Painting the Buffalo

“Doc’s Baby” 6 x 8, $125.00

Check out my newest paintings, a  series on Buffalo, aka the American Bison:

This fall was one filled with travel, mostly out west: Utah,  (western) Texas and Oklahoma.  The panoramic landscapes, of Texas and Oklahoma, the steep trails and amazing colors of Utah-all exceeded my expectations. The desire to paint “the American West” was set, like someone lit a fire under me! The beautiful animals, such as the American Bison, cattle, horses, and even a very special donkey, named “Radar” have captured my attention and are all being painted in my studio back home in North Carolina. Sadly, I couldn’t paint everything “plain air”, but was able to sketch, make color references and photograph to supplement my live experiences.

Part of my trip was for a commission  (will post soon) I received to paint some beautiful buffalo in Texas.  Not just any old wondering West Texas Bison, but there was a specific herd, and hope to paint the clients “favorite” buffalo.

The buffalo’s name is “Baby”, but don’t let that fool you! “Baby weighs in at about 3,000 lbs.  He also can run about 40 miles per hour, not bad for such a big guy!

We got to see them first from a great distance (which was good, it was wise to “ease in”).  Then, we were privileged to get up close and personal, even feeding a couple of them a treat. This particular herd does “live off the land”, but is used to a few particular human beings. The caretaker of this beautiful herd was kind enough to take my children and I for this up close visit. Even though they knew the caretaker, It took quite some time for them to get even a little comfortable with 2 of my tween boys bouncing up and down with excitement.

(scroll down for images of the some of the these beautiful creatures)

I will forever be thankful for the opportunity to interact with these amazing animals, and look forward to sharing the actual commissioned piece and other studies I did in future entries.

A special shout out to Rick and Cindy Langford, along with “Doc” for the very special journey of painting this incredible herd.

“Incoming”!

“Suspicious of our motives”

Giving the buffalo a treat