Texas Hill Country ART GUIDE
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Ken Esten Cooke Publisher/Editor
Ken Esten Cooke, Sallie Lewis Schneider Contributing Writers
Texas Hill Country
Michelle Adams, Cindy Clark Advertising
Jason Risner & Robert G. Gomez Contributing Photo
Design
Riley Taber
Texas Hill Country Art Guide is an annual publication highlighting the best in this area’s vibrant art scene.
To be included, contact Michelle Adams at Fredericksburg Publishing Company at 830.997.2155. ©2025 Fredericksburg Publishing Co., 712 West Main St., Fredericksburg, TX 78624
We Thank Our Community Sponsors For The Arts
Adega Vinho
Die Künstler von Fredericksburg
Enchanted Fredericksburg Ranch
Erin Newton
Fredericksburg Art Guild
Friends of Gillespie County Country Schools
Grape Creek Vineyards
InSight Gallery
Invention Vineyards
Kate McCool
Kerr Arts and Cultural Center
Kuhlman Estate
Lone Star Love Notes
Museum of Western Art
Nan Henke
Rivers Edge Gallery
Ruby Lee Clark
Sheila Sattler Kale
Style 208
Superior Services Tree Care
This is Art, LLC
Walden Art
Western Gallery
Yellow Door Studio
Colors of the Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country has a vibrant palette of colors in the flora and fauna of the area. Artist Michelle Adams demonstrates some color recipes and uses for different watercolor paints and brands along with her Texas Poppy from the color palette. Paints included are Sennelier, Windsor & Newton, Utrecht, Grumbacher, Daniel Smith, and QoR Golden. Explore your paints for bluebonnet blues or cactus greens to capture the beauty of the Hill Country.
Texas Western Artist Susan Edison
First release 12"x12" watercolor art prints $85 ea. and 5"x5" art quality notecards sets of 10 $50. Hill Country Wildlife: Great Horned Owls, White-tailed Deer, Black-tail Jack Rabbit, Bobcat, Coyote, Texas Horny Toad, Red-tailed Hawk. Mixed or single animal notecard sets. www.LoneStarLoveNotes.com -- LoneStarLoveNotes@gmail.com A portion of proceeds supports Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.
Fri: 5pm-8pm Sat: 10am-4pm Sun: 11am-4pm
Silver Streak
Cowboy craftsmanship in Ingram at Clint Orms
Engravers and Silversmiths
By Sallie Lewis
Inside Clint Orms Engravers and Silversmiths, a small team of craftsmen huddle over their benches, surrounded by tools and lamplight. Throughout the workshop, steer horns protrude from the walls flanked by framed magazine articles and glossy photos of engraved silver buckles.
Part of that depth stems from the myriad materials that go into Orms’ designs. Long cabinets with thin drawers conceal precious gemstones along with sheets sterling silver and gold. One custom silver buckle might feature golden cactus with prickly pears made of rubies. Another might have sterling silver flowers with sapphire centers. The designer’s own buckle boasts a diamond “C.”
elevated yet tasteful nature of the collection makes Orms’ work a fine complement to lifestyles both on and the ranch. Each piece is made with an appreciation hard work and Western values. The designs are both nostalgic and on-trend, a timeless weaving of past and present. Slipping a Clint Orms’ cuff around your wrist or buckling a hand-engraved belt around your waist, one feel the weight of its maker. It is an homage to the craft and the craftsmen who made it, and the life it will for generations to come.
Over the years, Clint Orms has built a sterling reputation for his classic designs and heirloom-quality handiwork. The soft-spoken designer is best known for his hand-crafted belt buckles and silver jewelry, all of which is worn and collected by notable clientele, such as Lyle Lovett, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Queen Noor of Jordan, to name a few.
Orms grew up in Wichita Falls and got his start making hand-tooled belts in high school. “I’ve always been making stuff,” he shared. He went on to apprentice under a handful of silver designers across the west, lured by the timelessness and longevity of the medium.
