Friday, September 30, 2011

End of the Line


I know this is far from what you were expecting to see on today's post but "End of the Line" is a memory painting for more than one reason.  The cow skull reminds me of a time I was with my sister, Karen, riding in Nevada from a ranch we were visiting to the closest neighbor's ranch five miles away.  Instead of following the road we headed out through the mesquite.  We were on good working Quarter horses and they were feeling frisky and eager to go.  On the way we found a cow skull and I got down out of the saddle and scooped it up to take home in my suitcase.  Can you imagine what the TSA would think of that today?  My sister and I were both in horse heaven that day and painting this old cow skull has brought back memories and made for "A Painting Day".

"End of the LIne" 9x12 inches, oil on canvas by Ruth Andre


8 comments:

Gary Keimig said...

a great memory Ruth. Glad you painted it and did a great job on it

Virginia Floyd said...

Fun story, Ruth. Is that a bullet hole?

Carol Blackburn said...

LOL....I see the hole Virginia is referring to and can't help but wonder if she is right. Nice one, Ruth.

Ruth Andre said...

Thank-you Gary, Virginia and Carol for your very nice comments. The skull I found on my ride in Nevada did not have a bullet hole but this reference photo of the cow did have a bullet hole. I went back and forth on whether I should paint the skull with the hole? In the end they do shoot animals before butchering so I painted added the hole.

Theresa Paden said...

Thanks for sharing that fun story with us. Great job on the skull!

shirley fachilla said...

Really like the subtle color complements you have used. So very effective.

Kim Vanlandingham said...

Great story to go with the painting!

Diana Moses Botkin said...

Very striking painting, Ruth, and I love the story.

I guess many things we would've packed in our carry on bags would now be suspect or not allowed.

My daughter had a bit of trouble not long ago when flying because she had forgotten about a large nail she kept as a bookmark in her bible as a physical reminder of the cross.