“Supernatural” Fate for Texas Artist Boyd Elder’s “Y6 Sunrise” Bull Skull
Actor Jensen Ackles Adds Storied Bull Skull Art Piece to his Texas Art Collection
The saga of “Y6 Sunrise” reads like a sci-fi script: An otherworldly looking art piece – a storied West Texas Hereford bull skull painted by near-mythical Lone Star multi-media artist and raconteur Boyd Elder – survives a harrowing, decades-long journey to hell and back.
Miraculously, the piece lands back safely in the Lone Star State, then winds up the centerpiece in the new Austin-area home of Jensen Ackles, the Dallas-born “Supernatural” TV series star and Texas art collector who grew up in nearby Richmond.
“Y6 Sunrise” was the centerpiece of Elder’s “4×4” exhibit at the Bale Creek Allen Gallery in Austin in mid-2016, where Ackles and his wife, actor Danneel Ackles, originally from Lafayette, Louisiana, first saw the piece on display.
The Ackleses were decorating their newly remodeled home with iconic Texas imagery and agreed “Y6 Sunrise” was the piece de resistance. The purchase price remains undisclosed.
The painted and adorned skull of a West Texas Hereford bull that sired large herds of prized livestock in its time, “Y6 Sunrise” is one of the skull art pieces Elder created in the 1970s, in a series he calls “American Fetish – RIP.”
Two other skulls in the series graced the covers of multi-million-selling albums by musical group the Eagles – “One of These Nights” in 1975 and “Their Greatest Hits” in 1976, the latter the biggest-selling album of the 20th century.
Millions of people worldwide are familiar with those images, even if they don’t know Elder by name. As writer Sterry Bucher put it in February 2018’s Texas Monthly feature, Elder’s sold more art than Picasso, and is the “most famous artist you’ve never heard of.”
Ackles is far better-known, especially to TV viewers worldwide. Son of actor Alan Ackles, Jensen’s enjoyed an award-winning career in film and TV for more than two decades. For the past 13 seasons, as a co-star of the CW’s runaway hit series “Supernatural,” he’s played Dean Winchester, who partners with his brother Sam (Jared Padalecki) to hunt down and vanquish all manner of heinous demons and supernatural creatures (notwithstanding the occasional Nephilim locator spell).
Ackles met Danneel Harris when they both appeared in the indie film “Ten Inch Hero” in 2007. She was already a rising star with starring roles in the “Harold & Kumar” films and a long-running role as Rachel Gatina on “One Tree Hill.” The couple married in May 2010 and have three children.
Fans of both Ackles have long urged producers to cast Danneel in “Supernatural,” and the planets finally lined up this season. She made her series debut Thursday, February 8, in the episode titled “Devil’s Bargain” (Season 13, Episode 13). It was the first of a few episodes in which she played supernatural faith healer Sister Jo.
In other recent Ackles news, Danneel and Jensen, along with her brother Gino Graul, celebrated the grand opening of the Family Brewing Company, their new craft brewery and tasting room at 19510 Hamilton Pool Rd., just outside of the Austin city limits in Dripping Springs, on January 10.
[…]
Stephen K. Peeples: I understand that when you and Danneel moved to Austin in 2016, you wanted to dress the house in a certain way. What was your concept?
Jensen Ackles: We did a big remodel. The house hadn’t really been updated since the late ’90s, so we took the whole thing down to the studs and built it back up with a perfect blend of my wife’s and my styles. It was actually Danneel’s idea to create what she referred to as “Laurel Canyon in the 1960s.” She’s always been drawn to that style as visitors can see from the many books in our house depicting that time and place. We worked with a fantastic interior designer, Fern Santini, who helped us achieve that. We wanted to choose art that spoke to both Danneel and me as well. So, we put up a couple of really cool pieces in the dining room area, and it just started to happen organically. We were coming across pieces by a lot of homegrown Texas-based artists. Some friends of mine who live in Austin – Steve and Lana Carlson – are art curators and dealers. I’ve known Steve a long, long time, and Steve knows Bale very well. Steve mentioned a Boyd Elder (piece) had surfaced. When he told me which one and said it was available at his buddy Bale’s gallery, I immediately said I wanted to go see it. I think everybody is familiar with that series of work from Boyd, from the covers of the Eagles albums to just the stories about him. And “Y6 Sunrise” is not just a piece of art. It’s also a piece of Texas history and a piece of rock ‘n’ roll history. It represented several things I’m interested in and feel drawn to. I looked at my wife and said, “We’ve got to get this.” We were super-excited. We have this room in the house the previous owner used as a trophy room. I guess he was a big hunter and went all over the world, hunted a bunch of animals and so, he had this room as his trophy room. Well, I am not much of a hunter, so we cleared all that out, painted the whole room and turned it back into a dining room/family room. In the center of this room, there’s a pretty substantial fireplace that can be seen on both sides, and it seemed like the perfect spot to hang “Y6 Sunrise.” It’s up and over the mantle of this fireplace, looking over the dining room. It’s certainly the piece de resistance in the house. The dining room table is also Texas-made – that just kind of happened, again, naturally, with the help of Fern. It’s a big piece of Texas oak and the chairs are made by Garza Marfa. We’re going to have one of Bale’s Texas tumbleweeds in the corner opposite Boyd’s piece. It will be a nice little Texas room with a lot of history and some really cool art.
