TomWolfeArt

Mid October 2009

A long overdue how are you and thank you for dropping by. As usual it has been quite the whirlwind but today the afternoon broke sunny and warm. This shirt sleeve weather feels good after the cold and three feet of snow that blew in from the north a couple of weeks ago. The snow  is just a dream now though as the Chinook wind came blowing warm and dry, leaving very little of the white stuff.  Most of that should be gone in a couple of days as the temperatures are headed into the 70's. A nice reprieve but they claim more winter is around the corner next week.

Before the big snow fell I was able to get up onto the Buffalo Jump to block in a painting. The calm blue sky Indian summer days were perfect for a scene related to the jump as this would be about the same time the Indians would have had the big drives to secure their winter meat. From my perch at the confluence of the old stacked rock drive lines I was once again humbled by what must have been an amazing spectacle.  If all had gone well and part of the herd could have been stampeded from high up on Horseman Flat, and if none of the panicked Bison was able to get past the lines of defense and direction the people made to get the huge creatures to the brink of the cliff, and if the final push scared the bison in the rear to push the ones on the brink over the cliff, then just maybe the people would stand a better chance of making it through another winter. The noise of the thundering and bawling herd combined with the orchestrated yelling and trilling of the people accentuated by the extreme excitement of the moment must have made this a very big medicine place in the long ago. To me it still is. In fact, one day while I was working two full grown golden eagles came floating along on the slightest of thermals rising from the cliffs. They paid me no mind and it was quite a pleasure to float along with them for a while...

These days one sits up on the brink on a calm day and all you can hear is the river as it meanders through the cottonwoods in the valley below. There is a big white rock right at the spot the drive lines come together and this is in the foreground of my painting. Mountains in the distance are catching the morning sun but most of the nearer ones are still in shadow.  I  think the drives would have been made at day break so as to blind the bison at the brink of the cliff.

I have painted up here quite a few times already and each time the power of the spot affects me more. I swear that sometimes my mind's eye wanders and before you know it I am watching the stampede over the cliff. The din of the yells and bawling mingle in to the dust and the sunrise and I am left amazed by something that happened  in my beautiful valley so very long ago.

Now that the winter snows are beginning to blow in I hope to get more work done at the easel. One of the studies from this summer is up on New Work  and next I am going to work on the seen from the Lake Plateau that I blocked in last August. As I look from my cabin up into those snow clad mountains it is hard to imagine the grass green and wild flowers in the horse pastures like it was last summer.  I think I'll dream about it into a painting and see what happens. Until then, thanks again for dropping by. Sincerely, Tom

July 2009

Thank you for dropping by.  I was just sitting here wondering where June went and how it got there that fast.  The only good thing about having such beautiful days go by so quickly is that it makes it sooner for the high country. The grass is good and deep here in Nye and the summer tourists are beginning to recreate.  Ranchers down the valley are beginning to hay.  It must have been in the high eighties or so today and it seemed hot.  I can't wait to be camped near the glacier on Chalice Peak where the breeze blows cool off the snow and on a clear day you can see across Yellowstone Park to the Tetons.  (August 1 will be when I head out on that one. Before that it will be a couple of trips up the Stillwater to see if any fish have an appetite.)

This morning started early and by 7:00 I was at the top of the Buffalo Jump photographing ideas for the next painting.  You can still see the old drive lines that mark the route the ancient hunters used to get their prey into position at the top of the cliff. The optimum time for bison to be cajoled off a cliff is in the morning when the sun tops the mountains and gets in their eyes.  This scene will be looking south/ southwest and toward the upper Stillwater country. 

Zoe got kicked by a horse a while back and got a leg broke.  We were bringing the ponies in to get them off so much green grass and the next thing I know she was dragging a leg.  I got an x-ray and it is broke pretty good.There is a definite, but clean break. A couple of bone fragments are floating around and a tendon is torn loose.  Tomorrow she will go in to get a couple of rods,  plates and screws.  Hopefully she will be able to make the later trips to the high country.  She loves it up there as much as I do. 

A friend and I circled the Crazy Mountains last weekend.  There is a great hot springs up at White Sulfur Spings on the north end of the range and a good soak in them will cure anything that ails you.  I have a few sore and stiff spots and an evening in the medicine water always fixes me up. the rest of the road trip went uneventfully beautiful.

