Texas sunsets are, like most things Texan, proud of themselves. They're generous with the bold color they splash across the sky. They also hang around just as long as they can before saying their "good nights". And when you're lucky enough to catch one from a ranch road with the only traffic, your own truck, that sunset feels mightly personal. Add an abundance of wildflowers blooming in tall green grass and
life doesn't get much better.
Ranchland Afterglow shares that sense of being right where you belong, soaking up warm, lingering light settling over a Central Texas pasture after the day has finished with you.
Inspired by a sunset drive my brother treated Jim and me to, this painting is one moment on a dirt road across a Central Texas ranch after a wet spring, I painted this to celebrate the ordinary magic of being connected to the land at day’s end: the wide-open pasture, the wildflower drift, the sense that there’s a sky show playing especially for us. This sense of belonging in a place feeds my spirit (and makes me shout "stop the truck!" way too often). This grass still holds the day’s exuberant heat, the wildflowers are still frisky but starting to quiet down, and the land seems to exhale as it begins to give way to darkness. Yet there’s still enough light to make the field shimmer in one of those seductive in-between moments when you feel very alive. Not full daylight, not quite night, just the soft handoff from one to the other and you are part of it. That feels very real to me. A little humble, a lot golden, and very, very Texas.
Ranchland Afterglow is a good fit if you're looking to bring gentle warmth, a sense of spaciousness, and summer evening serenity into your home. This complex miniature works beautifully in a living room, hallway, bedroom, or anywhere that could a breath of nature, the best of Texas.
