San Angelo's newest sheep to be dedicated at Railway Museum on Saturday

San Angelo’s latest sheep will be dedicated at the Railway Museum as part of a 100-plus herd of painted fiberglass mascots. The latest to pop up its wooly little head is “SanAngeLoki,” a right-on-track sheep. It will be dedicated at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 11 at 703 S. Chadbourne St.

Sterling City Mayor Lane Horwood sponsored the Railway Museum’s sheep and helped choose artist Shaydee Watson. Watson is the San Angelo Cultural District Manager and manages the three San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts galleries on South Oakes Street. She is also an assistant preparator and a graphic designer who is behind the scenes at the annual EnPleinAirTEXAS painting competition and the Art Museum's exhibit changeovers.

Watson is from Ballinger and earned her bachelor's degree in graphic design from Angelo State University. The sheep is a departure for her; she’s known for her pointillism and dot art, and her creations are often no larger than 3 square inches.

The artist said, “The concept behind the sheep was to give families a way to interact with the sculpture. There are so many beautiful sheep in San Angelo, but I wanted it to be different and engaging. I consider myself an illustrator, but I do paint from time to time. My style of painting is only done with a palette knife, so I wanted the background of the sheep to have that style. Not only does it mix the colors, but it also gives it a texture, so that as you run your hand over the sheep you can feel the rise and fall in the paint.”

Watson explained, “I created items related to the Railway Museum for a seek and find. For example, there are three train tickets on the sheep to actual places you would have traveled in the early 1900s. The trains that currently sit at the museum are also represented on the sheep. You could even try to count how many circles you see, so there are a number of ways the museum can create a seek and find on SanAngeLoki.”

The cost for a base is separate from the cost of the sculpture and is the responsibility of the sponsor. Horwood and his brother found the rock for SanAngeLoki on the side of a hill on their Horwood Ranch. They pried the 4,500-pound rock out of the ground and rolled it all the way down a hill. Chris Willis and J.C. Morgan of ASCO donated their equipment and expertise to haul it from the ranch to San Angelo and to settle the rock in its place beside the museum.

Suzanna Valenzuela, president of the Railway Board of Directors, said, "We're delighted that the Railway Museum is getting an original painted sheep on our 25th anniversary.  Both the sponsor Lane Horwood and artist Shaydee Watson at one time served on the nonprofit Railway Board, and they understand how important it is that the museum preserves our history. We know the sheep SanAngeLoki will be a treasure to the whole community, just like the museum itself."

Downtown San Angelo’s painted sculptures are part of the downtown revitalization project. If you’re counting sheep in San Angelo, you’ll find over 100 of these artistic sculptures. According to DTSA manager Monica Ramos, there are 99 original designs, 10 redesigns, and 20 in progress. That’s about one painted sculpture for every 1,000 people in San Angelo. Fifty-two artists have created the sheep, with some artists painting more than one.

For more information about the dedication of the sheep at the Railway Museum, call 325-486-2140 or go to sanangelorailway.org. The dedication is free and open to the public. Second Saturday vendors, Living History tours and tours of the caboose and engine take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: San Angelo's newest sheep to be dedicated at Railway Museum on Saturday