SANTA FE TRAILS FINE ART SOLD

24" X 60"

This is my Homage to the indigenous people of our country. I have a deep respect for their cultures and history. When I first saw a headpiece like this on its stand, I knew I had to do something using it as a symbol. I took many photos, and this view hit me as a perfect way to show my feelings. I searched the archives of Edward Curtis photos until I found the right human to use as my "ghost" which should haunt us.

24X36

With the building of 'the wall" on our southern border, we fail to acknowledge the species whose habitat we are dividing off and therefore endangering their whole existence. This species, the Ocelot, is already on the borderline for extinction.

SANTA FE TRAILS FINE ART

24" x 48"

My favorite animal, a cat, makes her appearance again. This time, as a thirsty one who needs a drink and catches a glimpse of herself while bending down. She starts to see herself clearly in the reflective waters. Time to relax and find herself.

36" x 48"

A sound, a movement, or a smell will lead us to what we are wanting. We just have to be willing to wait for the sign.

24" by 36"

Paul Simon wrote that a long time ago in his Sounds of Silence. You may interpret it how you wish (that is what ART does, either words or pictures). I feel he was talking about when things get tough and you cannot see, other things take over for you, like sounds in that case. We can all find our own personal happiness and satisfaction no matter what cards we are dealt.

24" X 48"

MARCUS ASHLEY GALLERY

Now you will not be able to get that song out of your mind if you are a child of the 50's. This wolf haunted me for years since he locked eyes with me. I have done him in several other formats but never this large. The drippy drool is his signal that he is just waiting for you to like him and he will pounce. He lied about your taking time to pick the flowers for her not being against your mother's instructions and was able to beat you to Grandma's house. We all know what happened then! Be aware.

42"X90"

SANTA FE TRAILS FINE ART

42" TALL BY 90" WIDE

These young bulls were captured on 250 frames in my camera. I was fortunate to be driving around Yellowstone by myself and able to stop when I needed to. I spotted the one on the right coming out of the woods toward a hummock across the roadway from me and pulled over. It was the heart of the Rut season so I guessed a girlfriend or a competitor might be close. The other bull showed himself to me left and no other cars were around so I had an unlimited view. They sparred and pushed and sharpened their skills while building neck muscles for the real thing. Reminded me of young male humans poking each other in the chest before doing the shoulder shove and then the punches are thrown. With most humans on edge and defensive, looking for a fight it seems, in today's world, I felt this was a statement of the times.

24" x 24"

SANTA FE TRAILS FINE ART

Answers, we are always looking for them.

18" TALL X 36" WIDE

MARCUS ASHLEY GALLERY

The Pine Nut Herd is one of my favorite wild horse herds in CA/NV high Sierras. My last visit was in early summer and the two foals that were produced despite the volunteer effort to dart them with birth control were just beginning their lives. This little guy was being shaded as well as being kept in one spot for management. The way the whole group of mares worked together to raise the few born to them was spectacular to watch. It totally warmed my heart.

18x24

MARCUS ASHLEY

This started as an experiment using India Ink Markers to draw the leopard on the white clay background. Then it asked for something more so I added the Gold Leaf circle flare. That still was not enough so I painted in the black background. I just recently realized I had created my own eclipse!

18x24

When I saw this nest being started in a cow's skull, it struck me as a wonderful symbol of how Mother Nature regenerates. Rather than approach it from a traditional point of view, I decided to create a bit of "unease" by the radical angle. This is meant to be thought-provoking, not "pretty".

12X24

VIC PAYNE STUDIO AND GALLERY

36 X 36

VIC PAYNE STUDIO AND GALLERY

This is another of my symbolic series. The ravens can be any annoyance that you choose to try to get rid of. In real life, Grizzlies will often look for ravens as a sign of a carcass that they can feast on. For me, they stood for small bouts with depression that I was able to shoo away.

36 X 36

MY STUDIO

Number 2 in my newest series featuring some of the prettiest longhorns in Texas. This one is on the white claybord with Pitt Pens drawn on then scratched. the black area show are where the wall would be!

24 X 36

MY STUDIO

Sometimes, when we age, we just enjoy the company of a loved one by sitting near them, not speaking. Together, at last. Pitt Pens on Claybord.

24x 48

MY STUDIO

This piece was done over a period of 3 years, and was inspired by our family hosting our cousins from all across the USA . We laughed and hugged and experienced new things as well as catching up with each others lives. I did not feel inspired to work on it during Covid for some reason but once the restrictions were lifted, I bounced back!

VIC PAYNE GALLERY AND STUDIO

24" tall by 54" wide

Another of my Texas Neighbors, done MY way!

