In preparation for Art City Austin last April, Andy made a few Texas-inspired pieces, which included both cow skull and longhorn art. Although this was our first trip to Austin, Andy has been lucky enough to travel to Texas with me on more than one occasion to visit my extended family.

Like me, Andy isn't a fan of long road trips. To convince him to join me on the 10-hour drive to Carthage, I had to promise him my Granddaddy's gumbo and my Grandmother's pecan pie, both of which are world famous (to me, anyway).

Our first trip to Texas together was in 1994, before the murder. What's that, you say? A murder? Yes, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

First, let me show you Andy's bull head, cow skull, and longhorn art, all inspired by The Great State of Texas.

Fisheyed Bull Head | 25x27 inches

Cow Skull | 30x35 inches

Cow Skull Too | 23x38 inches

Longhorn | 58x31 inches

Longhorn 2 | 67x26 inches

As mentioned, Andy and I took our first trip to Texas together in 1994. We were juniors in high school and he was my super hot boyfriend.

My great-grandparents lived right across the street from Hawthorn Funeral Home. In fact, bless their souls, their services were held there in March 1994 and August 2000. What does this have to do with the murder? Well, I'll tell you.

For most of my life, I thought only my family and a handful of other people knew of Carthage, a tiny town in northeast Texas. That all changed in November 1996, when Bernie Tiede murdered Marjorie Nugent. The story made national news, putting Carthage on the map. Bernie had been the assistant funeral director at Hawthorn Funeral Home from 1985-1993. I can't recall ever meeting him, but my family knew him and he worked across the street from my great-grandparents for eight years. Bernie, a movie starring Jack Black, was filmed in Carthage September through October 2010, just a couple months after we last visited. Crazy, right?

Anyway, I'd hate to end on that note, so here's a happy photo of Andy with a horse:

Bull Head, Cow Skull, and Longhorn Art