One of Pummill’s paintings known as Hellbent.
The Mary P Shelton Branch of the Brown County Library has acquired the book Under Western Skies.
The 171 page volume contains over 160 works of renowned Cowboy Artist Bob Pummill. It also has a narrative written by Michael Duty,executive director of the National Center for Western Art, about his works and the process he uses in producing his works.
The book was donated by the family of Janet McElroy and the Georgetown United Methodist Church. Pummill sent the book to Janet on the occasion of their 50th class reunion. Pummill grew up in Brown County and graduated from Georgetown High School in 1954. He was born in 1936 in Loveland, Ohio and moved to Macon, Ohio where his parents operated the “Crossroads Restaurant.” He attended Sardinia Elementary school. His parents moved to Georgetown when Pummill was a sophomore in high school. They started Pummill’s Restaurant where the car wash is on Mt. Orab Pike. They also managed a gas station on the Court House Square. Pummill’s interest and talent in art started early. At age 11 he enrolled in his first art correspondence course.
He never had a art teacher but did take art lessons from Stuyvesant Vaneen, a New York artist who vacationed in the White Oak Valley near Georgetown.
While in high school, he painted posters and banners for County Fair Exhibitors. He painted signs and delivered ice to homes from his father’s ice house next to the gas station as well as working in the restaurant.
A classmate, Mary Pauline Naylor, recalled that Bob’s friends would gather at the restaurant after hours to play poker. Mary won a $10.00 pot with four Kings – Bob had four Queens.
Following high school, he joined the US Air Force specializing in electronics all the while perfecting his talent through trial and error and continued study. After nine years in the Air Force, he was discharged while living in Montana near Great Falls, home of the famous western artist, Charles Russell museum. He no doubt was also influenced by Montana’s “Big Sky” and Russell’s paintings.
Pummill next moved to Los Angeles and took a job with TRW, an electronics firm, as a designer. Before the age of computers, Pummill drew designs of parts and spacecraft features as requested by TRW engineers. At the same time he attended the Art Center of Design in Los Angeles. He,his wife, Shirley, and daughter, Melinda, again moved- this time to Dallas, Texas where he continued to work in electronics and painting part time. After becoming successful in his artwork, he began painting full time in 1977 at age 41. He is also a sculptor and paints other subjects. He is by far a western and cowboy artist. He has produced over 2,000 paintings many of which have been sold as prints and are in the book “Under Western Skies”.
He is represented by Insight Galleries of Fredericksburg, Texas. His art has been published in “Southwest Art”, “Cowboys and Indians” magazine and others. He is a member and former President of Cowboy Artists of America His work can be seen on several web sites. In his internet biography, he describes his ability to meet a specific goal, both time-wise and subject-wise. In western art …….you have to know what you want to end up with before you begin. The most important aspect of doing a painting is the ability to analyze what is necessary to recreate a mood or feeling.
The narrative to “Under Western Skies” is written by Michael Duty, Executive Director of the National Center for American Western Art. He describes Pummill’s work, “His work is old west but also shows a continuation into modern times, each work provides a narrative for viewers and adds his imagination. Viewers become part of the experience of the scene, his work trails the entire story of the West.”
Bob Pummill’s work is cattle trails, wagon roads, snow covered passes, cattle drives, working cowboys and historic events. The narrative with the artwork is very well written and explores Pummill’ process in developing his paintings.
Anyone studying art or aspires to be an artist would do well to read this book. It is a very entertaining book for anyone.
“Under Western Skies” may be checked from the Mary P. Shelton Branch at 200 W.Grant Ave, Georgetown,Ohio during Library Hours.
Stan Purdy is a retired Georgetown attorney, President of the US Grant Homestead Assn. and, from time to time, writes articles for local newspapers.