Over the years I have been privileged to be interviewed for newspaper articles about my art. The first article was when I was 15 years old. Now 35 years later, another article on my art was just recently featured in the Odessa American Newspaper. It was written by Bob Campbell with the theme: Landscapes Endlessly Fascinate.

Mr. Campbell came by my home studio and spent the better part of an hour and a half asking questions. I wondered how he was going to organize all the content he recorded. Soon, my question was answered in the words he wrote.

You can click the image to read the article. Just thought I’d share.

William Hagerman featured in the Odessa American Newspaper.

I was thinking about some of the inspiring art teachers I’ve known. What got me to going down memory lane? Well, the wife and I are having a garage sale and our house is currently a mess. I’ve been hauling in boxes with STUFF in them to be priced, going thru this and that etc. In doing so I came across a box containing early paintings and artwork done in high school in the early 1980’s. This made me think of Mr. G my high school art teacher whom I still appreciate to this day.

Why my high school art teacher was an inspiration.

Mr. G (that’s what everyone called him) was great. I thought he was pretty cool. What made him so? Did he teach me some outstanding technique? No. He pretty much left me alone.

Whaaat??

Let me explain. My first class with him in the 10th grade was a commercial art class as it was the only one available at the time. Apparently I passed the course on the first assignment. Mr. G recognized the talent I had and from that moment on I was assigned to do nothing else but draw no matter what the rest of the class was doing. He even had me sit at a separate table near his desk so I wouldn’t have the distractions. I was to draw until I graduated.

One year I was put into a different teacher’s art class and I told Mr. G that I was sorry I wasn’t going to be in his class. He said “I’ll take care of that.” Back in his classroom once again, I remained there each year until graduation. I credit that time spent in Mr. G’s class in helping develop my drawing skills and giving me opportunities to explore and experiment. That was the best thing he could have ever done for me. He left me alone to practice and practice I did.

Today, as an art teacher I hope somewhere along the way someone will also consider me as one of their inspiring art teachers.

Early high school artworks

I spent a lot of time on this drawing. Don’t remember where the picture source came from. I don’t claim it as an original.

I even got to practice doing some animals. Is this Bullwinkle?

This class assignment focused on repetitive designs. It was done in mixed media including watercolor and colored pencil on paper.

The following painting was not done in high school art class, but it was from 1983, so I was still in high school at the time. Compared to my work just a year earlier it was a big improvement which I credit to spending more time on drawing. It was also an original and one of the better pieces that I painted during that time period.

Hope you enjoyed going down memory lane with me and thank you Mr. G.

It’s always nice when sharing happiness through art when it touches the lives of other people. One such was a commissioned painting that I did under my alter ego “Byron”. Here’s a testimonial I’d like to share regarding the following painting.

My wife and I have a dog who has been with us for over 15 years. He has been a special part of our lives. We have seen 3 different apartments, 3 different homes, two different states, but the one constant has always been my wife and Spike.

Spike is getting older, he is on medications for his heart, his hair is more grey than black, and he doesn’t get around like he used to. However, one day we were back home during bluebonnet season in Texas and we captured the Spike of old. He was running and playing in a field of bluebonnets. It was as if he was transported back a couple of years. Fortunately we snapped a picture with our phone and it was perfection.

We decided the best way to honor Spike and this photo was to commission a painting to have forever. After doing some research, I came upon a William Hagerman. I loved the works I saw in person and online. I knew he would be the perfect person to make the photo come to life. From the first email to the final product, the commission process was easy. He took our photo, asked some questions, and sent a couple of rough drafts. The final piece was perfection. It truly captured the joy Spike has that day.

We will be forever grateful for the piece that he made for us. Thank you Mr. Hagerman.

Rene and Vanilla Macias-Rodriguez

The span of our life is 70 years, Or 80 if one is especially strong. But they are filled with trouble and sorrow; They quickly pass by, and away we fly. Psalms 90:10

In January of 2015 I wrote a blog post on “Finding Beauty in Small Things” the subject of when an aging parent and child experience a role reversal in which the child becomes the caregiver and finding beauty in small things when circumstances are not always kind.  I wrote that first draft sitting in a hospital room watching over my Mother who was admitted the beginning of 2015. Then 11 months later in December of that year my Mother was back in the hospital for another week stay.  I realized after this it wouldn’t be long before I would have to say goodbye. Sadly March 21, 2016 my Mother quietly passed away at the age of 87.

She was a kind, gentle person and even up to the last days of her life she still managed to muster up a smile. She treasured the thought expressed by a man of God who lived many years ago who asked: “If a man (or person) dies, can he live again? He then answered with; I will wait all the days of my compulsory service until my relief comes. You will call, and I will answer you. You will long for the work of your hands.” Job 14:14, 15

Thus a chapter closed, but it’s not the end of the story. I recall a time when I was quite young walking along with my Mother. My feet and legs were starting to hurt and I began to protest and wanted to stop and not go any further even though there wasn’t much more distance to travel. She used an illustration to help keep me going. She had me look down the street to a stop sign and told me to imagine that on the other side was the fulfillment of all of God’s promises. The ones she had taught me about. She asked; do you think you can make it that far? I said yes, and so it happened. Such was her way of teaching and in way part of her legacy. I still get sore feet and legs, but I haven’t forgotten those words and I still try to look past the stop signs.