For the past seventeen years, his store in The Old Ingram Loop Shopping District has been a revered, under-the-radar boutique in this humble Hill Country community, and a place frequented by the state’s most discerning shoppers. The street-front showroom is stocked with fine leather belts and a trove of hand-engraved buckles, bracelets, money clips, and bolo ties, all of which gleam inside glass displays.
Rock&Vine
Orms’ designs are made to be passed down over generations. His buckles in particular – each named after Texas counties – are laden with symbolism and can be customized per the client’s unique wishes and specifications. Commissioned items are all about telling stories, and Orms enjoys marking them in metal through ranch brands, initials, alma maters, and special motifs like hummingbirds and bluebonnets. Buckles can take anywhere from fifteen to eighty hours on average to make, depending on the detail involved. And while they may be his most popular item, Orms has worked with clients on a diversity of goods, from custom ball markers for golf enthusiasts to tiny pillboxes for storing dried chile pequins. “The sky is the limit,”
Schneider
Photos by Jason Risner & Robert G. Gomez
“We just want to make something that’s going to be a part of their FAMILY.”
— Clint Orms
Texas Hill Country
he shared of his customer’s requests. “We just want to make something that’s going to be a part of their family.”
THE SKY IS LIMIT. WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SOMETHING THAT’S GOING TO BE A PART OF THEIR FAMILY.
- Clint Orms THE SKY IS THE LIMIT. WE JUST WANT TO MAKE
SOMETHING THAT’S GOING TO BE A PART OF THEIR FAMILY.
Behind the storefront, customers can watch as Orms’ team works with grit and grace in their intimate workshop. “Everyone has their own style,” he said of his engravers adding, “We train each other.” Collectively, their skill and attention to detail imbues the work with a depth of character that’s unique to the industry.
Part of that depth stems from the myriad materials that go into Orms’ designs. Long cabinets with thin drawers conceal precious gemstones along with sheets of sterling silver and gold. One custom silver buckle might feature golden cactus with prickly pears made of rubies. Another might have sterling silver flowers with sapphire centers. The designer’s own buckle boasts a diamond “C.”
- Clint Orms
The elevated yet tasteful nature of the collection makes Orms’ work a fine complement to lifestyles both on and off the ranch. Each piece is made with an appreciation for hard work and Western values. The designs are both nostalgic and on-trend, a timeless weaving of past and present. Slipping a Clint Orms’ cuff around your wrist or buckling a hand-engraved belt around your waist, one can feel the
Erin Neel Newton
Erin Newton is a contemporary artist whose practice explores the miracle of shared mood and experience reflected in nature, specifically drawing from the Southern Gothic aesthetic. Erin’s work is inspired by a wide array of impressions left from literature, both prose and poetry, as well as her years growing up on a ranch in the Texas Hill Country.
Originals.
www.ErinNeelNewton.com
Fredericksburg Art
Art Created Exclusively by Hill Country Artists
Barbara Cooledge
Donna Roche
Kristine Ziems
Cindy Cherrington
Jean Northington
Joyce Malatek
Lee Wilson
Jan Miller
Judy Earls
Cathy Pankratz
Gayle Wilson
Marion Loucks
Mary Lee
Debbie Mason
State Treasure in Town
Sculptor John Bennett makes the Lone Star state shine in Fredericksburg
By Ken Esten Cooke
Artist John Bennett captures Texas icons like few others. And for that, he is Fredericksburg’s lone Texas State Artist since 2010.
Bennett, who began sculpting in 1976, was designated Texas State Artist by the 81st Legislature. Since that time he has created amazing works of art that reflect the spirit of the Lone Star State.
“I am deeply attracted to the beauty of people and their performance in life,” Bennett said. “I see romance in line and strength, balance and movement, and that’s what I pursue in my work.
“I strive for essentials, but enhance emotion and hope the finished piece can project its own soul, beyond just an image frozen in space and time.”
Amazingly, Bennett has never had an art lesson or a mentor, and he’s taken only two art workshops in his life. He is self-taught and his talents took him to the pinnacle of the state art world.
In honoring Bennett with the title, the 2009 Joint Resolution passed by lawmakers included, “… acclaimed for his sculptures of women, John has created works depicting women from all walks of life, from Old West legend Annie Oakley to 98-year-old Alice Reeves, a former schoolteacher and granddaughter of a slave; one of his pieces was selected by the Women’s Museum for display at the White House in 1999.”