VIC PAYNE STUDIO AND GALLERY

24" x 24"

MY STUDIO

One more big cat. this was the first of my Corona Virus releases. As an introvert, I did not suffer with the "stay at home" order. It was just another day in the studio for me but I did absorb the Television news as well as all of the controversy on the internet. One of my photographer friends captured this Raven (Corvid) and I have always loved it. Thank you Judy Johnson for the reference. I normally do all of my own photography but this one was needed to say what I was feeling during the onset of the pandemic. None of us saw this coming. It just appeared like a black cloud above our heads. Watch for the next piece that is currently on the drawing board. If nothing else, I have gotten some wonderful inspiration from this time period.

60"x18"

MY STUDIO

I am a lover of being ones own boss. I also say the best committee is a committee of ONE, therefor the title of this piece, a play on words of course. The eye itself is the only part of the piece that seems centered and not full of anxiety and confusion, kind of like the Hurricane we went through as I was working on this piece!

18"x36"

VIC PAYNE STUDIO AND GALLERY

Once again this is a study in patience using Pitt Pens and dots and lines on White Clayboard to make this drawing come to life. The photo was provided by the fisherman, Steve Pettit. The river he caught this magnificent one in is the same one I fished with him for this guy. Mine were much smaller!

24 X 36

VIC PAYNE STUDIOS

The first in a new series I am compiling, featuring little-known species from right here in the USA that are Threatened or on the brink of being declared Endangered. Man-caused mortality is the primary cause for this fish to be on the Threatened list in the Snake River Basin, one of the most important areas for its population. It is partially due to climate change and warmer waters but mostly to mismanagement by humans, due to the construction of four Federal Dams on the Lower Snake River that destroyed the migration corridor for Snake R Basin salmon and steelhead. Photo credit, Steve Pettit.

36" wide by 36" tall

MY STUDIO

Mathew McConnahey where are you? This piece was done to commemorate his nude bongo playing in South Austin. Not really, but I did put in a very tribal design that looks as if it would be found on a drum. These Bongos were from the Sanctuary at Fossil Rim outside of Dallas. They really are a handsome pair.

12 X 36

MY STUDIO

California gull in flight. I shot the reference photo from a cliff in Northern California and wondered how I could work it in to a piece. I also had a great shot of another from the same day so I felt a diptych of opposites would be interesting on the two types of scratchboard available now. I guess you could say this was part of my Yin/Yang stage.

12 X 36

MY STUDIO

California gull in flight. I shot the reference photo from a cliff in Northern California and wondered how I could work it in to a piece. I also had a great shot of another from the same day so I felt a diptych of opposites would be interesting on the two types of scratchboard available now. I guess you could say this was part of my Yin/Yang stage.

24 X 36

SANTA FE TRAILS

24 X 36

SANTA FE TRAILS GALLERY

48" x 24"

BBAS auction Sept 21st SOLD FOR $42,500 +

The subtitle of this piece is "Not everything is either black or white. It seems that we tend to forget to consider the nuances of different situations and want everything to be so easy a choice in today's world. Life does not work that way.

16 X 20

MARCUS ASHLEY GALLERY

Here are the other two Ravens defending their territory.

16 X 20

MARCUS ASHLEY GALLERY

Ravens tend to get "fluffed" if their territory is threatened by others. Here are two such guys,

36" x 36"

MY STUDIO

Arboretums are my friend. Such marvelous and well kept flowers always abound. The photo for this piece was taken while with a group of artists who worked in every other medium than my own and loved sketching and plein aire working. We were at our annual exhibition in Steamboat Springs, Co during the early summer and visited their gardens. I am sure many more pieces will come from the trip alone. I chose this as the first because I have attempted them on the black surface as a scratchboard and wanted to test myself. I put the blue behind just a portion of it to "POP" it out. The title is appropriate because We had just decided to open a gallery in one day after seeing the space available to rent, quite out of the blue!

13'' x 13''

MY STUDIO

All of these pieces are also available as silk scarves. I am so happy I found my old designs and added new animal images to them. The tribal patterns on each reflect the feeling of each individual animal.

13" x 13"

MY STUDIO

Handsome as he is, most would not think of him as pretty yet the designs from 1997 sure make him. I enjoyed taking primative symbols from tribal designs and making them into the corner inserts.

MY STUDIO

13" wide by 13" tall

One of my designs from 1997 which I completed in 2014. I sure enjoyed doing these then as well as now.

13" wide by 13" tall

MY STUDIO

All of these pieces are also available as silk scarves. I am so happy I found my old designs and added new animal images to them. The tribal patterns on each reflect the feeling of each individual animal.

