to round out my $10 seafood allowance.
When I arrived home I grated on of the Kholrabi roots along with about one half of one of the carrots. I also sliced the stalk and florets of small crown of broccoli. I then stirfried these vegetables in Olive Oil and butter with garlic salt. When nearly complete I added and cooked the 5-6 shrimp and cooked til they were ready. I braised the Salmon in Olive and Canola oil for 2 minutes on each side and then finished a 425 degree oven for 6 minutes. After it was finished I put some Fisher and Wieser Mango Ginger Habanero Sauce and then served. Dang it was good!

Cranberry Apple Crisp

A week or so ago, Mom emailed me a great recipe for Cranberry and Apple Crisp. The recipe calls for the ingredients for the crisp topping but I skip that and just get a commercial mix at the grocery. I do prepare the fruit as the recipe calls, using 2/3 bag of Cranberries and two large apples sliced and cored. I add sugar and one tablespoon of floor, put it in the 8inch pan and the add the crisp topping and bake for about 30 min. It turned out great.

Chicken Cacciatore

Tonight I did my best to reproduce a recipe I used to prepare when I was in my late teens and working in a neighborhood Italian Restaurant. The Recipe is Chicken Cacciatore and I used Leg Quarters, first brasing them in a little oil. I then added 1 regular sized can of Italian Stewed Tomatoes, 1 cup Merlot, 1/2 bell pepper, and 1/2 cup of mushrooms, and enough water to just cover the chicken. I cooked until the chicken was nearly coming off the bone. I then added long strips of yellow squash and continued cooking until the Squash was done. About 20 min before Cacciatore was finished I prepared a small amount of Penne Pasta and added enough Olive Oil to coat pasta and added a small amount of fresh parmesian cheese. I put Chicken legs on plate with Pasta and served the sauce over the pasta. I served a Green salad with Basalmic Vinegar and Olive Oil Dressing.

Weekend Cutting Horse Show

This past weekend I photographed 1 1/2 days of the Rose Country CHA Show. This is the first time I had used the new camera for a weekend show. I set up two strobes and set them at very low power and used a high ISO so I could shoot all day on one strobe battery. This shot was taken while I was taking a break while the sun was setting. In this arena at sunset in the winter time, the sun shines across the entire width of the arena making it hard to overcome the strong warm light. I was sitting in the stands and took this photo just as the horse stopped in the light. There were no shadows cast on the horse so the image worked very well.

Photographing Vizsla Puppies

Today I brought my camera to the ranch in hopes of getting some photos of the month old Vizsla puppies. We had a great warm day to put the puppies out to enjoy the sun. My niece Austria was playing with some of the pups and the others were running around the yard. I laid down on the grass and captured these images of some of the pups.

New Vizsla Puppies

While I was preparing for the NCHA Futurity Sales in Ft Worth, Cooksie, the Vizsla at the ranch gave birth to 9 puppies. The are not much to see when they are first born, but now their eyes are open and they are starting to explore. These photos were taken at our family Christmas party as we brought a few in to cuddle. They are very close to a month old and will soon be a handful. If you want to learn more about Vizlas visit Cooksies website at
AustriasVizlas.com