Try Something New

What does it say about your personality when you have an idea to try something you know bugger all about, and think "I can't do this, but I'm doing it anyway?" I don't know, either, but here are the results! For a long time, I have thought that adding a few videos of works unfolding and techniques in action might be fun for me, and interesting for you. I have a lot to learn, and will possibly need to relocate to an area where I can access a much bigger Internet data quota (apologies to the Aussie Government, but this NBN thing isn't working out so well for us out here), which isn't such a realistic idea. I think there is a lot of research and education in my immediate future if I'm to follow this notion any further. 

However... this was fun for me, and I hope you find the video a little bit interesting. It's a time lapse look at creating a background with tissue paper on canvas for a mixed media work. The background was done without any firm idea of what the focal point might be. That realisation came a little later.

Small Wonders 

©2015 Tracey Hewitt  Watercolour and mixed media on canvas

After the addition of some acrylic paints to introduce a little colour, it occurred to me that this would be the perfect background for another challenge I'd been hankering to take on. A photo of our Granddaughter, Payton, in a rare moment of stillness, had been whispering it's longing to be drawn or painted for a couple of months. For someone who, a few years ago, wouldn't even attempt to draw a face or human form, because "that's not my thing, I just can't do them"; I'm pretty excited to have captured a resemblance to a human being, much less enough of a resemblance to a particular human for her parents to know she was the model!

 Her features were sketched in, with Derwent Graphitint pencils. These babies might be my favourite art supply. (Even as I type that, a hundred other little special art supplies are clamouring in my mind to be named favourites, as well!) These pencils - as the name suggests - are much like a graphite pencil, with the added appeal of a range of beautiful, subtle colours, as well as being water soluble. They're not as intense as some of the other water soluble pencils out there, so the results are soft and delicious. A little watercolour for the pink in her dress and lips, a few touches of inky black for details, and she was done.

That little butterfly she's so intently looking at? That is a perfect example of the glorious serendipity of layering materials and media. It wasn't until after I'd drawn Payton in, that I noticed that little butterfly on an underlying layer of tissue paper, perfectly placed to seem to be sitting on her hand, and the focus of her rapt attention. Sometimes, there are forces at work when we create that simply cannot be explained. Happens to me all the time. And, it's the best feeling. 

 

I've just made a disturbing discovery. Sometime last year, in the middle of some epic convivial confusion, the email address used for receiving notification of your comments here was closed and I neglected to change it in the bowels of the settings here. So... Some of you have made lovely comments here, and it would appear you have been ignored! My most sincere apologies! I love to receive comments here. That glitch is all fixed up now, and I promise if you use your precious time to comment here, that I will respond!

 



 

For the month of February, I've accepted a photo-a-day challenge, run by Lisa Clarke from ABC Open. The theme is - can you guess?

Water.

That's a fun one. Lots of scope for getting that camera off auto and testing out what it can really do.

This was day two's challenge - Water Coming Out Of A Tap. This was taken with a really fast shutter speed to freeze the movement of the water as it shot out of my garden tap.

What's great about a challenge like this, is that it stretches you - makes you look at things closely; differently - and kick starts that creativity that may have become a little sluggish. ABC Open is great for that. They have projects on the go all the time - writing, photography and video - from all over Australia. You can get inspired by other peoples efforts, or jump up and create your own. Go check it out.

 

 Right now, I'm off for a walk to take today's photo - A River. Luckily, there's one a hundred yards or so from our back door, so locating it wont be a problem. Coming up with a creative way to take a picture of it, however, may be another matter, but, I'm up for the challenge.

A Tale of Two Paintings

Farmers Fortune
43cm x 53 cm Acrylic on watercolour paper ©2013 Tracey Hewitt

Let me tell you a story about these paintings. Our local ambulance officer is a beautiful lady who grew up in Tonga. (her name is Sela, and she has the most dazzling smile I think I have ever seen). She was visiting our local exhibition last year, and admired Farmers Fortune very much, but wished it had a thatch hut and a palm tree instead of a house and a windmill. For me, this painting speaks of hot dry days, and the relative harshness of this life on the land, as well as the breathtaking beauty of sunsets and open spaces. A farmers fortune seems to be paradoxical - harsh, tough and frustrating, while at the same time full of beauty, awe and connection to the earth. Sela, saw something else. She saw the skies, seas and sunsets of her birthplace. A kind of magic danced in eyes as she stood and looked at it. Seeing her respond and relate to it so strongly is the kind of connection we artists hope for - a deeply satisfying experience.

