Tucked away in protected rock shelters above the Lower Pecos River lay the vestiges of an ancient American Culture of primitive people who occupied caves and began painting around 3500 - 3000 B.C., mysteriously vanishing around 1000 A.D.  The images they created with mixtures of mineral pigments, charcoal, and possibly blood and animal fat suggest an interesting connection with the sacred ceremonies of these early tribesmen.  Animals and other intriguing forms with and without faces, believed to have been the artwork of shamans, embellish the cave walls in stunning and mystical silence.  One can only speculate upon their many symbolic meanings.  

Lower Pecos River at the Pandale Crossing

Pictographs at Fate Bell Shelter, Seminole Canyon State Park

Upon personal discovery of these ancient icons while canoeing down the Lower Pecos in 1979, Bill Worrell was immediately inspired by the awesome beauty of this Southwest heritage. 

These prehistoric designs, along with tools of flint, bone and wood, sotol and yucca weavings, and some skeletal remains are all that is left of the extinct inhabitants of the Lower Pecos region.  For Worrell, former university professor of art, this discovery was impressive and powerful --an experience that would forever change the direction and style of his work.

Addressing the subject matter from an aesthetic perspective, he maintains that his creations are interpretations of the ancient pictographs rather than a documentation of their historical value.  "I have my own intuitions and notions about the art of these ancients.  For me, understanding it is a spiritual experience, a spiritual exercise.  It is not unlike getting a musical instrument in tune."

Worrell is continually energized by the challenge of creating ever-evolving variations of the timeless images, visualizing himself alongside his so-called "primitive counterparts" and striving to capture the essence of their expressions through the contemporary methods of painting, sculpture, and pottery.  Each sculptural design is created in wax and cast in limited edition bronzes by the "lost wax" method.  After the casting is extracted from its silica investment, it is cleaned and chastened.

Dramatic contrasts are then developed by the application of chemicals that produce colorful patinas alongside highly polished areas.  This is a process that Worrell insists on doing himself, considering his unique patinas as continuations of his paintings.

Worrell's ability to improve upon existing foundry methods is reflective of his own inventive nature, and his desire to attain higher levels of achievement keep his work fresh, exciting, and in demand.

Worrell applying patinas in his studio in Art, Texas