24' tall by 60" wide cradled

MY STUDIO

This piece serves multiple purposes. I always like to show the difference between a subject on a black background versus one on white so others can grasp the intensity of color that happens when it is surrounded by black. This piece is also a bridge between a new medium that I am looking in to using more often, Markers with India Ink in them that can be used on the white clay base for scratchboard and then cut back and redrawn like the black surface. I am loving it! It is totally drawing, no painted washes of color involved at all. My inner Van Gogh is finally unleashed. ( quietly, the subject of mental awareness is high on my mind lately, having lost an old friend to Bi-polar disorder. I have started reading about many disorders of the human brain after observing behavior in our own cats, amazingly. Anxiety crosses all species and that is where I started my research. I have learned a great deal about my own self and those close to me. More to learn for sure!)

12" wide x 24" tall

MY STUDIO

This is a very special piece of work for me. It signifies the loss of a child and the effects that it has on the mother. No one will ever be able to understand that particular loss unless they have personally experienced it. It was an assignment for the Haggin Museum Show with American Women Artists. We were asked to reinterpret some existing art in their collection. It won the "Nature Interpretation Award"!

20" wide by 16"tall

MARCUS ASHLEY

Yellowstone has offered me multiple changes for some great reference shots of Bison. This is one of the first ones I have attempted to do and am having fun figuring out how to do the different types of fur. I cannot wait to get to my winter ones. Keep Watching.

24" wide by 18" tall

MY STUDIO

During my "Reflections" period, I photographed many bodies of water. This was the entry bridge to Cottonwood Park in Richardson, TX, that led into the semi-annual art show there. It was one of my favorite shows and settings. Ducks usually swam along with geese on this pond creating wonderful images.

24" wide by 18" tall

MY STUDIO

Chicago's Shed Aquarium yielded this unusual reflection. It is actually looking up at the surface of the water with the lights reflecting on it. If you look carefully you can make out one of the sharks!

24" wide by 18" tall

MY STUDIO

I don't know any time of day and any other place that is more peaceful and beautiful but dawn on the ocean. We fish out of Port O'Conner and bait up in the canal. The light was just catching the water when I snapped a photo that I interpreted for this piece. I can almost smell the salt air when I look at it.

24"wide by 18" tall

MY STUDIO

When my first two grandkids were young, I took them to an apple orchard to pick apples with out their parents for the first time. We rode the hay wagon, picked apples, then went to a petting zoo on the farm. I certainly can relate to the whole scene after that day. I was pooped and they were too.

24" wide by 60" tall

AWA AWARD WINNER AT STEAMBOAT SPRINGS MUSEUM

Cats are my love, as are powerful messages. This female cougar is poised to jump and has her eye on the prize. I echoed the message of Sheryl Sanders book by titling it “Lean In”. There is no turning back now but getting to that point of courage has taken women a long time. We are still reinforcing each other as is seen by the new Advertisement for Bumble, a dating app, which says “Make the first move”. That applies to life not just relationships. Many opportunities are lost by women because we hesitate. Believe! Go for it! I did when I first put color into the scratchboard medium and see what happened.

36" wide by 60" tall

MARCUS ASHLEY GALLERY

Hurricane Harvey hit us hard. My former studio and George's Used Car Dealership was totally submerged underwater from the Colorado River in Texas. The storm sat just to the North of it and emptied rain for three days. When we knew that the "cone of opportunity" showed it's path to be straight at out town, we were a thousand miles away. All we could do was sit and watch it move closer and direct actions from afar. We managed to minimize the effects and recoup much quicker than most. I wanted to capture the feeling of being doomed, but actually ended up channeling the power of the bear into my self and finding courage from it. " See the Bear or BE the Bear" is now my new saying.

I took this photo while on an animal photo trip, on the last day. The lighting was perfect and I kept is aside for about 12 years because the flower was wilting. Now that I am using the Pitt Pen Markers with intense color, I revisited this subject. It turned out so beautifully that I had to give it this name to make all of us stop and think about the aging process and exactly when IS "prime". This flower has yet to fully develop and put forth it's seeds after is has been pollinated. So even if it's glow is fading, it will enrich us even more by going to seed and bringing another generation forth.

BBAS

30X30

I encountered these two Bison in Yellowstone in the typical "Buffalo Jam, except they were coming at me, merging then emerging from my view and changing the leadership. I felt it was indicative of what a good partnership should do.

