The Arabian Oryx Ink piece FINAL

SO It is finally done! The Arabian Oryx ink piece -which took many hours of tiny dots and squinting for these old eyes is my newest piece of art and one of my largest ink pieces in the last few years. I took the refeence photos from a zoo and then recreated my Oryx herd in a made up desert setting. The Phoenix Zoo is credited with saving the Arabian Oryx from extinction. In 1962 they started the first captive-breeding herd in any zoo. Starting with only 9 animals, the Phoenix Zoo has had over 200 successful births. Oryx were sent to other zoos to start their herds. By 1990, the number of Arabian Oryx had increased to over 1300 including 112 captive bred ones which were reintroduced back to the wild in preserves in their native lands. That the Arabian Oryx was extinct in the wild but have been saved by a zoo is impressive! That is one of the reasons I chose this animal instead of the other speices of Oryx. I also have read that early explorers would mistake the Oryx for a unicorn in profile view across the desert heat waves. Early Oryx sightings could have started the unicorn fable. These animals are shy and do not let people get very close at all, dashing away at top speed. This past weekend I attended the State Lone Star Art Guild convention in Bay City with three pieces of art while Gayln delivered two of my other works to The Art Alliance At Clear Lake. The convention was well done and I attended a few demos. The Best of Show winner was a portrait painting and it was excellent -I'm just not a fan of portraits. My favorite -of course-was a BEAUTIFUL Egret painting on Masonite by Sherry Hogan! Last bit of NEWS--14 DAYS till we LEAVE for AFRICA!! Thanks for reading my stuff....Doug Hiser

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Duo

I finished the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Duo watercolor painting. Here are some of the photos of the progress. I am also about a third of the way through the large 22x30 Arabian Oryx ink piece. Next month at this time I will be on my way to Kenya and the Masai Mara, the Great Rift Valley and watching Wildebeasts and Zebras in their great migration. I think I am more excited about Africa than I was last year going to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. Speaking of Zebras I am now also working on a pair of rival zebras fighting-also a watercolor painting. For those of you on Facebook you can always see much more art on my Doug Hiser Artist page. Yesterday I took a group along one of the trails in Seabrook along the Gulf Coast Birding trail. It was a very rewarding trip encountering, beautiful close up observations of Little Green Herons, Snowys, White egrets, Blue herons, red shouldered hawks, black vultures, white ibis, and many more species! A tiny birder's paradise lies along that trail along the coastal waters. Thanks everyone for tuning in and save a bird, save a tree, save a piece of land, and save our planet's best resource: Wild Nature. Doug Hiser

Poem Riding the Whale

You've seen this one before-but it goes into an ART SHOW in a couple of weeks with a black matted frame and white words in the mat ---the poem written for the

int- Riding the Whale Doug Hiser Walking down by the sea In the shimmering moonlight I saw you in white Leaving the seashore I can still see those waves Of black, of blue, flashes of cresting white As you go out into the deep I always thought we would fall in love Now I dream of seahorses, Angelfish, ocean leviathans With a pearly seashell to my ear And my heart in a coral cage I stare across the scary water As the silver moon calls the tide I thought we would fall in love Now I dream of you in white Walking on water A silent ceremony Of you, riding the whale, leaving me

MAY ART NEWS

Home from a nice sunny weekend in Georgetown and Austin. The coming week should be sunny great Spring weather. Next weekend I am honored to be judging ART at the International Festival in Houston!
I have too many irons in the fire as usual but as long as Art and Nature are involved I'm right there in the thick of it. Yesterday I got to witness an amazing sight as a big red tailed hawk dived down and landed on a rodent of unknown species and now only dinner for hawks!
May 18th is the Texas LSAG State Art Convention and I am looking forward to the competition and the big show. AS far as my own plans for art projects I have quite a few in progress: The stick and wire sea sculptures-the dolphin, sea turtle, and fish are finished except for their stands, the Whale Girl is ready for her framing-these two pieces are going in an upcoming show.
The Bighorn Duo is ready and mounted to be painted, and the Arabian Oryx ink is sketched out and preliminary oryx drawings are done.
Here is some of the art of the Wading bird chart: Thanks for reading --Doug Hiser

Art FEST!

The Texas City Art Fest is such an amazing event. 300 pieces of art makes it one of the largest in the area. I took 3rd place Art under glass and felt honored among such variety and talent around me. The show will be available for viewing until next Thursday-GO OUT and SEE IT.
The opening was fantastic with a jazz band, tables of food, and drink, and a good award presentation. I loved talking with all the artists, some I knew and others I just met. The College of the Mainland Art Section was especially interesting. The Student sections were fantastic too with art from TC, La Marque and Dickinson schools.
I'm thinking of enetering a new show coming up in a few weeks and it will be a different kind of show and I will NOT be entering Wildlife art. Instead I have some surreal art -well it does involve animals! I have reworked the "Whale Elephant Girl" (a girl in a dress standing on an elephant which is also standing on a whale)-it was a watercolor and now I have painted over it with Acrylic and color pencil-so here is my new version. These are sections of the artwork.

Spring Art show!

This weekend is the Texas City ART Festival! This is a nice big show with a lot of interesting artwork by talented artists. My "White Wolf Waterfall" ink piece has won 3RD Place and the awards and opening of the show is Saturday evening at 6 pm at the Doyle Convention Center.
In other art related news--this Tuesday April 17th at Houston Gateway Academy on evergreen st will be the HGA Spring HS ART SHOW! The show will feature over 350 pieces of HS student artwork-
2-D and 3-D and 25 awards will be given out to the young artists.
And still on the Horizon is the Lone star Art State Convention in Bay City on May 18th in which I will have 3 pieces of art in that major competition.
My latest watercolor painting I have been waiting around to find some time to start the layering process-here is the underlayers version of "Colorado Bighorn Duo"

Time is running out!

Yes, time is running out and our African trip to KENYA is only 9 WEEKS AWAY! Getting prepared- going to the Travel Dr. this week, Packing away my sketchbooks and my "bush" clothing.
I will deliver 3 pieces of art to the Texas City Art Festival this coming weekend and the show will be the following weekend at the Doyle Convention Center in Texas City.
The State Art Convention will have 3 more of my pieces of art in Bay City May 19th.
A few art sales this week and my TWO bestelling novels are rolling along each weekly sales report! Thanks to everyone out there!!
This summer I will be back to writing on my newest novel, as yet untitled, about the tiny people of the Komodo Islands-- and searching for agents and editors for my other two COMPLETED novels: The Midnight Jungle and The Texas Sugar Pussy Kat Murders.
The phone photos are two of my contrasting styles: ink and acrylic paint, Wildebeasts and Orcas.