Bennett says he has slowed down a bit, scaling back on traveling and art show exhibits, but he still works daily in his studio. His sculpture subjects have morphed from the cowboys into more contemporary sculptures, inspired by a trip to Italy. That culminated with his “Ange des Enfants” (Angel of Infants) in the Greenwood Cemetery.
Bennett opened Agave Gallery on East San Antonio Street in 2006 and he and wife Cathy kept it open for a decade. He had a distinctive 1952 Ford with his logo painted on it that made for a focal point. At the time, he was the only retail art gallery in that section of town.
A more recent project was creating bronze sculptures for the “Main Street Mockingbirds” project in cooperation with author Amy Beicker, who launched the nine-statue and story project in conjunction with Fredericksburg’s 175th anniversary of its founding.
Today, his works can be found at Charles Morin Gallery, 244 West Main Street, which features other iconic Texas art. (Users can get a history lesson from Morin on major Texas artists through the years in many mediums, along with their influences.)
Author Amy Beicker and artist John Bennett install one of the mockingbird sculptures.
Texas Hill Country
“He does have a unique style with his bronzes, they have unique creamy finishes. After it’s cast, the finish is painted on and they use a blowtorch to flatten it — almost like a powder coat,” said Marcy O’Connor, gallery assistant at Charles Morin Gallery. “He has traditional cowboys, but the women subjects and how he captures motion in the sculptures are just amazing. Plus, he’s just the nicest guy in the world.”
Softspoken and humble, but talented beyond words, Bennett’s aura is that of an old-school Texan whose work speaks for itself.
Bennett in a 2024 photo with his “Frida’s Wedding” bronze of the iconic Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
“Belle Starr” bu John Bennett, in bronze.
Studio sales and commissioned art in Austin and Fredericksburg, TX
My paintings are representational rather than literal. For me, that means a realistic but stylized ideology of a scene that evokes the mood or emotion at a particular moment in time. I strive to interpret the inherent vitality of nature.
‘Where the Legend Lives’
Museum of Western Art maintains legacy of the iconic west
LBy Ken Esten Cooke
overs of Western art can get their fix in the galleries of the Texas Hill Country. But the Museum of Western Art in Kerrville is in the upper echelon of Western art facilities in the nation.
Last year, True West magazine ranked the Museum of Western Art as the No. 2 Museum of the West. The honor cements the museum as a place that keeps western culture and art alive for so many who have a connection to it.
Opened in 1983, The Museum of Western Art is dedicated to the preservation of the American West through exhibitions of the top Western artists. Its goal is to authentically represent life in both historic and contemporary contexts.
Last year’s exhibits included the epic western art of Scott Christensen as well as the contemporary abstract work of Vietnamese-American artist Quong Ho.
Upcoming artist exhibits will include stunning photos by Rachel Spencer in “Wildlife Icons of the American West” and works from Walt Gonske’s “The Church Series” exhibit. Spencer’s art runs July 19-August 30, while Gonske’s show, featuring sacred sites, will be September 6-November 8.
Later this year, New American West works by painter Kathleen Frank, who captures the American Southwest, and bronze sculptor Mark Yale Harris will run November 15-January 10, 2026.
Executive Director Dr. Darrel Beauchamp looked forward to an exciting lineup through 2025. “There will be new artists coming that are renowned in the Western art genre but are new to our museum,”
Texas Hill Country
“One Trick Pony” by Mark Yale Harris. The exhibition “The New American West by Brush and by Bronze” with Kathleen Frank and Mark Yale Harris opens Nov. 19 and runs through Jan 10, 2026.
Beauchamp said. “This gives western art fans who have visited in the past another reason to return and see new art.”
The museum in Kerrville provides the opportunity for one and all to relive Western heritage through great art.
The museum opened in 1983, first known as the Cowboy Artists of America Museum.