24"TALL X 36" WIDE

This is my first true Nocturnal piece. I drew one view of this Longhorn as a daylight piece and then flipped the photo over to do this one. I chose to view the night sky at exactly the time ( two chances, actually) that the moon shadow would be cast in the same direction as the sun shadow did. I took a screenshot using my iPad and an App to secure where the constellations and Milky Way would be at that time. The real trick was to determine how white the whites would be under a full moon. I revisited that just befoe painting this and planted it in my memory as NO photo would depict it correctly. I really loved doing this one and promise more!

36" X 24"

I refer to this piece privately as Solitude because it is more about choosing to be alone versus being isolated.

24' by 48" wide

You may remember the "sketch that I did last year of this Monumental piece. It was done using colored India Ink markers and turned out spectacular. I debated using Silver Leafing for the sky in the original because I loved the contrast of the bright sky to the dark rugged mountain the real monument was carver out of. When I put it out to the general public, they liked the black background best. SOOOOO I decided to keep my options open and will offer the prints with either Gold/Copper/Silver foil skies or plain black. You will see that I DID use gloss varnish on the bottom mountain and dull on the sky to delineate the two. Like fine lamb leather versus suede?

36x36

Is he gentle or not? If I was Goldilocks I would not stick around to find out. Stop in at the gallery in Santa Fe to see if she is there along with the rest of the bears!

36" tall by 48" wide

Yes, he is HUGE. And he is gentle yet strong, a very powerful piece. I named him this because it seems that signs are everywhere once you get to the Rocky Mountains to carry Bear Spray and Be Bear Aware. With one this size, that is guaranteed.

24X60

36" x36"

This was another of my experimental pieces, half done with India Ink Marker on Claybord and the bottom done MY traditional method of cutting the black Scratchbord and then painting in washes of colored India Ink. I was trying for depth and certainly got it here. "Striking" is a term I often hear applied to this piece. Photo credit for snake: Steve Pettit. (I would never be that close to one!)

24X36

With my experiences with Bison, if they are in the road, they own the road and you are not allowed to pass. This one was particularly grumpy. He was named because he is traveling to the Buffalo Bill Fine Art show in Cody, WY this fall too be auctioned off with benefits going to the museum there.

24" X36"

Pitt Pen drawing on Clayboard from a photo that I took when I visited the Pine Nut Herd of Carson Valley Nevada. There will be more like this. It was a stunning adventure!

24" x 36"

SANTA FE TRAILS GALLERY

In the past two years or so, many of us have felt this emotion for one reason or another. Some of us have acted out against the feeling of oppression and some have stayed silent, preferring to go along with the crowd. We have learned a lot about humans in general. Hopefully we also have learned a lot about ourselves during this unusual time period.

24X36

MARCUS ASHLEY GALLERY

24"X24"

SANTA FE TRAILS GALLERY

Another from the emerging from the Pandemic series, Homage to all of us who are happy to be able to go out again.

18"X24"

SANTA FE TRAILS GALLERY

This piece is part of my emerging from the pandemic series. I feel we are all awakening from a very bad dream.

24x36

24" tall x 36" wide

MY STUDIO

I was actually working on this piece when I did go to a psychic for a reading. I used to visit a very famous one every year when I lived in the Chicago area. He never quite hit the mark with my predictions. I had done a phone chat with this California Gal and she picked up on a lot of things spot on. The chance to meet her in person was offered to me and we had such an intense reading that we both were exhausted when it was over. When I told her of the piece I was working on and the title she told me she HAD been an oracle in Greece in one of her earlier lives. I will not tell you what she told me about me......

Once again this was many photos put together to make a dramatic scene. I had taken the photo of the wolf about 12 years ago on the same trip I shot the sunflower photo. It was a bit "bug eyed" like it had Hashimoto's disease. I put it aside and when I wanted to use it the thought occurred to have it listening to some thing or some one and a Raven was perfect. I had so many photos of them to choose from but this seemed to suit the purpose well. The Cedar tree was photographed in New Mexico just for this use although I modified it to flow well within the frame. I want to hear what you think he is telling the Wolf!

12 X 16

SANTA FE TRAILS GALLERY

I love to add contrast and did so in this piece. he was advancing toward me from the shadows, coming out. I chose not to show what he was "coming out" from. Imagination can work.

60 X 36

24" wide by 72" tall

This piece arose from the decisions that needed to be made during the Corona Virus in 2020. I can only imagine how the Judges, Mayors and Governors must feel every time they need to decide what to do and what restrictions to impose on their constituents. Let alone what parents feel about schooling their children and what is best for them. As you will note, This female Cougar is balanced on several branches but has weight on the min trunk as well. she has a goal spotted but in order to take the leap she must carefully redistribute her weight or the branches will break off and the one lower than she is has done.