Promoting the Arts West of the Pecos

High Desert Sketches
Alpine Avalanche
George A. Covington
January 14, 2010

 

Kick over a cactus in our little part of the High Chihuahua Desert and you'll hear the scream of an interrupted artist. Try picking up an arrowhead and hear the cry of an injured archeologist. This is a land that lends itself both to artists and archeologists and in some the two professions are merged. Tim Roberts, of Fort Davis, is one of those people.

Mr.  Roberts will demonstrate one of his favorite artistic mediums at a public meeting of the Big Bend Arts Council (BBAC). Artists, art lovers, and the terminally curious are invited to watch a demonstration in the use of scratchboard, or clapboard.

Mr. Roberts explain thusly, "Scratchboard, also known as clayboard, is often created by using a piece of masonite or heavy paper, covering it with white kaolin clay and, in turn, covering the white clay layer with a layer of black India ink (these can be purchased already prepared).  The etching is created by using some type of stylus (I use one that resembles a quill pen) to scratch through the India ink, exposing the underlying white layer to create your image.  In grade school, we use to make our own scratchboards by coloring a thin piece of cardboard with various colors of crayon, and then using a black crayon rather than India ink (it would have been much more interesting as a young grade school student to be able to play with India ink) to create the overlying layer."

After growing up in Kansas, and working around the United States and the Caribbean as an archeologist following his graduation with an M.A. from the University of Tulsa, Tim Roberts moved to west Texas in 2000 to become the regional archeologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.  Like many others, Mr. Roberts was quickly taken with the rugged land and varied characters of the borderland.  With this new-found inspiration, and the support of his wife Karen, Mr. Roberts soon found himself creating artwork again, something that he had not done since taking art courses as an undergraduate student at Bethany College, in Lindsborg, Kansas, 17 years earlier.

Since rediscovering his artistic side in 2003, Mr. Roberts has worked in a variety of media, including oils, acrylics, watercolor pencils, and more recently, scratchboard etchings.  Like the regionalists of the first half of the twentieth century, Mr. Roberts says he generally tries to present a story of sorts within his paintings and illustrations, but does so in a variety of styles.  As a result, his body of work perhaps has a more eclectic look than some, but one that Mr. Roberts hopes everyone can find enjoyment.  As stated by Mr. Roberts, "The only rule of thumb that I follow with all of my artwork, regardless of media and style, is that the work must be fun for me to do and must hold my interest from beginning to end.  And, if I am very lucky, this will also result in an art piece that others will appreciate and enjoy."

Mr. Roberts' artwork is shown at Catchlight Art Gallery, 117 W. Holland Ave., Alpine, and he will be giving a presentation on his scratchboard etchings on Sunday, January 17th, at 3:00 p.m., at the Gallery on the Square, in Alpine.  The Gallery on the Square is located in the "Old Town Square" row of buildings on the corner of N. 5th Street and Sul Ross.

In 2008 it was my pleasure and honor to be a member of the Sul Ross University Art Club, and represent our university and Alpine, TX at the Texas Arts & Crafts Festival in Kerrville, Texas.

 

In 2009 I did not make it to the event as a student, but instead as a visitor and a recorder- wanting to show off the work of my friends and classmates.

 

The desert seems to attract a lot of creativity to it, and in the small art department at Sul Ross State I've seen a lot of amazing talent amongst the students, both older and as seen here, much younger than myself. These students are part of the artistic future of the the world, and help demonstrate why the BBAC is committed to arts EDUCATION in the Big Bend region- a portion of every yearly membership collected by the BBAC is going into a growing scholarship fund for the artists of tomorrow.

 

So here are just a few members of the SRSU Art Club, 2009:

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It took me a while to get around to editing it together, but I finally finished getting the video of the BBAC Gallery on the Square's ribbon-cutting event with the Alpine Chamber of Commerce and Farmer's Insurance up onto the internet!

Thanks to everyone who came and enjoyed the gallery that day, days before that day, and every day that's passed since then! Also a huge thank you to all BBAC members who have devoted time and effort into making the gallery such a beautiful space to show work- and to those who have and are showing their art there.

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Once they're in Alpine, it doesn't take any longer for them to get to Fort Davis, Marathon, or Marfa than it would to get across Austin in bad traffic... -J.R. Smith

  Our Big Bend region has a lot going on for the arts. We've been listed in magazines as one of the top ten areas for artists in the country, and that's a heritage, history, present, and future that I strongly believe should be maintained. More than maintained, it's something that people who live in the area should and can help promote and strengthen- with such a reputation, the area's economy can also be reinforced.

It was with all this in mind that I began building the BBAC site as a way for artists to communicate and promote their work and their hometown events. It was also with this in mind that I went to a fairly hastily called meeting chaired by J.R. Smith at the Alpine Chamber of Commerce last Friday. The subject of the meeting: Turning Alpine, Texas, into a listed art destination and cultural district.