A delightful conversation later, she commissioned me to create her vision on a large canvas (the piece I painted for her is roughly twice the size of the original).

Now, I tried earnestly to convince Mission Control that I needed to visit Tonga so as to bring a level of great authenticity to this piece. Thank goodness for Google Image searches! While restful hours on a Tongan beach remain beyond my reach for the time being, it has, in the course of creating this piece, made it's way onto my Bucket List - the more you learn about a place, it's appeal grows infinitely greater.



Tongan Treasures
105cm x 75cm Acrylic on canvas  ©2014 Tracey Hewitt 

 Sela took delivery of Tongan Treasures, with it's thatched palm hut and pair of palm trees - to represent her and her husband - last week; a gift to herself for one of those birthdays with a zero on the end.

To say it was a pleasure to create for her is an understatement - creating a piece with a specific person in mind is possibly one of my favourite things to do, and Sela's enthusiasm for it when it was delivered was infectious and delightful.

In the meantime, Farmers Fortune is still quietly and patiently waiting for the person to whom its story whispers to come along and give it a home. I'd love to know what story it tells you?

                                                                        


The Bear Grills of the Jack Russell World - A Story of Survival

 

 

See this cute, peaceful, quiet, little Jack Russell Puppy? He's a bit of a legend around here.

 

We've had so many litters of puppies here over the years, that I couldn't begin to guess at just how many babies we have raised. As they grow, we find them new homes with their forever humans, and much joy is spread in the world. In all the years, and through all those puppies, we've never had any 'go missing'. But, the last litter:

 

 

all cute little pumpkins, were another story. They took it in turns to disappear, and no amount of walking and calling, and looking in sheds, and under buildings and in holes in the paddock could uncover them. Ten thousand acres of backyard makes it kind of tricky to know where to look. 

 

Each, in turn, went missing. Legend here, was the first. A full scale search found no trace. We suspected a wedge tail eagle might have swooped down and helped himself to a free meal (a thoroughly disturbing prospect). Two days and many fruitless hours of searching later, his sister disappeared. Back to full scale search mode. And guess what? I found him, hanging out beside a cattle grid, not far from the house. After two nights in the big bad world all on his own, he was very happy to see me, and very hungry. His sister remained elusive, making her reappearance the next morning, unscathed and keeping tight lipped about where she'd been. This just kept on happening! One would disappear, only to show up hours later; a day or two later another would do a vanishing act. We had no idea where they were sneaking off to, and began to suspect the existence of some puppy destination akin to Batman's  Bat Cave.

 

 The time came to send two of them off to their new homes (which involved a 3 drive to catch a plane at 8 am - you can figure out what time we had to get out of bed for that!) All present and accounted for at 10am the day before departure. At 10.30am - two missing. 2pm a big thunder storm rolls through, dropping a good shower of rain. Full scale search launched. 4pm a second storm rolls in. Full scale search resumes. Then, it gets dark. No sign of missing two. Give up and go to bed, wondering how to tell a little family in Adelaide that they wont be getting a puppy tomorrow, because he's gone missing in action. 4am, Pa gets himself up for another search (he has a touch of tracker in him, but the lack of useful daylight, and our growing conviction that the Puppy Bat Cave was a real thing, was something of a barrier to any useful progress.) We left home, then turned around and raced back after a call to tell us one pup had appeared. Wrong pup. Took him anyway. Adelaide family happy to be getting a puppy, even if it's not the one they chose. Feeling broken hearted about the missing one - but he did survive 2 nights on his own a couple of weeks earlier....maybe he'll show up? As one day slid into another and then another, after 4 days there was a heavy storm, and we resigned ourselves to thinking he probably was no longer for this world, and gave up looking.

 

Then, 8 nights - yes, I said eight nights after he vanished, he reappeared! Trotting along beside his Mama like he'd never been away - except of course he was very skinny looking, and my word, he was famished!

 

We will never know where he was hanging out, how he survived (it was pretty hot) or how and why he made his way back. He has now gone to live with his new family - leaving us with lots of questions and not a single answer.

 

Feeling My Way In Cunnamulla

..

"Feeling My Way" exhibition  at the Cunnamulla Fella Centre Art Gallery

I can't quite believe it's been 6 weeks since this:

I'm pretty sure I promised a report on the exhibition... somewhere I seem to have lost some weeks (I do in fact know where they've gone, and over the next little while, I might even get as far as telling you about some of the things I've been up to!) But, for today, a little step back in time to Cunnamulla.

