#516 Briscoe Museum: Night of the Artists

The Briscoe Museum is presenting the 13th annual Night of the Artists Art Sale and Exhibitions.
It will be presented in the beautiful Jack Guenther Pavilion at the Briscoe Western Art Museum
and will showcase over 60 of the country's top Western and Wildlife Artists!
The Art Sale will be on Saturday, March 28, 2014.
The sale will be followed by a month-long exhibition from March 30 to April 27.  

The Briscoe Western Art Museum, named in honor of the late Texas Governor,  Dolph Briscoe, Jr. and his wife, Janey, preserves and interprets the art, and culture of the American West through engaging exhibition, educational programs, and public events reflective of the region's rich traditions and shared heritage.

The museum is located on San Antonio's famed River Walk, the institution is housed in San Antonio's first Public Library and newly constructed pavilion.  The Briscoe Campus consists of the historic Museum building, the Jack Guenther Pavilion, and the adjacent McNutt Courtyard & Sculpture Garden.

The Briscoe Western Art Museum preserves and interprets the art, history,and culture of the American West through engaging exhibitions, educational programs, and public events reflective of the region's rich traditions and shared heritage.

Below, are images of my work that will be in the show.

Briscoe Bison Maquette

26"H 37"W 9"D

 Tethered Goats

8"H 26"L 9"D

King of the Coop  

18"H 18"W 7"D

Ed. 65

Retail 4,200

Year of the Horse

16"H 10"W 4"D

Briscoe Briscoe

26"H 19"W 9"D

To learn more about the subjects in this blog go to the links below.  
For a complete list of the blog index go to the Index Page and 
type the subject in the Search This Blog link on the right.

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#508 Ex Libris

I love books and I love to read.

I collect books - new books, old books, and rare books . . .
about many different subjects.  My focus, however, is on art,
animals, and history.  I have a real library filled floor to
ceiling with books arranged in a peculiar system that only
I know but cannot explain.  When I shuttle a book
between the library and studio, I always return it to the
same place.  Typically, I can lay my hands on any
book at any given time and I have an uncanny way
of knowing if a book is missing or is out of place. 

 I love the feel, the weight, the smell - everything - about books. 

I love ripping cellophane off of new books and the sound of a book
being opened for the first time.  I love the pictures, illustrations,
and maps in books.  I love the bindings, marbling, bookplates,
and pressed flowers that I find in old books.

My library is a baronial-sized room that is my sanctuary,
and when I enter it, adventure is imminent.
I love the reassurance of having a book nearby,
and I'm uncomfortable in a room where there are no books. 

   Although the internet has opened a wealth of access and knowledge to "information  junkies" like me . . .
nothing will ever replace a book.
While a computer can answer specific questions
and epitomizes the ultimate reference source. . .
a book offers the surprise of discovery and may present information that one, perhaps, had not thought to ask about! 

Below, are images of my library and various studio bookcases and shelves.

What are books without bookends?  I love bookends and over the years have created over
30 different designs . . . below are samples.

Quail Gamebird Bokends

 Remembering Will James Bookends

 Reflection and Resolve Bookends

 Rooster Head Bookends

Turkey Bookends

To learn more about the subjects in this blog go to the links below.  
For a complete list of the blog index go to the Index Page and 
type the subject in the Search This Blog link on the right.

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish Smith

#501 Museum Shows: The Autry, con't . . .

The Autry weekend is over and below are

 images and memories of one of the most important
exhibitions of representational art in the country:
The Autry Masters.  
I enjoyed good sales, met lots of collectors and saw many old friends.






The exhibition is open Sat. Feb 1, through Sun, Mar 16, 2014

 more information start with post #498, Jan. 22 and go to

theautry.org/masters

Below, the high-relief sculpture, Hawkeye, is mounted for a wall hanging.

Below, Great Horned Owl, 5 x 7 oil on panel.

Below, are images of the new works that were introduced at the

Autry Museum's Masters of the American West Exhibition and Sale.

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish Smith

#499 Museum Shows: The Autry, con't . . . "King of the Coop"

One of America's most important Western art show, the Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and Sale, 

celebrates its 17th anniversary at the Autry National Center with opening-day activities on Saturday, February 1, 2014. The juried exhibition and sale features 82 artists, including a newly added guest artist group of emerging talent, whose work is stylistically and thematically diverse.

For information see post #498, Jan. 22, and go to 
http://theautry.org/

Shown below, is another new work for my 2014 shows.
King of the Coop (18"H 10"W 7"D) will be introduced at the Autry Museum's Masters of the American West Show.

King of the Coop  

18"H 18"W 7"D

Ed. 65

Retail 4,200

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish Smith

#435 In the studio: Bird anatomy, con't . . .

Please start this bird anatomy series with post #403,  March 10.

