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Wm. Kelly Bailey Fine Art, Houston, TX (2026)

09/09/2026

I always enjoy flipping through an old sketchbook to look at some of the things I've done in 'yesteryear.' Hopefully you'll also enjoy a 'Sketchbook Flip-through' (or 'Sketchbook Tour'.)

I set the duration on the slides to be short so it would go through quickly for you. I know that YOU know that you can tap the screen once on any of the images to pause the video if you want to look longer at any of them.

Of course, these very quick sketches or even the slightly more finished drawings in my sketchbooks are not really made to be seen, so please don't judge too harshly. They're usually just for my own benefit.

Sometimes I'm just sketching nearby folks at a restaurant, like on the page with 4 guys all sitting in McD's for breakfast.

In one drawing I was just trying out some 'antique' 1986 colored pencils (the bee in the bluebonnets drawing.)

I also experiment with materials and techniques like in the opening still life quick sketch of some objects on my studio table.

Some of the others were quick compositional studies, like the dip pen and india ink sketch of the rooftops with the winter tree in between them.

One sketch was ruined by blue ink spots bleeding through from a sketch of two roses in a parfait glass on the back side. No more drawing on the back of a previous page in this book!

Please let me know which if any of these are your favorites. Also know that I will take a page out of a sketchbook for someone who really likes it and wants it, so if any of these tickle your fancy just drop me a DM and we can figure out how you can add it to your collection!

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08/14/2026

[Since the previous reel of this goes a bit quickly, I am posting just the finished sketchbook drawing here for easier eyeball access. 😎👌 ]

The story behind it -- if you didn't read it already with the reel:

Driving west out of Kingman, Arizona I was struck by the rocky ruggedness of the mountains, accentuated by the angle of the afternoon sun raking across the landscape. The reference photo I took years ago shows a much larger area than this, but I kept cropping it down to get the most succinct and poignant part of the scene, trying to crystallize and convey the wild untouched beauty and drama of my hometown's surroundings.

I also tried to subdue the distant parts to emphasize the light playing across the foreground rocks and highlighting the closest rock formations in the middle ground.

These are the kinds of places my brother and I would ride our bikes out to, laying them at the base of the hills where we would begin our hike and climb up to the top, exploring and excited at the grand vistas that opened up in every direction from our newly discovered vantage points. Back in those early days we would never see even a spot of paper trash nor any cigarette butts littering and defiling the pristine land. We could almost imagine we were the very first persons to ever be in those places.

I did something in this drawing that I have never done before: I drew the entire drawing with an "H" graphite pencil. Normally I draw with a much softer graphite, a number "2B" at least and frequently use darker leads, "3B", "4B", "6B", "8B" and even "9B" for really deep, luscious darks.

I must credit Charlie Hunter for inspiring me to try the harder lead. I've seen him sketch entire drawings with a single hard lead pencil in some of his YouTube videos and it made me want to give it a try.
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08/06/2026

Driving west out of Kingman, Arizona I was struck by the rocky ruggedness of the mountains, accentuated by the angle of the afternoon sun raking across the landscape. The reference photo I took years ago shows a much larger area than this, but I kept cropping it down to get the most succinct and poignant part of the scene, trying to crystallize and convey the wild untouched beauty and drama of my hometown's surroundings. I also tried to subdue the distant parts to emphasize the light playing across the foreground rocks and highlighting the closest rock formations in the middle ground.
These are the kinds of places my brother and I would ride our bikes out to, laying them at the base of the hills where we would begin our hike and climb up to the top, exploring and excited at the grand vistas that opened up in every direction from our newly discovered vantage points.
Back in those early days we would never see even a spot of paper trash nor any cigarette butts littering and defiling the pristine land. We could almost imagine we were the very first persons to ever be in those places.
I did something in this drawing that I have never done before: I drew the entire drawing with an "H" graphite pencil. Normally I draw with a much softer graphite, a number "2B" at least and frequently use even darker leads, "3B", "4B", "6B", "8B" and even "9B" for really deep, luscious darks.
I must credit Charlie Hunter for inspiring me to try the harder lead. I've seen him sketch entire drawings with a single hard lead pencil in some of his YouTube videos and it made me want to give it a try.
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08/04/2026

This book was published in 2016. It featured excellence in acrylic paintings with a special focus on "texture." I was honored that one of my paintings, "Three Green Amigos" was selected to be included.

[You can pause the video to read the description of the symbolism behind the painting.]

That painting sold during my solo show at Hooks Epstein Gallery and joined a notable, fairly large and growing collection in Sugar Land, Texas.
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07/27/2026

I think Maybe today Might be Many Moons ago Monday? 🤪

I saw this home near Tyler, Texas, not far from Lake Palestine back in the mid 80's. It had a striking and dramatic look to it, glowing in the late afternoon sunlight, so I took a photo.

I remember looking at the photo many times on and off through the years, thinking it was a strong composition and thinking it just might make a good painting subject, but somehow I never actually attempted it.

I painted this very quick color and compositional study in Taos, NM in April of 2006 partly from memory and partly from imagination. As such, it is distilled WAY down from the original scene into just the essential elements I could remember, exaggerated by my imagination and artistic license.