My beloved came along (it was an eight hour drive, so the company was great for a start!) I have to say, at around three o'clock on the afternoon we were hanging it all, I was overcome with thankfulness to have him. His skill, care and attention to detail with tape measure, screwdriver and ladder made me fall in love with him just a little bit more (if that were, in fact, even possible!) It's a good lesson for those of us who are the 'creatives' - it's of tremendous value to have as your sidekick, someone who has a natural inclination to practicality and order. A 'thinker' as opposed to a 'feeler'; if you're a follower of Meyers Briggs Personality Profiling. Whilst I am perfectly capable of locating my practical brain, while I'm deep in creative brain mode, it's more of a stretch. I learned some very interesting things about myself out there!

But, enough about me already! The gallery space at the Cunnamulla Fella Centre is, as you can see, just beautiful. It's a fabulous facility; part of the centres museum - which is brilliant and well worth a look as well.

The staff - Carmel, Sally, Courtney and Mike were everything you'd ever hope for - friendly, helpful, kind and fun!

It was great to meet a few locals while we were there, and I was super excited that sales on opening night were beyond my wildest imaginings!

We had three nights in Cunnamulla, and the recount wouldn't be complete without a shout out to Pieta and Pitisi at the Club Boutique Hotel . Have you ever had a vase of fresh roses on the bedside table in your hotel room? That's just one of the things these girls do in order to make their guests feel welcome. It truly felt like coming home to our family at the end of a day. We discovered Pitisi has a great appreciation for tractors - and my art work - which enamoured her to both of us!

Thanks so much to everyone at Cunnamulla - we had a wonderful stay, and I couldn't be more thrilled with how my fist solo exhibition turned out. 

If you're out that way, you still have a couple of weeks to see it - it closes on the 24th May. While you're there, would you say hi to everyone for me?

Thanks.

Inspiration In Your Own Back Yard...Literally

I happened across this collection of photos today, while I was looking for something completely different (does that happen to you too?). They were taken a few months ago now, on an afternoon that was gravely lacking anything that resembled inspiration, if I correctly recall.

Wandering around the backyard, snapping a bunch of random things that are under my nose all the time - things I take for granted, things that seem terribly ordinary to me, was a pleasant enough diversion; but didn't seem to generate anything much in the way of inspiration.

Henrietta Hen, Percy Possum, Beryl and Bazza, the kookaburras....all beginning to show the wear and tear from a life in our garden with nine hundred dogs (OK - so maybe it's only fourteen*, but when they get busy it seems like nine hundred!)

Yet, I'm kind of attached to them all.

The photos have languished in a folder, untouched, unviewed, and unconsidered ever since.

When I flicked it open today, I was kind of struck by how lovely they are...

How this little collection gives a pretty representative idea of our backyard (oh, and believe me - it is a backyard, not a garden! I believe the term garden implies that someone gets out there and weeds, and mulches, and prunes, and plants, and whispers encouragement to tiny green tendrils...so not happening in my backyard! It gets a reasonably regular mow, an epic clean up once every couple of  years, and most spring times, for approximately one week, I am moved to plant a few new things. That's pretty much it.)

Today though, the colours and textures of this group of images have pleased me, and reminded me that I am so very fortunate to have a backyard full of such small delights. Or big ones - as is the case with this ancient corn crusher....There are some benefits to inheriting sheds that haven't been cleaned out in over fifty years! Not many, I have to say - but this baby is certainly one of them.

What are the places in your life you take for granted; the spots you have stopped really 'seeing'? I'd love to know - because I really hope I'm not the only one who sometimes forgets that beauty is right under our noses, if only we choose to look.

Road Trip to Brisbane - Matisse, GOMA, Southbank & Chocolate!

I am a very lucky woman. My Daughter-In-Law gave me a ticket to the stage performance of  Mary Poppins, along with a planned 5 nights away in Brisbane, with her Mum and Aunty, and a few of her friends (who are all great fun, by the way).

Mary Poppins was fabulous! Sadly, no photography is allowed during the performance, so no pretty pics for you - just take my word for it that the sets are incredible, singing and dancing faultless, and all in all, it is an awesome show.

I also was excited to be in Brisbane at the same time as the Matisse - Drawing Life exhibition. I whiled away a few very happy hours in front of the drawings and sketches of this skillful artist.

