This painting, a few years in the making, is composed of several different reference photos, including a few from Tulsa, Oklahoma.
I first visited Tulsa in 2009 and met a very nice couple who enjoyed my work and soon after became collectors. Over the next year, we realized that we shared an appreciation for old (aka antique) items. So when I returned in 2010 for my first solo exhibit at Lovetts Gallery, we made plans to walk the fields outside of Tulsa looking for old farm equipment and oil pumps, which I was eager to find and use for future works. While I was there, they invited me to their house, where I saw this old water pump.
The pump once was installed atop a well so that you could pull water up by using the crank on the side. Inside the pump were two gears connecting a chain from the top of the well to the bottom. Little buckets were attached to the chain that would carry the water up and dump it into a trough that lead to the spigot. It’s not only a neat device but also one that I knew would make a great painting.
The bird perched on the spigot is a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow that we saw while out on our walk. It seemed like the perfect pairing.
Selected for...
Birds in Art 2015
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
Wausau, Wisconsin
This painting, a few years in the making, is composed of several different reference photos, including a few from Tulsa, Oklahoma.
I first visited Tulsa in 2009 and met a very nice couple who enjoyed my work and soon after became collectors. Over the next year, we realized that we shared an appreciation for old (aka antique) items. So when I returned in 2010 for my first solo exhibit at Lovetts Gallery, we made plans to walk the fields outside of Tulsa looking for old farm equipment and oil pumps, which I was eager to find and use for future works. While I was there, they invited me to their house, where I saw this old water pump.
The pump once was installed atop a well so that you could pull water up by using the crank on the side. Inside the pump were two gears connecting a chain from the top of the well to the bottom. Little buckets were attached to the chain that would carry the water up and dump it into a trough that lead to the spigot. It’s not only a neat device but also one that I knew would make a great painting.
The bird perched on the spigot is a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow that we saw while out on our walk. It seemed like the perfect pairing.