FOLKS HAILING FROM THE PANHANDLE in Texas are familiar with a breed of cattle called Texas longhorn, whose signature horns can extend up to 100 inches. In today’s new world they are perfect social-distancing markers, as illuminated in the imagination of native Texan and artist Ginger Fox. She recently found inspiration in the cattle for a new series that shows her knack for magically transforming subjects into glorious works of art. Her work, Social Distancing, shows a Texas longhorn’s horns adorned with such lovely colors and images that they look like a pattern from a fine vase.
“People are really responding to them,” notes Fox of her new series. She recently posted a photo of her glorious 36-by-72-inch work entitled Tejas Versace on social media and invited her followers to weigh in on whether to “shine or not to shine.” These days it seems like Fox is shining brightly. If you look closely at the horns, you will find an ode to her native state: boots, saddles, yellow roses, armadillos and the outline of the entire state of Texas. A friend from France recently called Fox to gush about the captivating cattle. “Everyone enjoys these stunning paintings of cows,” says Fox.
The pandemic pause has allowed the artist to work in a novel way, focusing on details and creating new works that both circle back to her origins and venture into new realms. “When I’m really focused, my workspace becomes completely disheveled. I mean it looks like a trash heap. But, I step back and see such detail in the artwork, and it is a startling juxtaposition,” Fox recently announced in a social media post.
Fox closed her gallery a year ago and began working from her studio in the Design District, a move she sees as serendipitous now that the world has turned upside down. “Everything has fallen into place. I feel so fortunate to be where I am now,” she says. “I see now that you may not understand things when you are going through them, but sometimes you have to get beyond something before you understand it in retrospect.”
Fox has learned that you really don’t know what is next. “We must be adaptive and resilient. We made it this far. Why would we fail now?” she asks, acknowledging that it is a lot easier to be joyful when you are selling your work, which she is doing of late.
These days, Fox finds herself in a spectacular spot, creating new works and adding new touches to pieces that she is seeing in a whole new light. Quarantined is a stunning 30-by-24-inch painting of a tiger with piercing blue eyes, a yellow butterfly on his nose and strings of lovely flowers hanging from his beard. The work showcases Fox’s brilliance in surrealism, where she is reveling in details that she would have not had the time and space to focus on in busier times.
She also appreciates the positive energy her clients bring to her work. She just finished a commission for an abstract floral for her youngest client, a newborn whose sister previously held the record. Fox made a dream come true for a new client who shared that in 2017 she had a list of 100 dreams and owning a Ginger Fox original was in the top 10.
When asked what she would say if she met her younger self, Fox replies, “Hang in there, baby. You are in for quite a ride! Remember to be good to other people.” *
Stacey Marcus is a Boston-based freelance lifestyle, luxury and travel writer. Her works have appeared in Art New England, Boston, Boston Common Magazine, Coastal Design Magazine, Charleston Style & Design, Modern Luxury Chicago, Ocean Home Magazine, Playboy.com, RD.com and many others. A lover of big words and little white dogs, Stacey’s biggest joys are found in life’s simple moments.