BoomerGirl Diary

Fort Worth, Texas — Western art, we've discovered, is a divisive topic.

In an informal word association free-for-all recently, most folks mentioned Remington and Russell as most representative of the genre.

And while the Old West is well represented, it's a more contemporary approach that excites us.

Horses don't have to be depicted at full gallop; cattle don't have to be in a herd; bulls don't have to be in full bucking mode. The allure of Western images (livestock, cowboys, landscapes) are only enhanced, not ruined, by artists who choose these iconic subjects and then interpret them in their own way.

Texas-born Teresa Elliott discovered her subjects not far from her Southlake, Texas, home.

Near Lonesome Dove Road is a pasture full of longhorns and other livestock living happily in the midst of this rapidly growing city.

Elliott, 54, has farming roots (her grandfather raised Angus) and attended the University of Kansas. She eventually moved to Dallas working as a fashion illustrator for tony boutiques such as Tootsies and The Gazebo, as well as fashion giant Neiman Marcus.

"I remember meeting Donna Karan when she was just starting out," recalls Elliott. The soft-spoken artist says she never felt fashion was her calling, just as she had passed on an advertising career.

She and her husband had moved to Southlake, building a farmhouse-style home that's atypical of the brick mansions in the area, and settled in with their two pugs and a mutt that was a victim of the Louisiana hurricanes.

"I first saw the bulls when I was driving by with some friends," says Elliott. "I had never seen a longhorn before and thought they were so majestic." She developed a working relationship with the owner, a genial guy who grew up in Southlake when having a pasture was the norm, not the exception. Elliott spent time with the creatures, shooing away flies, studying their markings and taking pictures.

"I've always painted for myself, and since we had this new house with big walls, I thought I'd create some art," she says.

Above the fireplace hangs one of her older pieces, an oversized, "udderly" endowed bovine. Elliott's hyper-realistic oils feature an intense quality of light. She adds majestic backgrounds, often inspired by the view from their second home in Alpine, where she hopes to live full-time some day. Her collectors include livestock owners as well as art lovers.

"I paint outside on the back porch when I'm there," she says.

Elliott's perspectives _ extreme crops, closeups, etc. _ are rooted in her graphic arts background, and the images have led to a relationship with two galleries, but she loves to hear from those who purchase her work.

And she also maintains a relationship with her subject matter. As we enter the pasture for a photo shoot, she points out several subjects she painted as babies.

"I even own one. His name is Buster."

Are calves and steers in Elliott's future? "I hope to get back to painting people one day, but these guys will always be part of my life."