A special painting for Gilcrease Museum

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John Mix Stanley at the Grand Council

The painting I'm doing for the Gilcrease Museum is going to be special, Here's the premise:

When the Cherokee were forced to Oklahoma by the Trail of Tears they found they were surrounded by other tribes very hostile to them. The Osage in particular preyed on them. John Ross, Cherokee leader, decided to call a Grand

Council of all the tribes. It took place in Tahlequah during the summer of 1843. Many tribes did attend, including the "nearly naked Osage". Also there was Zachary Taylor, Sequoyah (wrote the Cherokee alphabet), and artist John Mix Stanley.

Stanley painted a scene of the entire assemblage in the pavilion.

In researching this, I went to the old newspaper accounts and found out some interesting new facts.

*Not only was Stanley there painting, he had an assistant helping him to take Daguerreotypes of the people. This excited Duane King of the Gilcrease Museum because it might have been the first photographs of Native Americans. Also, he knows of Daguerrotypes of the

period that may have been shot by Stanley.

*Stanley probably painted or did sketches for his "OSAGE SCALP DANCE" painting. One account said the Osage entertained the crowd with a dance. (We don't think Stanley ever visited the Osage home)

*At least one newspaper writer thought this meeting was ominous and was intended to unite the tribes against the USA.

My painting will show Stanley painting a portrait of an Indian under an awning with the Pavilion in the background and his assistant using the camera. Variously dressed Indians will be shown. I am painting it the same size as Stanley's painting of the Grand Council.

-Andy

THE RUSSELL - March 19, 2016

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Tombstone Turmoil

The Fight Behind the OK Corral

30" x 40" oil on linen

It's almost new year! That means it'll soon be time to get ready for the THE RUSSELL, a three day weekend, jammed packed with so much action filled western art, all to benefit the C.M. Russell Museum, in Great Falls, MT. THE RUSSELL will take place from March 17th to 19th, with the auction being held on March 19, 2016.

The new 2016 Catalogue of Art is not yet available, but you can browse through last year's artwork here. We will update you once the new catalogue is made available.

This year Andy's piece is titled Tombstone Turmoil. This original painting depicts the fight at the OK Corral between the Earp brothers and the Clanton-McLaury Gang, which led to the legendary shootout at the OK Corral in Tombstone, AZ. If you have never heard the story you can read up on it here.

More information regarding this auction will be available soon. To keep up-to-date with info on THE RUSSELL and other auctions and shows check the Auctions page on the website.

Auction Alert - Coeur d'Alene Art Auction

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Judge Roy Bean and His Court

On July 25, 2015, Andy Thomas's 40" x 30" oil on linen, Judge Roy Bean and His Court, will be up for auction by Coeur d'Alene Art Auction. The auction will be held at the Peppermill Resort Casino Spa in Reno, NV.

Come visit or rent a room for the night/weekend at the lovely Peppermill, which boasts many awards for being the best place to stay in Nevada. It features all the entertainment one could ask for. Plenty of restaurants, gambling, nightlife and of course, the auction, where you could be the proud winner of Andy's original! The auction itself will be held in the Tuscany Ballroom; reservations can be made at the following number: 800-282-2444 or through Peppermill website. Auction catalogs are $60 and event tickets $30.

On July 24th, there will be an auction preview between 9am and 5pm, where you will see many wonderful works of art by so many talented artists. Then you can catch a book signing by Larry Len Peterson on his book, John Fery: Artist of Glacier National Park & The American West. Preview party starts at 6pm and lasts until 8pm. The following day on the 25th, there will be another auction preview: 8am - 12pm, book signing at 8:30am - 10pm, lunch at 10:30am and then the main attraction -- the auction held at 12pm.

It will be a wonderful time!

Here is Andy's story on  Judge Roy Bean and His Characters:

"In Judge Roy Bean's Court, a defendant presents his testimony to a skeptical Bean and the tough crowd in the gallery.

Also in court are his pet cinnamon bear and the portrait of his beloved Lillie Langtry."

Andy Thomas

April 2015

Black Friday Sale on www.andythomas.com

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Settlers West Galleries Presents The Great American West

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Wyatt Earp in Hollywood

24x30

Coming November 22, 2014, Andy Thomas's original oil painting, "Wyatt Earp in Hollywood" will be featured at Settlers West Galleries, The Great American West Auction in Tucson, AZ.

Click here to view the catalog for the Auction. The reception is at 5:30pm, with the purchase drawing at 7pm.

Here is the story on this piece:

Wyatt Earp lived in Los Angeles in his later years and spent some time on the movie sets in Hollywood. He became good friends with William S. Hart and Tom Mix, early cowboy stars. The great director John Ford remembered Earp describing a gun fight to him and even drawing a diagram of the action. Ford used that description to film the fight in My Darling Clementine. The fight is now known as the Gunfight at the OK Corral. The painting depicts Earp describing the scene as Ford, Hart and Mix listen. The movie front in the background is actually Fremont Street in Tombstone, as the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday, walk down to confront the cowboys. Also listening is a young prop hand who, in his own film career, used Earp's mannerisms for his own portrayals of tough western characters.

Feature Friday on Facebook

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Andy Thomas Facebook

Feature Friday

We are now offering you a chance to win some wonderful Andy Thomas items, or receive an item at 50% off in our Feature Friday hosted on Facebook!

We will host a bi-weekly giveaway of an Andy Thomas item on Facebook.

The Friday's in between, we will offer a featured item at 50% off!

Here's how it works:

'Like' Andy Thomas on Facebook.

Look for the Feature Friday Post, which will happen every Friday morning.

For Giveaways: Like & Comment for your chance to win.

For 50% off: Follow the link posted on FB to receive your item at 50% off.

Winner will be chosen at random and announced on Saturday morning!

24 Years of this Journey

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Wow, it is almost 24 years to the day that Andy and I began building his art career full-time. We both knew that one day we would both end up not working 'jobs' and together, we would attempt this venture, it just happened a little bit earlier than we thought.

So, at that time, we took the leap with the thought that we could always go back to 'jobs' if we fell flat on our faces. Or, if we had dry times we both agreed we would go and flip burgers for awhile. It is so hard to believe 24 years have passed. There have been bumps in our professional road, some good, some not. But with every bump, we have learned a thing or two about art and business.

I am ready to see where this road brings us during the next years. With Andy always learning how to be a better artist and myself learning to be better on the business side, it should be quite interesting.

-Dina