Webster Art

My son has three egg laying chickens, a dog, and three towers of bees. He and his wife sell their honey to friends at work. During the bee harvest he stacks up two cubic yards of jars of honey in the living room.

I’ve been fascinated by his animals. I’ve drawn his dog several times and now I’ve started in on his chickens. I also have a great photo of Rose, which I plan to do in oils.

After my disastrous experience trying to place my big paintings in the gallery I’ve switched to drawing whimsical things just for fun. It’s much more relaxing knowing I don’t have worry about whether they will sell. Like Van Gogh, who sold two paintings his whole life, I paint because it’s an itch I have to scatch.

I photographed the birds with my full frame Canon. The details up close are dramatic and were super fun to paint.

After I finished the birds I made another cowboy hat. This is my fourth one and it’s getting easier. I wore my first one for 5 years. And while it’s still going strong, it’s heavy. My second one worked, but I used the wrong leather and made the brim too short. I gave the third one to Clint and liked it so much I made another one for myself.

Part of the success of the last two hats is using the right leather. I bought a half skin from Tandy for $120. It’s got a hard polished finish but isn’t anywhere close to full grain. They measure leather thickness weirdly. I have no idea what I’ve got, other than it’s about 2mm thick. Fortunately, I can walk into Tandy, hand them the leather and they show me where there is more.

Buying leather is a very hands on experience. It’s something that must be felt. I always feel bad for the cows, but that’s a story for another day.