Peeples: Great story! You’re originally from Dallas…
Ackles: Yeah, I grew up just north of Dallas in Richardson.
Peeples: And you lived in California for some time. What’s it like living back in the Lone Star State?
Ackles: It feels good. I wasn’t sure if I was going to get a chance to move back. You just never know with the film and entertainment industry. It can be very fickle. I thought I might just have to bite the bullet and be out in California for who knows how long. Fortunately, I was able to land a job that’s given me the opportunity to pretty much commute and live anywhere. When my wife and I had our first child, we said, “Where do we want to raise our family, since we don’t have any family out in California?” We’ve got good friends, but a lot of them had moved on as well, so it was kind of an easy decision to move back to Texas. I’ve always loved Austin. It’s a little bit slower-paced than Dallas, and we both really wanted to live on a lake. That was a no-brainer. We just packed it up, made the move. It’s good to be closer to family. I already had a lot of friends in Austin, so we immediately plugged into the social pipeline, and again, it just feels good to be in a place that represents me more than California did. I love California – it was great to me, I had a good time – but it’s certainly nice to be back home.
Peeples: Boyd said he went up to visit you and Danneel at your house after “Y6 Sunrise” was hung, and told you the whole story about the piece.
Ackles: I wish I’d had a video camera or something because hearing the story straight from the source’s mouth was pretty awesome. He told us some of his experiences during that time, and the history of the skull itself – where it was from, how he came to own it, and then, not only about its transition from a bull skull into a piece of art, but also what happened to the piece after that, how far it traveled, how it was (held up for ransom) for many years, how it took more years to get it back, and all of its other travels during the last 40+ years. It’s pretty exceptional to look up and see “Y6 Sunrise” hanging in our house. I think Boyd was stoked to have it back home, hanging over a big fireplace in Texas. That was pretty cool as well.
Peeples: As a friend of Boyd’s for 40-some years going back to when he was working on some of those pieces, I can confirm that’s totally true. He’s happy “Y6 Sunrise” has found a home and seems to be where it belongs, after all its travels and travails. You and Danneel really understand what the piece is, and are treating it as it deserves to be. You’re displaying it in such a way that other people will also enjoy it for a long time. That’s a great thing for the piece and indirectly, for Boyd.
Ackles: Well, that’s awesome! That makes it even sweeter. That he even wanted to meet us – we were just tickled. The fact that we got to speak underneath the piece with the man who created it and get the history was certainly the cherry on top.
Peeples: Speaking of great experiences, would you mind if I asked a couple of questions about what you’re doing right now?
Ackles: Not at all. I’m up in Vancouver shooting the 13th season of “Supernatural.” I’ve been working on that now for more than 12 years and it’s afforded me a pretty good life for me and my family. I commute back and forth to Austin frequently throughout the season. That constant travel – I was doing it anyway when we were in L.A., and that’s kind of why I turned to Danneel and said, “We don’t have to live in L.A. Maybe we should talk about where we want to raise our family because I can commute anywhere.” So I’ve just continued to do that. It sounds like a lot of travel. Most people would be like, “Oh, my gosh, I don’t know how you do it,” but it’s pretty amazing what you can get used to. I’ve been doing it for so many years, it’s now normal.
Peeples: I must confess I’m not a huge fan of the series, but my wife is. For years, she and I have been watching the show together, with me doing my eye-rolls – you know what I’m talking about.
Ackles: Absolutely!
Peeples: But she is having a great time – loves the storylines, the acting, the characters. So when I told her I’d be speaking with you for a story, she asked me to say hello and tell you what a major fan she is. I appreciate you allowing me to do that.
Ackles: That’s very cool. It’s great! Even 12 years in, I still am surprised hearing people who watch the show. It’s bent the spectrum. I’ve tried for years to figure out what the demographics are and they constantly surprise me. It’s from 12-year olds who weren’t even alive when the show started and have binge-watched it to the 70-80-year old grandparents who watch it with their grandchildren and love it. I’m just happy to be a part of something that’s gone on this long and had the impact it has.
Peeples: Thirteen seasons – about how many episodes is that?
Ackles: Give or take a few, I think we’re somewhere in the neighborhood of about 265 right now. Next season we hit 300, and as of now, it doesn’t seem like anyone is ready to throw in the towel.
Peeples: That’s a great situation.
Ackles: It’s pretty rare! By the way, thanks for doing this story. I’m happy to be a part of it and it’s awesome to have this piece of history hanging in our house.