Thursday, February 21, 2013

Texas Trademarks- Joe Peacock



Texas Trademarks”
Joe Peacock

-San Antonio, Gabriel Diego Delgado

Joe Peacock, Texas claimed artist; spent 27 years in the Lone Star State. Born in Detroit, Michigan Peacock’s family moved to Del Rio when he was an infant. Recalling early memories of mesquite, sagebrush, and cactus, Peacock’s vivid Texas landscape recollections of the Pecos area were influenced by his father’s onsite vocation of water well driller. Accompanying his father into the field, Peacock witnessed firsthand the rugged life of the cowboy, oil field hand, and ranch hand in the sweltering heat of the Texas sun.

Given rise in the 1970’s and 80’s Peacock is rarely see on the local Art Market.  His following is primarily tied to Texas Artist Collectors, with only minimal originals ever leaving the collectors’ coveted compilations.

“Texas Trademarks”, a 30” x 40” oil painting by Joe Peacock references all that is Texas.  Upfront with his unsubtle title and geographical reference, Peacock knows his painting encapsulates what he understands of his three decades in largest state in the 48 contiguous United States- complete with oil rig, cowboys, an oasis, hill country, and cattle.

The painting’s premise is centered on a cool cesspool of a watering hole in the vast prairie of some Texas Hill country ranchland.  Cattle drivers and their signatory bovine wallow around in the noonday sun. While the South Texas subjects break for a much needed thirst, Peacock takes an artistic license and places oil derricks in background of the meandering beasts. Back dropped by a series of rolling hills and mountains, we begin to see a systematic compositional approach from Peacock. 

It seems everything is calculated on purpose. Cloud contours mimic the mountaintop profiles, each one with its personal celestial halo of sorts. Two sides of dug out wheel track lines of the dirt path create “x” at the mountains, with a “v” shape of the cattle cluster pointing back up the “x” and out to the horizon line.

Set in Monotone greens and yellows, there is no push and pull of color rhythms. The blue water, due to its contrasting brightness in value becomes a defaulted secondary subject in this Contemporary Western Art painting.

A four point square of cowboys on horseback lock in the herd to add another form to the simple geometrical western allurements.

“Texas Trademarks” is available for purchase at J.R. Mooney Galleries for $4,500.
 Please call 210-828-8214 for details.

© Gabriel Diego Delgado




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