artwork he describes himself as
a “photo-realist.” Explaining this,
he said, “Have you ever heard of
[Jackson] Pollock? He was a modern
art guy — he flung paint on a canvas.
Or, like, Rembrandt was an impres-
sionist. I am more like Norman
Rockwell. When I paint or draw
something, it’s hard to tell if it’s a
painting or a photograph.”
The art is fine, painstakingly
wrought line by line until the result-
ing work is … well, photo-realistic.
From the grit under the fingernails
of a cowboy wielding a six-gun to
the saliva on a bulldog’s mouth, the
detail is striking, offering proof of
long hours of work.
One of his graphic art pieces
locals might know is the Brock ISD
logo, the “B” with an eagle’s head
on it.
This he designed about six years
ago, he said.
Asked what subjects he favors he
said cowboys and western-themes, as
well as football and kids, portraiture.
“I’ve done a lot of commission
work,” he said, adding, “most of my
commissions have been portraits.”
What he finds most challenging
about art is the patience involved.
“The patience part is challeng-
ing when you know how much
work you’re going to have to put
in to accomplish what you want,”
Witherspoon said. “That, to me,
is more challenging than actu-
ally making something look like it’s
supposed to. It takes a lot of work
to be the kind of artist that I am,
compared to other things. It’s not
something you do in an hour, or two
hours, or three hours … or 10 hours.
The last really big pencil drawing I
did was 110 hours.”
This was a 13-inch tall by
30-inches wide drawing of one of his
favorite movie characters: Lucky Ned
Pepper from “True Grit,” ironically,
played by Barry Pepper in the 2010
adaptation. [Robert Duvall played
Lucky Ned in the 1969 version star-
ring John Wayne.]
Asked if art is cathartic for him
or if he just gets a kick out of it,
Witherspoon said it’s about the
peace.
“It’s a peace of mind that I get
nowhere else,” he said. “It’s like a
runner’s high, you know. The only
other thing that gives me that kind
of feeling is riding a bicycle for four
hours. I love it.”
In addition to his Uncle Ricky
and Norman Rockwell, Witherspoon
cited his high school art teacher
Cindy Burton Mosby as a heavy
influence.
“She was a big influence on my
life, she’s a good friend, good teach-
er,” he said. “She actually teaches art
in Rockwall now. Still a high school
teacher.”
On something of a natural hiatus
from art for the last year or so,
Witherspoon said he still sketches
on napkins and paper towels, some-
times on a sketch pad. “It happens,”
he said concerning the break.
Considering his past work, it’s obvi-
ous sublimity, and the ubiquitous
need for peace of mind, chances are
Witherspoon will be creating again
soon. It happens.
orthington
r
u
O
e
k
Ma
!
y
p
p
a
H
Pappy
Go see Brookes at Worthington CDJR in Graham Today.
1609 US-380 | Graham, Tx | 940.549.2020 | worthingtoncdjr.net
Brookes Worthington
and grandaughters,
Tatum, Lyla and Leddy
95