Well, other than a few more brandings and a couple of day rides around the neighborhood it has been a quiet June.  I will try to get some spring photos up as well as the world land speed record for painting the Buffalo Jump scene...(yeah, right...).  Anyway, I hope your month goes well and is prosperous. Till next time: see you.  From Tom

June Already

Thanks for checking in. It has been a busy spring. The neighbors have all been branding the calves and this is a top priority fun thing to do if you are like me and have always wanted to be a cowboy. A lot of these folks sure are handy with ropes, horses and cattle and I love to watch them work and be a part of the program. These get togethers are a great time for catching up after the long winter as everybody gathers to help each other and on different days it is different ranches with plenty of action and fun not to mention the great meals and drink at day's end. The sound of spurs and bawling cattle, the smell of burning hair and a cowboy joke make for first class Montana spring days. I uploaded a few photos in Photos of My Neighborhood.

     The show in Billings went well. I only painted one new piece and it was another Bison Study. It is going to the Beartooth Hospital Benefit in Red Lodge. It is up in New Work.

     Another picture in Photos of the Neighborhood is of Zoe sitting on the deck checking out the new snow that is falling. This is usual enough  (especially after this winter) but the date is June 8 and the garden needed covering while 3 inches fell. I sure am looking forward to summer.

     I went on a three day pack trip into the hills with my brother and his family. It was the first for my nephew and niece and we had a mighty fine time relaxing around the fire and checking out the country by horseback. Nephew Morgan was official camp jack and did an excellent job keeping the fire going and hauling water.

     I am busy getting the shoes on the rest of the horses to get ready for summer. It won't be long now and soon I hope to be in the high country. There are two oils to finish this month however, so cross your fingers. You know how sidetracked I can get... Thanks for understanding. Each new day there are just too many interesting sidtracks to be explored to clamp myself down to too much of a schedule... I'll keep you posted of course. After all, it's a grand adventure! Thanks for dropping by. See you!

May 5, 2009

     Welcome back! Well, it looks like the winter may finally be losing ground around here. The grass is greening up and the crocuses are coming out. Remember the three bull elk that passed through right before the last storm? Well, the other night the snow melted enough that I went out horn hunting and right over the hill from where I spotted them from my deck, the 7 point and the 6 point started shedding their horns. So far I have found the two 7 points and one 6 point. What fun! I uploaded a picture of them on the photos of the neighborhood section.

     Besides wandering around in the woods I have been painting. I uploaded a few new ones onto the new work page. I am glad to finally be done with The Blessing. It was a lot of fun but it is time to move on. I think I will do one from the Buffalo Jump next. We are going to brand calves up there next week and I will get some idea of the scene and then try it. I also need to get some watercolors done for some folks so keep your eye out.

     When I got home last night there was a young cow elk right in the yard of my cabin. The green grass is better in my lawn than out in the pasture I suppose. She didn't hang around very long.

     We have been branding lately and I have been trying to get a couple of roofs on a couple of cabins but somewhere in there I did get enough stuff together for a show at the Sunrise Gallery in Billings. We had a lot of fun at the artist reception the other night. The show will hang for a month and with any luck maybe something might sell. Well, I will try to put some spring photos up soon. It sure is fine that winter is dwindling. Before long it will be time to saddle the ponies and head to the hills. In fact, toward the end of this month I am heading back into a place called Bad Canyon (which is far from bad) and look for some bears. My brother and his two young kids will be coming along and I am looking forward to some time around the fire with them. (right, Morgan!?)

     Well, thanks for dropping by. I will try not to take so long in updating this blog but you know how easily I get caught up in the adventure. I hope you and yours are well.

    

Almost May update

Happy Spring. We actually have been having some perfect sunny spring weather and the green grass was just starting to show but today I woke up to about 8 inches of snow...and here it seemed as though winter was over... Oh, well, there is going to be plenty of water in the river, creeks and springs and summer pasture ought to be fantastic so I suppose it's just another perfect day in Paradise. Today I uploaded the photo of the Blessing Ceremony painting I have been promising for so long. It is in New Work.  I also uploaded a photo of an oil of some of the horses out in the pasture. A lady ordered it but decided it wasn't right for her house so it is for sale. A friend and I are the featured artists in another friend's new gallery in Billings next month.  I will be taking advantage of the weather to hole up around the fire and paint a few more pictures for the show.

I also uploaded a couple photos of the last dog days of winter. Like Jeremiah Johnson said " Winter's a long time comin' in the high country." The snow will get in the way of the neighbors branding efforts which is a shame. The calves probably don't mind the delay, though. Yesterday the three bull elk that passed through a few weeks ago came back. They are still around if I don't miss my guess. Their 5,6 and 7 point horns were replaced with short new nubs and I am hoping to find the sheds somewhere hereabouts. Horn hunting is a good excuse to saddle one of the horses and go for a ride.

Well, I hope you enjoy the new stuff. I also hope that it won't be long before I am posting photos of green grass and high mountain pastures. Thanks again for dropping by. Tom