Sculpture is the study of a thousand silhouettes.
                                                               - Rodin   


In sculpture, the subject represented is the positive shape.  The empty space around the subject is the negative shape.

The viewer usually does not think about or consider the shape around the sculpture.  
The sculptor, however is constantly aware of both the positive and negative shapes 
as they are a device for designing and organizing the sculpture.

The sculptor should practice designing and seeing in this way, and here's how to do it:  
Select a sculpture of an animal and direct your gaze intently on the figure itself.  
Choose a sculpture with a quiet and simple pose.  
Then, concentrate on the negative shapes or the space surrounding the sculpture.  
You must wait until your vision accepts the negative shape and think of it as a totally separate form.

Now, imagine that the sculpture vanishes.  What is left?  You will find that the negative shapes have 
become distinctive shapes in their own right, and if you focus on these shapes, they become forms.

The sculpture that you are looking at has drawn you into it visually and almost physically.  
The realization of negative shapes adds a new dimension to the image before you, adding to 
your appreciation of its beauty and content. 


Below, look at the lighted sculpture and practice seeing the negative shapes around the subject. 

Height of Land

 Shade of Paradise

 Cochin China

Gamble's Sunset

For more information about negative space see previous post, #434.

All drawings and sculpture copyright Sandy Scott.

#420 In the studio: Bird anatomy, con't .

Please start this bird anatomy series with post #403, March 10.

While most birds, like the magpie shown at right, have predictable tail flight feather and covert sets, there are a few with unique tails.  

The peacock's (related to pheasants) tail or "train" is not the 

tail flight feathers but the upper tail covert feathers . . . they sport an eye-like pattern.

Roosters have a profusion of structured, decorative tail feathers that do not fall under any specific tail-shape category.
   

Why is this important to the bird artist?  The bird artist must not only know how the skeleton is arranged and how it articulates, but where the feather groups and sets originate . . . their size, shape. proportion, and function. 

Shade of Paradise 
13"H 23"W 11"D

Crowing Rooster II - wall hanging
22"H 14"W 8"D

Above is a picture of our bantam-cross rooster . . . beautiful, tiny, and mean!
Photo, copyright Sandy Scott

#416 In the studio: Bird anatomy, con't . . .

Please start this bird anatomy series with post #403, March 10.

Most birds are designed for flight and flying demands a rigid airframe.   The bird's rib cage and backbone are fused together . . . only the neck, tail, and wings are flexible.  The spine of mammals - human and quadruped - is supple.  A bird's spine is rigid . . . 
if it were supple, the bird would lose control and could not fly. 

The bird's bones are hollow, light, and remarkably strong.  For instance, a pelican weighs twenty pounds and the skeleton weighs only twenty-three ounces.  Nature has sluffed off weight to enable flight.  

The skeleton of a bird can be summarized as follows:  
    
    1 - the skull, made up of fused bones  
    2 - the vertebral column; includes 13-25 neck vertebra, fused backbone vertebra, flexible tail vertebra   
    3 - the hip girdle which provides support for the legs and where the leg muscles attach  
    4 - the pygostyle, where the tail feathers attach  
    5 - the sternum or keel, which anchors the wing pectoral muscles of flying birds  
    6 - the wing, includes the humerus, radius/ulna, and hand which anchors the primary flight feathers  
    7 - the leg - includes the femur, tibia, tarsus, and toes  
    8 - the clavicle or wishbone, which keeps the wing joint and coracoid in position as the wing muscles 
         pull downward.

A bird's entire body, except is bill and feet, is usually covered with feathers.  Why is the skeleton important to the bird sculptor?  The bird sculptor must know how the bones are arranged, how they articulate, and the limitations of skeletal movement before attempting to define muscles and feather groups.  

Copyright - Sandy Scott

Below is an etching entitled Dominick - copyright Sandy Scott
The underlying skeleton can be seen above and is also illustrated in post #410

#386 In the field: Autry Masters, con't . . .

I enjoyed brisk sales at the Autry Masters . . . it was rewarding to see all of the "intent to purchase" names pulled out of the box and posted!  All work was new 

and introduced at the show.

Below, images and memories of one the most important exhibitions of representational art in the country:  

The Autry Masters.  For more information about the show, start with post #379, Jan. 22 and go to  http://theautry.org/masters

Left to right: Joyce Browning, Trish Smith, John Potter, Sandy Scott, Tom Browning

 Jackie Autry, Founding Chair, Life Trustee, and collector of my work

Jim and Jodie Rea, Trustees, friends, and collectors of my work

Friend and fellow artist, Howard Terpning

Howard and Marlies have one of my fountains at their home in Tucson

 

 Fellow artist, Dean Mitchell . . . I have admired his work for many years

Nesting Heron was among my works that sold well at Autry