So long in fact, that I had to make my way back to GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art) a couple of days later  to check out the rest of the exhibits...Including this remarkable piece - a pair of taxidermed deer, covered in glass bubbles... I'm still trying to decide how I feel about it, but there's no doubt it is a compelling and intriguing piece. 

I'm disappointed I didn't take my good camera out with me on the river cruise (all you can eat seafood buffet...yum....), but it was raining so much (and we'd been completely drenched the evening before - on our way to Mary Poppins - drying off under the hand dryers in the ladies room was something we'll laugh about for many years to come!) that I wasn't prepared to risk drowning it. So, iPhone pics are all I have to share with you. But this shot of the Storey Bridge all lit up is a happy reminder of a great time.

I'd never visited Southbank before, and was most impressed with the space and vibe. This shot was taken from where we enjoyed a leisurely Sunday lunch.

After lunch we found the Chocolate Shop - Chocolate by the Bald Man Max Brenner. Leah and Cassie may have taste tested something that didn't quite tickle their taste buds the way they expected...Lets just say their advice would be, before taste testing, make sure the label doesn't read Bubble Bath! 

We laughed, talked into the nights, ate, shopped and possibly had a glass of wine occasionally. With the theatre and two trips to the Art Gallery in 5 days, I can't remember when I've had such an injection of culture all at once!

Thanks Leah; and your family and friends - that was a blast!

Never Smile at a Crocodile....

How's this for an idyllic looking waterhole?....It's part of one of the watercourses in Kakadu National Park.... On a very warm Top End day, the water is inviting - but not inviting enough to outdo the information on the sign there...Estuarine Crocodiles swim here, and they don't play well with others....actually, that's not exactly what the sign says, but highly motivated as I was NOT to become a ravenous reptiles lunch, I took little persuasion to stay out of the water and away from the edge. It did, however, require some persuasion to walk along the path to the waterfall that wended it's way through this Monsoon Forest:

It was dense, watery and heavily timbered...Pandanus trees and grasses under the canopy, quite beautiful, if I could only get the croc attack scene from Crocodile Dundee out of my mind. I kept thinking to myself "You should do something every day that scares you..."

I think I had enough scare that day to see me through a couple of months...

Let's just say I was pretty edgy. The fifty or so other brave souls who we encountered at various points on the path should have reassured me that if a croc was hungry, he already had plenty of dining opportunities. And the signs did only say to stay out of the water ... and that the area is checked and any unwanted visitors taken away .... Still.....

In the end, we reached the waterfall, having picked our way over rocks and through a bit of a gorge and it was indeed beautiful and worth being scared out of my skin.

Obviously...these swimmers were much braver than I.... the sign by this plunge pool warned that Freshwater Crocodiles may be present, and essentially they'd leave you alone, if you left them alone...no problems - I'm leaving them totally alone!

Later, at the Yellow Water Billabong, we got got a good close up look at the objects of my anxiousness from our big, safe, sturdy boat....

How sinister are these dudes? And why do I think they are all males?

The bird life on the Billabong is astonishing....do you suppose this girl's warning the neighbours that a rough skinned reptile is headed their way?

What an extraordinary experience... And I haven't yet mentioned the Aboriginal Rock Art.... the 360 degree views of the park from the top of Ubirr.... the heart attack we almost had getting to the top of Ubirr...or the thousands of kilometres we drove and unusual places and individuals we encountered to get there!!

Farm Day Fun

 

Last year, we registered for Farm Day, and were a little disappointed when we didn't get a city family come to visit us...but this year was a different story.

Say hello to the Stirling Family! Shea, Terri, Aaron and Danyon, who are watching the weaners being yarded. We had a bit of a mishap, and somehow they all escaped into the paddock, when they should have simply been walking from the wire yard to the cattle yards...embarrassing for the cattlemen here, but gave them an opportunity to show off their thundering galloping weaner chasing skills!

   The Stirling's drove all night Friday night to arrive in time for breakfast on Saturday, after which we did our best to give them a crash course in life on the land. We had a little relax down at the billabong though.... a bit of a steep rocky slope to get there, but we all agreed it was worth it - out of the wind down there, and in the sun...perfect spot, really!

Our vast assortment of canines joined us, Maverick and Minnie loving Shae's attentions...

Fin showed us all his form at rock hopping (which, I have to say, wasn't bad!)

