Aubrey Caylor
Herschel Davis sculpted in bronze; had his own foundry.
In this case, it seems sure art is a family affair. (Though
Aubrey says her grown children definitely did not get the
gene … not yet, anyway.) “And the only thing they like of
mine is my western-themed paintings.”
Turning her thoughts back to the early 1970s and girl-
hood, she said, “We actually started out with a box of
Crayolas, the old kind with the sharpener built into the
box. I had the regular box with several colors, but my
grandmother had the full 64-color box. More
colors! It was fascinating to me.” One of her
duties was to change the water when repeated
dipping of her grandmother’s brush rendered it
opaque. Her maternal grandparents continue
to inspire her as many of their works adorn her
home.
Though her Mamaw created very fine art
using the tricky medium of watercolors, Aubrey,
who has been painting the last 20 years, chose
acrylics. And for subjects she chooses farm
animals, you know, the usual suspects: cows,
horses and donkeys, goats and roosters.
“I paint a lot of cows,” she said. “I love
cows.” And many of her clients do as well.
“And since I mainly do commission work, what
people want is what I paint. I stay pretty busy
with commissions.”
Her marketing consists of Facebook
and Instagram presences at @jacstoneco
and physical displays of her art around the
area. Locations include The Mercantile on
Camp Bowie in Fort Worth, Just Peachy in
Weatherford, Rubbish Revival in Granbury
and Texas Hill Country Furniture and
34
Mercantile on Highway 281, seven miles south of
Interstate 20 in the Lipan/Natty Flatts area. Don’t
worry about missing this last place — you can’t miss
the nearly 26-foot-tall Star of Texas Rocker out front.
It’s billed as the world’s largest, and it is a big ‘un.
Working with a larger brush than typical, Aubrey’s
work has a broad-stroked boldness about it that
doesn’t forfeit detail. The eyes of a long-legged paint
colt are fluid and sky blue. A curious Holstein’s eye
“takes you in” as you admire her splotched appear-
ance and the accessory-like pink at her ears and
flanks. The artist describes her style as a mixture of
impressionism and realism.
“The things I do for clients are a mix but generally
more realistic than what I paint for myself,” she said.
“My personal work is more impressionistic.”
Does the barnyard Renoir do people? “Oh, no!”
she was quick to say. “I get along with animals a
whole lot better when it comes to the paintbrush. I
mean, I will if I have to. But painting a man on top of
a cutter or roping is about it.”
Aubrey mainly works with 36x36-inch canvasses
made for her by her husband, Justin. This accommo-
dates her use of a larger brush. She said she generally
works from photographs she takes or ones supplied by
clients.
Like most artists, Aubrey says making art is all-engross-
ing and pretty good therapy. “[The thing I experience]
with my art is it’s like there is no time passing when I’m
painting,” she explained. “I can start working on a paint-
ing at 9 o’clock in the morning and still be painting on it
at like 11:30 at night, and [then] realize that I may have
Continued on page 62