GULF COAST SPLASH 30" x 30" Oil on Canvas This painting is the result of my sitting on a sea wall at a friend's house located on the intercoastal canal in Port Aransas, Texas. Staring at the splashes against the rocks is hypnotizing. Like snow flakes, no two splashes are alike. As a result of a trip to the west coast many years ago and watching the waves break on the beach, I painted a wave. This painting reminded me of that similar experience. Toni, do you remember buying that wave for your son's wedding gift? The colors on our Texas Gulf Coast can't compare with the incredible blue of the Pacific Ocean, but I borrowed a little of that color for my Texas splash. Artist'd Privilege! MUSEUM SHOW: At the GETTY CENTER in Los Angeles until February 28 is "Rembrandt and His Pupils: Telling the Difference". If you can't make the trip, do as I did. The interactive on the Getty's web site allows zooming in on the images. You can test yourself b...
WHAT DO YOU KNOW about Borger, Texas ? The town of Borger was a significant oil boomtown in the twentieth century but greed got it off to a very wrong start. It is located in the panhandle of Texas which became a leading area for the production of oil. In 1920, Amarillo was the largest panhandle town with a population of 15,494. Borger had more four footed inhabitants than two footed, but this did not deter two brothers from Missouri buying 2140 acres of land for $12,000. They posted sensational advertisements for finding black gold in the new town on the plains suddenly making it the 6th largest town in Texas. Forty five thousand men and women had arrived._____________________ Asa Phillip Borger, one of the brothers had his vision for the Borger Townsite Company. “Ace” brought a lawyer to be his trouble shooter. “Two Gun” Dick Herwig, a convicted murderer, bought his way out of prison to become Borger’s Marshall. Illegal distilleries supplied rot gut whiskey for Ace’s saloons, open ...
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT Antonia’s leap off Mt. Bonnell? Note: Don’t miss Michael Barnes’ Think Texas columns every Tuesday in the Austin Statesman. He recommends a book by Noah Smithwick, The Revolution of a State. Barnes claims that Smithwick is the best story teller about the period 1830-1860; the “Old 300”was Stephen f. Austin’s first colony. __________________________________________________________________ Now, I have two tales to tell. (1) A frequently told legend and (2) A personal story about the descendant of a former president of Mexico. __________________________________________________________________ 1. The Legend: Mt. Bonnell is a favorite tourist site and a fine place to picnic while viewing Lake Austin. It was well known by the central Texas tribes of Indians as well as early settlers. Antonia was a Spanish maiden living in an early San Antonio mission. A Comanche chief kidnaped the beautiful Antonia. Her fian...
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