After clambering back up the bank, we walked past the weaners... and back to the daily grind of life on the farm. Actually, we went and ate lunch...

But, there's always work to be done...A busted pipe gave Aaron an opportunity to watch an experienced pipe fixer at work (he did a great job with that crow bar, by the way!) The boys had noticed this pipeline had a leak - while it's leaking all over the ground, it's not making it's way to the trough the cattle take water from, so busted water pipes need fixing quick smart.

I was so busy watching, I missed taking a photo of Aaron branding a calf - sorry Aaron! Everyone will just have to take our word for it! We had three truckloads of cows arrive on Saturday night - so after hardly any sleep on Friday night, Shae and Aaron went along with our guys to unload them in the dark (and very, very cold) night. Sunday, all those Cows needed cross branding, so the Stirling's got a full education in cattle yards, crushes, branding and the noise that goes with it.

We even found a cotton bush on the side of the road to use as a cotton growing teaching aid!

We had a great weekend...what I've told you about here is just a taste of the things the Stirling's got up to...they checked out mustering helicopters, fed horses and chooks, oversaw the fixing of a broken fence, had a guided tour of our properties and saw the centre pivot irrigator and dams and hay sheds and silage pits and tractors and equipment and....I don't really have any idea how they kept up and interested - they must have been so tired! But they didn't want to miss a thing.

Thanks to the great people at Farm Day for putting us together, and a special thanks to Terri, Aaron, Shae and Danyon for your enthusiasm, interest and tremendous effort to get here! It was a real pleasure to share our little part of the world with you all.

Discovering Beauty on Rubbish Duty

Here's what I found the other afternoon on the way to the rubbish bin (which lives at the extreme back corner of the backyard) ...astonishing fungus living on a tree trunk. The colours and matte, furry texture were beautiful. Subtle, earthy and somehow gentle. (Unlike myself, with my bin liner full of smelly rubbish, and a little grumbly about tedious chores interrupting precious studio time!)

Closer inspection revealed many clusters around the trunk. There'll be a naturalist or biologist who could tell you many useful and interesting things about this...that wouldn't be me though! What I can tell you is that it was beautiful - it caught the light and kind of shimmered and glowed - which these photos don't really capture well enough...

What I can tell you is that even when you have to stop doing what you love, to go and do what you must, you can be surprised and delighted by the things you find on the way.

Here's to delightful discoveries - may you have one today!

Blackall - A Cultural Community

As promised, here's a peek at the Blackall Cultural Association's Centre, where I recently taught a couple of workshops. This terrific building is a great venue; with a good sized workshop space, a number of smaller rooms that are put to very good use as, among other things, a library, a dedicated patchwork and sewers space - even a lounge room and enormous kitchen. Also, there is accommodation for a number of visitors. I was lucky enough to get the double room with my own bathroom...very comfortable and cosy. The building was once a hostel for students who had to live in town to attend school. It's been taken over by the Cultural Association - a very busy and dynamic group, from what I could tell! While I was in town, they had a circus workshop and performance travel though, and the day after I left a Youth Orchestra arrived. There's plenty happening in Blackall - including these fabulous sculptures...

Jill took me for a tour of the towns art...impressive! Richard Moffat visited and as an artist in residence created this incredible eagle and nest from rusty, abandoned junk from peoples dumps. She sits metres in the air, surveying the river and quietly being just awesome...(Some of Richards work can also be found at The Priory at Bingie) Click on the photo for a better look at her body, which has been constructed from the blades off some kind of farm implement...very clever! (I'm secretly in love with this eagle, and want one for my own backyard! I'm not sure that any of the fellas around here were too enthusiastic when I suggested they give it a go though! Apparently they're more fond of chasing cows.)

Then there's this! A huge spinifex ball. All rusted wire wound just like the spinifex, sitting in the open a few hundred feet from the highway...as you can see, it looks magical in the evening light. I believe the original intention was for the ball to sit in the longer grass, but the local authority has cleared around it and put a road right up to it...which I can understand, I guess lots of travellers were hiking across the flat to get a better look - probably seemed sensible...but wouldn't it be cool sitting nestled in the grass?

There were other pieces of inspired art too...my favourite the horse, rider and beast sculpture. The body of the horse was created from pieces of driftwood collected from the Barcoo River. It is a very skillful piece of work...such a pity that I wasn't a very skillful photographer! I discovered too late that I had changed my camera settings and the photos were all horribly overexposed...We live and learn. It's just one more good reason for you to make the journey to Blackall - so you can see it for yourself!