In the years since, more than 1.6 million visitors have walked the galleries and have seen the West brought to life through the artwork on view. The subjects are cowboys, Native Americans, women of the West, settlers, mountain men and others. Other exhibitions feature the ranching heritage and other aspects of western lore and life.
Educators, students, writers, and the public make use of the museum’s Griff Carnes Research Center, the 6,000-volume western art and history research library.
The museum was designed by Texas architect O’Neil Ford, featuring heavy timbers and retaining walls of stacked limestone, resembling a traditional hacienda.
Its grounds feature life-size bronzes, and inside, the 14,000-squarefoot facility showcases artisan works. Floors of mesquite wood and Saltillo tile fit the theme.
In 2004, the Masel S. Quinn Pavilion was completed and made ready for event use and as an integral part of the art education program.
The following year, the Journey West Children’s Gallery was completed, highlighting the adventurous history of the American West for young visitors.
And in 2017, the L.D. “Brink” Brinkman Central Courtyard Gallery was enclosed to provide additional exhibition space for the museum’s collection of bronze sculptures.
Temporary exhibits feature famous masters of the past, regional artists, artifacts from the era, and historical explorations of the region’s past.
Beauchamp says the museum serves as a bridge between the past and the present, ensuring preservation of the legacy of the American West. It’s theme, fittingly, is “Where the Legend Lives.”
Visitors have called the museum “…an incredible gem that
exceeded all expectations” and stated they were “…happy to spend all morning wandering the indoor and outdoor works.” They also praised the “friendly and knowledgeable staff.”
For many years the average American’s exposure to Western Art in public museums was confined to the works of Remington, Russell, and a few old masters. By the late 1970s, what works did exist of the growing number of contemporary cowboy artists were confined to private collections.
Interestingly, former Arizona Senator and cowboy art collector Barry Goldwater voiced a need for public venues to showcase the genre.
His thoughts were turned into action by Kerrville and South Texas leaders who had a mutual interest in Western art. A conversation between L.D. Brinkman, a local cattle breeder and a manufacturer, and Robert R. Shelton — an heir to the legendary King Ranch — gave life to the project.
Soon they corralled a group of kindred spirits that shared a goal of building and establishing the first museum to honor the work of living American Western Art painters and sculptors.
These founders pledged the private funds to launch their project.
Oilman William F. Roden and his wife, Carolyn, of Midland, donated a prime ten-acre piece of land adjacent to the Riverhill Country Club in Kerrville.
“Simple Pleasures” by Pat Haptonstall, displayed in the gallery.
Sheila Sattler
Each
Through
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Artist Index
A listing of artists from featured local galleries
Fredericksburg Art Guild & Gallery
The Fredericksburg Art Guild is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded more than fifty years ago by artist John McClusky to support art in the Texas Hill Country. All Guild members live in the Texas Hill Country, and participate in four seasonal three-month shows in the Gallery, at 308 E. Austin Street in Fredericksburg In months when special events are not taking place, a Guild artist is featured in the main Gallery, and the public is invited to celebrate during First Friday Art Walk by meeting the Artist of the Month and enjoying complimentary wine and refreshments.
Guild members Truby Hardin, Nan Henke and Marion Loucks teach oil painting and watercolor, and in February their students are honored with an art exhibit in the main gallery. The Guild’s annual Juried Show in May features not only Guild artists, but is open to artists throughout the Hill Country. In October through support of the Pedernales Creative Art Alliance (PCAA), the Guild has a tent at Oktoberfest.
In addition to PCAA the Guild receives support from the City of Fredericksburg Hotel/Motel Occupancy Tax funds through a yearly grant. The art of Guild artists is for sale in the Gallery, and a portion of each sale helps support the Guild. A calendar of Guild events and online art sales are available on the Guild’s website, www.fredericksburgartguild.com.
Barbara Cooledge
Cathy Pankratz
Cindy Cherrington
Debbie Mason
Donna Roche
Gayle Wilson
Jan Miller
Jean Northington
Jeffrey Yentz
Joyce Malatek
Judy Earls
Kristine Ziems
Lee Wilson
Marion Loucks
Mary Lee
Melissa Starry
Nan Henke
Nancy Hardinson
Nancy Skoog
Peggy Joyce
Ruby Annette
Sheila Bingham
Suzanne Morhart
Tom Miller
Truby Hardin
Die Künstler von Fredericksburg
Die Künstler von Fredericksburg means “The Artists of Fredericksburg” in German; however, most people refer to the group as DK. Founded in 1991, the club also provides scholarships for membership to middle and high school students who may then participate in its annual shows.
