Texas Tree of Art

Having embarked on this project, I have thought time and time again, that I should have listen to my father’s stories more closely. Even before I saw Otis Dozier’s Texas Tree of Art from one of the pages of his sketchbook, my father’s stories wove together an early history of Texas art in stories that I now wish I had recorded.

My father, Barney Delabano, stressed to me very early on, the importance of knowing the artist who came before me. He thought it important as means of mentorship as well as to having someone to follow and learn from and to rebel against. But it was also an invitation from my father to become part of the history.

When I finally saw Otis’s drawing it struck a real chord in me. I had to laugh though; I knew Otis and Velma Dozier all my life. Otis had been one of my father’s early teachers. Well Otis was truly a man of his times. His Texas Tree of Art contained the names of only two women that I can tell; his wife Velma and her best friend, Ester Houseman and very few people of color.

And then there is the bit of commentary of Otis’s listing Bassett, Klepper, and Travis out on the “Frank Reaugle, Eisoulohr” branch which he labeled “Dead Limb”.

Inspired by Otis’s drawing, I set out to create my own Texas Tree of Art, which I wanted to be more inclusive. In an email conversation with Texas art historian, Robert Summers suggested I should give it an art historical context, “ like the artist must have lived and worked in Texas for at least twenty – twenty-five years”.

Texas Tree of Art, china marker, ink jet prints on Tyvek

Texas Tree of Art, china marker, ink jet prints on Tyvek *(detail)*

Two decades – quarter of a century seems like a milestone and a great place to start for a project like this.

Originally I was going to try to do as Otis had done and had a Dallas Branch, a Houston Branch, etc. You can do that easily for the early artist because you had groups of artist who formed around influential teachers who were centrally located in the major cities about the state. But now day’s people can move about more readily. What I ended up doing, was grouping early Texas artist in the lower branches, our current elders in the middle and newbie’s, the one’s just now reaching twenty five years of art making as the new growth in the upper branches.

Texas Tree of Art, 2006 is my way to respect those who came before me and paved the way, to all those wonderful artist who mentored me knowingly of unknowingly; but also to those who’ve continue to make and show their art, hence contributing to the Arts Culture of our cities and state.

I have no doubt that I’ve missed some artist who should be included here and it is not meant as a slight.