Down the road from Blackall, you'll find Barcaldine (if you drive for about an hour...and don't do it early in the morning or late in the evening; the kangaroos are out on force at daylight and dusk. Didn't think you'd want photographic evidence of the way the combination of kangaroos and vehicles looks on the side of the road!).

These photos are taken at the Tree of Knowledge in the main street of Barcaldine. A significant site,for over a century, the tree died (under somewhat suspicious circumstances) and this structure has been built over and around the remains of the tree, recreating the feeling of being under it's canopy. It's quite clever, but I have to confess to feeling just a little uncomfortable underneath it - all those pieces of timber are free to swing, and you get a sensation that they could fall...I kept telling myself that as they built it they would have been very careful not to let that happen...but still...

I hope I've given just a little taste of the 'Outback'...it's funny, really, no one seems to really be sure where the famous Outback begins! There are doubtless residents of Blackall and district that would say the Outback is further out than that, but, for my money, you're getting pretty close. I have visited  that area, and much further west than that, a number of times; and while it's a long way between towns, and maybe not the most picturesque landscape, there is a beauty about it that I haven't found equal to anywhere. The sunrises and sunsets are especially breathtaking - open sky as far as you can see, they're pretty special. I hope one day, you'll have a chance to experience it for yourself!

A slight departure....

There's been a flurry of activity as I ready works for the Rhubarb Gallery; this piece is one of a handful I've been working on - about 5 x 7 inches, in lovely shadow box frames. The others are quite textile-y, with silk paper bases and wire and beads...but this one...this one...is nothing like anything I've done so far! There are two layers - the base watercolour paper painted with acrylic paints; with painted vliesofix applied and some metallic foils over that - lots of 'layers' and very rich. The top layer is a transparency print of 'my' bull elk from Yellowstone National Park. I have hundreds (literally!) of great photographs from our tip that I've been wanting to incorporate into some of this work...and this fellow I refer to as 'mine', because I saw him first! As you drive through the park, you often are slowed to a stop by mobs of cars pulled up looking at some astonishing animal or another...there were no cars when I spied this handsome fellow, wandering amongst some sulphur pools and small geysers - there were very quickly lots of cars once we pulled over to watch him for a bit! All that remains is for me to come up with a name...hhmmmm....

Cowboys and Indians in Calgary

Today is our 3 week anniversary of being home...it almost feels as though we never left! So, I've decided to recount our trip - as we took it, beginning with the Calgary Stampede..."The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth". It is pretty impressive. Very much along the lines of our Royal Shows...but BIG, and extensive...and with Rodeo!! (Which means cowboys...and I have this soft spot for cowboys... seems I married one and bore a few...)

All ready for action...It begins with a big bang - quite literally! Fireworks, burning rings of fire, galloping horses, flying enormous flags...and then...the cowboys!

I have a son (actually I have a few...) But, one in particular does this for kicks. So we watched the saddle bronc with special interest...Fin was fortunate enough to compete at the Stampede a few years ago; it was fun to see where he'd been and how it all would have happened.

The bareback riders get tossed around like rag dolls...this can not be good for the body.
And there's always bulls...Personally, I consider this the most insane thing to do...the horses just want to buck you off...the bulls want to buck you off, then rub you out into the arena sand with their considerable heads and big horns! (Regular thank you prayers for the fact that Fin chose the horses!)

And, I wasn't kidding about the Indians! This fellow did the Hoop Dance - he twirled and twisted those hoops into all kinds of representations of animals and birds...in such a fluid and beautiful way...and the costumes!! Beading and colour and detail like you wouldn't believe!
A special treat was the Western Art Exhibition...An enormous pavilion devoted entirely to painting, sculpture, photography, art quilts, and what I could only describe as art furniture...exquisite work that we spent hours and hours poring over.
There's so much more, as well...music - all day, half the night, in about 4 or 5 different places - and big names like Reba McIntyre and Kenny Chesney. But, the most remarkable thing, I think, of all was the chuck wagon races...Oh My!....Chaos and madness like I've never witnessed! Horses, wagons, outriders, ovens (!) all careering around the track. Quite something else!

This guy is supposed to be sticking with his yellow shirted mates...he's an outrider - I'm really not sure what's happening there...but the photo seems to catch the frenzy of the whole thing!