You can see a high water mark about halfway up the lower window. That I could remember. I could also remember the upper windows and the sunlight striking the far wall in that room. My imagination turned it into an abandoned looking structure, glass missing in all the windows, the breeze blowing the ragged remnants of the curtains.

I intentionally stripped out any details around the windows, on the walls, roof, hillside and even the trees, not only because this was just a quick study but also because I thought the resulting starkness would contribute to the abandoned feeling I was striving for. Even the woods across the gully (which is unseen down below the hill) are basically just a dark mass to intensify the mood, stripped of all the green and fall colored foliage that was actually there on site.

As I look back on this 20 year old watercolor sketch I now realize that my memory and imagination back then were probably also influenced by Wyatt and Hopper.

[Untitled] watercolor on 9"x12" Canson 140 lb paper.
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07/22/2026

This was a demonstration painting I did for my students in an acrylic painting workshop I was teaching years ago. This was based on memories and impressions I had from the Taos, New Mexico area. (I stayed and painted there on three different occasions for two weeks each time and really grew to love the area.)

Later at home, a few weeks after the workshop, looking at it again I thought it had some possibilities and so I spent more time on it bringing it to a finish.

I titled it,"Springtime in the Rockies."

The painting is a 9"x12" acrylic on canvas, laid down on wood panel, 13 1/2" x 16 1/2" framed. Swipe to see the framed piece. --->

[Available. DM me if interested.]
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07/18/2026

This was a commissioned painting. Two of my most loyal collectors, a couple who loved this Texas State Park, asked me to pick a scene and paint it for them. They wouldn't express a preference for any particular scene, saying that they loved all of my work and trusted my judgement.

My wife and I went to the park on a gorgeous, sunny, December day. I took over 300 reference photos that day, including some of the many, very large alligators sunning themselves on the banks alongside the walking trails all over the park.

I spent a few weeks narrowing down the compositions from over three hundred possibilities to three "finalists." Finally, after a few more days and some small studies of those three, I chose this one to paint. This was an afternoon scene and the low angle of the bright December sunlight was lighting up the fall-colored leaves of the trees.

In the foreground, a fallen tree trunk still had some roots that had not ripped out and new growth had sprouted out on its upper side. To me it was another example of the resiliency and determination of life to cling to existence, sometimes against all odds.

"Big Creek, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas"
Grumbacher acrylics on 24" x 36" canvas.
I designed, milled, built and finished the custom, handmade frame myself.
[Private Collection, Houston, Tx.]
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07/13/2026

This is an unfinished demonstration painting that I did for one of my acrylic painting workshops that I taught some 12 years ago... either in the North Houston area, the Cypress area, or in the Sugar Land area, or possibly all three. 🤔

The painting's size is 9 inches tall by 12 inches wide, but this cropped shot shows you approximately 9 inches by 9 inches square of the main subject of the painting, the waterfall. (Which is NOT centered on the 12 " wide canvas, by the way.)

I got it basically blocked in during the 2 hour class while also helping and advising the students. Later, at home, I worked some more on the background and also on the water behind and in the waterfall.

I still need to revisit this one - (if and when this stupid TBI allows) - and finish up the rocks and foreground water. The rocks were mostly made up from my imagination, so I need to study some examples by a real rock master like so I can fine tune my rockpiles a bit.

(Although Maestro Matt's rocks are mostly the dry variety like in my home state of Arizona, the same kind I climbed, drew and painted in my youth. However, I believe I've seen some seascapes of his with wet rocks that might prove to be very instructive.) 😎👌
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07/09/2026

Many people mistakenly think Arizona is all desert, sand and cactus. Wrong. There are also hidden glades, pockets of sheltered, lush growth that are secret, hidden away and a complete surprise when you accidentally happen upon them.

Born and raised there, my brother and I loved to explore the hills, mountains and valleys of northern Arizona looking for delightful discoveries like this.

Although this painting is done completely from my imagination, it floods my mind with fond childhood memories of hidden spots we found that seemed almost magical in their charm, beauty, peace and seclusion.

"Secret Entrance to the Hidden Forest", Acrylic on 9"×12" canvas panel. Frame O.D.: 13-1/2" x 16-1/2". Available. DM me if interested.
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07/05/2026

Charlotte and I stayed at a Kaanapali Beach resort near Lahaina, Maui for both our 25th and 35th wedding anniversaries.

My wife and I had flown into Maui the night this gale storm hit the island in 2007. The crew told us our plane had barely made it in time before the storm got too bad. After 3 days of sheltering in the hotel because of power outages, roads washed out, schools and government shut down, etc., the power was restored at the hotel, things opened up a bit and we drove into Lahaina. This was the sight looking out at the harbor. The storm clouds were clearing and the late afternoon sunshine was beaming through over nearby Lanai island.

The painting is titled "After the Gale ,Lahaina Harbor, Maui." It is acrylic on 12"×18" gessoed oak plywood panel, framed size is 17"×23". This sold at my solo show in April, 2008 at Morton Street Gallery in Richmond, Tx.

This always reminds me that the sun will shine again, even after the darkest storm.
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Wm. Kelly Bailey Fine Art

09/09/2026

08/14/2026

08/06/2026

08/04/2026

07/27/2026

07/22/2026

07/18/2026

07/13/2026

07/09/2026

07/05/2026

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