Martin Delabano, 2006

Artist already represented on the Texas Tree of Art:
Donna Adams, David Adickes, Terry Allen, Dan Allison, Jessie Amado, Robert Dale Anderson, Bruno Andrade, Vivian Aunspaugh, Dorothy Austin,Fancis Bagley, Deborah Ballard, John Willard Bank, Rita Banard, Joe Barrington, Robert Barsamian, Heri Bert Bartscht, Reveau Bassett, David Bates, Ed Bearden, Arthello Beck, Jill Bedgood, Betsy Belcher, Andrew Bennett, Ellen Berman, Forrest Bess, John Biggers, Ed Blackburn, Linda Blackburn, Kathleen Blackshear, Daniel Blagg, Rebecca Boatman, Bill Bomar, Kathy Bootz, Charles T. Bowling, Jack Boynton, Julie Bozzi, Cynthia Brants, Barbara Brault, Ethyl Broadnax, Frank Brown, Denise Brown, David Brownlow, Steve Brudniak, Max Butler, jerry Bywaters, Ben Caldwell, Harry Carnohan, Keith Carter, Cecil Casebier, Hiram Casey, Mel Chin, Chong Chu, Roy Cirigliana, Lowell Collins, Michael Rogue Collins, JR Compton, Carlotta Corpron, Steve Cruz, Ben Culwell, Mike Cunningham, Stephen Daly, Jerry Daniel, Fred Darge, Lee Baxter Davis, Charles Debus, Barney Delabano, Martin Delabano, David Deming, Rick Dingus, Ken Dixon, Jerry Dodd, Dornith Doherty, Mary Doyle, Otis Dozier, Velma Dozier, James Drake, Luis Eades, Celia Eberle, Edward Eisenlour, Patsy Eldredge, Rowena Elkins, Andy Don Emmons, Lisa Enrich, John Erickson, Vincent Falsetta, Patrick Faulhaber, Kelly Fearing, Nacy Ferro, Mary Fielding, Vernon Fisher, Barnaby Fitzgerald, Raymond Fletcher, Seymour Fogel, Pat Forrest, Constance Forsyth, Michael Frary, Frank Frazer, Roy Fridge, Heri Gadbois, Ann Cushing Gantz, Dixie Friend Gay, Harry Geffert, David Gibson, Joseph Glasco, Linnea Glatt, Lloyd Goff, Xavier Gonzalez, George Grammer, Susan Kay Grant, Paul Greenberg, Virgil Grotfeldt, Alan Govenar, Sam Gummelt, Joe Guy, Art Guys, Ken Hale, Susan Harrington, Roberta Harris, Paul Harris, Tracy Harris, Billy Hassell, Paul Hatgil, Joseph Havel, Bill Haveron, Ken Havis, Michael Henderson, John A. Hernadez, David Hickman, Tracy Hicks, Flip Higgins, Alexander Hogue, Dorthy Hood,Ron Hoover, Ester Webb Housman, Benito Huerta, Val Huunicutt, Debra Hunter, David Iles, Terrell James, Tom Jenkins, Robert Jessup, Luis Jimenez, Grace Spaulding John, Lucas Joyhnson, Marilyn Jolly, Otis Jones, Deforrest Judd, Norman Kary, Edmund Kinzinger, Frank Klepper, Arthur Koch, Jeanne Koch, Bill Komodore, Sharon Kopriva, Stu Kraft, George Krause, Dorthy La Selle, Jean Lacy, Nancy Lamb, David Lamb, Philip Lamb, Stella Lamond, Ida Lansky, Leslie Larsson, Tony Laselle,, Tom Lea, Susan Lecky, Amy Freeman Lee, Majorie Lee, Amy Freeman Lee, William Lester, Robert Levers, Ken Little, Ward Lockwood, Bert Long, Dottie Love, Jim Love, Lisa Ludwig, Bonnie Macleary, James Magee, Josephine Mahaffery, Joe Mancuso, Manual, Barbara Maples, Dalton Maroney, Vikki Martin, Cesar Martinez, Merritt Mauzey, Rick Maxwell, Mary McCleary, Florence McClung, David Mccullough, David McGee, Keth Mcintyre, David McManaway, Blanche Mcveigh, J.J. Mcvicker, Octavio Medellin, Greg Metz, Rosemary Meza, Melissa Miller, John Brough Miller, Steven Miller, Jack Mims, Mark Monroe, Jesus Moroles, Loren Mozley, Roberto Munguia, Celia Munoz, Steve Murphy, Pam Nelson, David Newman, Larry Newman, Elizabeth Ney, Perry Nichols, Nic Nicosia, Gail Norfleet, Kenda North, Bob Nunn, Madeline O’Connor, Nancy O’Connor, Kermit Oliver, Julian Onderdonk, Robert Onderdonk, Eleanor Onderdonk, Tom Orr, Sherry Ownes, Jessie Pamer, Scottie Parsons, Charles Pebworth, Brent Phelps, Susie Phillips, Peggy Pimpler, John Pomara, Chris Powell, Robert Preusser, Tom Pribly, Damian OPriour, Stehen Rascoe, Marty Ray, Frank Reaugh, Glora Blanc Reeder, Dixon Reeder, Claudia Reese, Bill Reily, Linda Ridgway, Herb Rogalla, Susan Rothernberg, Teel Sale, Tom Sale, Peter Saul, Albert Scherbarth, Buck Schiwetz, Laurence Scholder, Evaline Sellers, Daniel Sellers, Art Shirer, Tom Sime, Gail Siptak, Carol Harris Simms, Issac Smith, Mark Stephen Smith, George Smith, Lee Smith 111, Hills Snyder, Ishmael Soto, Al Souza, Julie Speed, Coreen Spellman, Everrtt Spruce, Gael Stack, Earl V. Staley, James Michael Starr, Ann Stautberg, Thomas Stell, Richard Stout, Myron Stouts, Richard Strong, Gisela-Heidi Strunck, Juergen Strunck, James Sullivan, James Surls, Rev. Johnnie S. Swearingen, Don Taylor, James Terrell, Frank Tolbert11, Chester Junior Toney, Cecil Touchon, Michael Tracy, Olin Herman Travis, McKie Trotter, Ellen Francis Tuchman, Randy Twaddle, Valton Tyler, Karl Umlauf, Charles Umlauf, Bror Utter, Victor Valdez, Philip Van Keuren, Jose Vargas, Peter Vatsures, Ligon Verda, Bill Verhelst, Mary Vernon, Barley Vogel, Donald Vogel, Bob Wade, Marilyn Waligore, Elizabeth Walmsley, Velox Ward, James Watral, Willard Watson, Kathy Wester, Donald Weismann, Jean Wetta, Ralph White, Mac Whitney, John Wilcox, Danny Williams, Charles Williams, Casey Williams, Ed Wilson, Bill Wiman, Steve Wiman, Vance Wingate, Dan Wingren, Roger Winters, Julius Woeltz, Benito Woitena, Dee Wolff, Robert Wood, James Woodson, Dick Wray, Susan Wynne, Chase Yarbough, Sydney Yeager, Judy Youngblood, Marla Zieglar