DK’s purpose is to promote art appreciation and education in Fredericksburg and the Texas Hill Country for artists at every level of experience. The group meets at 5:00 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month at Gillespie County Historical Society, 312 West San Antonio Street. Meetings are free and open to the public and include live demonstrations by noted artists.
KayLee Adams
Kristin Ashman
Robert Behan
Jason Behrends
Vee Ann Brodnax
Sue Campbell
Kathleen Castonguay
Cindy Cherrington
Ruby Lee Clark
Daneshu Clarke
Elizabeth Cockey
Nancy Coon
Tina Couet
Janet Cox
Mary Neil Dance
Caroline Dechert
Jane Dickinson
Dura Dittmar
Anne Douzat
Sara Drescher
Frieda Duggan
Donald Fraser
Linda Hall
Nan Henke
Matthew Henn
Brenda Hild
Svetlana Hipsky
Virginia Howell
Nancy Huffman
Stacy Jenschke
Janet Justice
Sheila Kale
Trevor Kramer
Donna Lafferty
Marc Land
CJ Latta
Marion Loucks
Leisa Luis-Grill
Kathy Lux
Joyce Malatek
Tassie Marceaux
Arielle Masin
Trudy Maslonka
Deb Mason
Barbara Mauldin
Suzanne McComack
Donna McCue
Sterling Meadows (student)
Cherryl Meggs
Jan Miller
Tom Miller
Suzanne Morhart
Louise Murphy
Nancy Natho
Kelly Nichelini
Karen Oldham
Edith O’Neill
Cathy Pankratz
Marsha Pape
Andrea Pesek (student)
Christa Peyton
Chris Reese
Marsha Reeves
Verna Richards
Martha Roland
Laura Ronstadt
Jeanne Rothberg
Andrea Rummel
Clara Sanchez (student)
Cher Sanderson
Mary Kaye SawyerMorse
Johnnette Scheuer
Carol Seminara
Cynara Shelton
Charlie Simmons
Mary Simmons
Nancy Skoog
Bob Spencer
Joanne Spencer
Melissa Starry
Christin Thompson
Michele Thompson
Sue Thompson
Susan Tracy
Audrey Turner
Rick Vandiver
Pat Weeden
Mark Wieser
Bonnie Woods
Jennifer Zardavets
Jane Zavala
Kristine Zeims
Independent Artists Featured
Michelle Adams
Lee Beach
Ruby Lee Clark
Nan Henke
Sheila Sattler Kale
Kat McCool
Erin Neal Newton
Robert Reynolds
Valerie Walden
Western Galleries
In 2001 Fredericksburg native Kathy Weigand took the plunge and opened a studio showroom in Fredericksburg TX. By 2005, a new concept of a Hill Country e-commerce online art gallery representing local and Texas artists began to grow, and WesternGalleries.com was established.
Launched Sept 2023, First Friday Art Walk Online is a rotating curated collection of new works by represented artists and invited guests. The online exhibits open on the first friday, similar to other local Fredericksburg First Friday Art Walk events. And with this online shopping option, art clients from across the USA can view new Texas art.
Daniel Anz
Annette Bennett
Pam Bunch APA
Calvin Carter
Nan Henke
Clif Hunt
Deb Johnson
Al Kline SWS
Clyde Lewis
Katie Maclain
Louise C. Murphy
Linda Rust
JoAnne Spencer
Robert Spencer
Allen Turk
Kathy Weigand
Rivers Edge Gallery
Debbie and Mike Wilson own Rivers Edge, “The Jewel of Kerrville.” The 20,000-square-foot gallery also offers fine art printing and custom framing. The Wilsons can make copies of photographs or paintings and print them on fine art canvas or paper. They also clean and repair oil paintings.
“I’m not trying to be an upper-end gallery. I want to be a middle-class gallery, where they walk in and the artwork is affordable,” Debbie Wilson said. “We’re the best-kept secret in Kerrville.”
Rivers Edge represents over 20 artists, including painters, sculptors and jewelrymakers. The gallery’s eclectic offerings include traditional and contemporary works. Wilson specializes in conservation of family heirlooms, priceless art and vintage photographs.
“I do 3-D objects, like flags, Army uniforms. My favorite one was a CIA agent’s guns and handcuffs and badges,” Wilson said. “I do a lot of things that other frame shops have no idea how to do. When I frame it, you can’t even tell how it’s attached.” She loves hearing the stories customers bring with their valued heirlooms and the trust they place in Rivers Edge to preserve their treasures. “We try to save our customers as much money as possible but give them the art they deserve,” Wilson said.
Paulette Alsworth
MaryAnn Brummer
Cliff Cavin
Lenell Dean
Curtis Dykes
Travis Keese
Jackie Knott
Rod McGehee
Irene Cookie McCoy
Bob O'Connor
Cyril Panchevre
Monica Pate
Maren Phillips
Helen L. Rietz
Louise Sackett
Mary Shepard
James Snuffer
Pauly Tamez
Colin Turner
Dyana Walker
Mike Wilson
InSight Gallery
InSight Gallery represents a select group of today’s finest painters and sculptors. The 60 nationally recognized, award-winning artists are American Impressionist Society Masters, Cowboy Artists of America, Master Oil Painters of America and Pastel Society of America Masters. These artists are invited to participate in prestigious national museum shows, including Prix de West, Autry/Masters of the American West, Briscoe Museum’s “Night of Artists” and Eiteljorg Museum’s “Quest for the West.”
“Amid such esteemed artists, we strive to provide a welcoming and hospitable environment so that art collectors, art lovers and art novices alike can come and enjoy the experience,” said Elizabeth Harris, who has owned and operated the gallery with her husband, Stephen, since 2015.
The gallery is located in the 1907 Schwarz building, which was restored in 2010. InSight Gallery staff shows everyone who walks in the door Fredericksburg hospitality.
“We realize how fortunate we are to have this location — 8,000 square feet of open show space — tall ceilings, lots of natural light, original pine floors, original rock walls. It was an immaculate restoration,” she said.
For First Friday Art Walk, InSight Gallery remains open until 7:30 p.m.
Cyrus Asfary
Roy Andersen
Carolyn Anderson
Duke Beardsley
Ashwini Bharathula
Dan Bodelson
Phil Bob Borman
Jeremy Browne
Tom Browning
Rachel Brownlee
Mary Ross Buchholz
George Bumann
Scott Burdick
Nancy Bush
Jill Carver
Cheri Christensen
Douglas Clark
John Coleman
Nicholas Coleman
Mick Doellinger
Mikel Donahue
Tom Dorr
Michelle Dunaway
Teresa Elliott
Jim Eppler
John Fawcett
Daniel F. Gerhartz
Pat Green
Bruce Greene
Brian Grimm
Abigail Gutting
Eldridge Hardie
G. Harvey
Mark Haworth
Qiang Huang
Julee Hutchison
Oreland C Joe, Sr.
Francois Koch
Damian Lechoszest
David A Leffel
Jhenna Quinn Lewis
Calvin Liang
Susan Lyon
Kyle Ma
Michael Magrin
Walter Matia
Sherrie McGraw
Kenny McKenna
Robert Moore
Tibor Nagy
Kay Northup
George Northup
Tony Pro
Robert Pummill
R. E. Reynolds
Laura Robb
James Robinson
Gladys Roldan-deMoras
Stefan Savides
Billy Schenck
Lindsay Scott
Mian Situ
Aleksander Titovets
Lyuba Titovets
Hsin-Yao Tseng
Clive R. Tyler
Michael Ome
Untiedt
Ann Kraft Walker
Fritz White
Jeremy Winborg
Jie Wei Zhou
Robert Pummill
Jeremy Winborg
Brian Grimm
Daniel F. Gerhartz