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"Art came calling on me three different times in my life. The first time as a youth of around ten, I got into doing some drawing, encouraged by my Mother, though soon losing interest. The second time I was about twenty-five and got about a third of the way through a "Famous Artists" correspondence course. The third and last time was in 1977. While standing in front of a Charlie Russell painting in a museum in Oklahoma, I felt an imaginary tap on my shoulder and heard someone whisper, "It's time".....I knew, this time... I had no choice."........... Edd Hayes That same year, Edd began painting, first as a hobby, but soon was showing his paintings at some prestigious art shows around the country. At this point in his life, the native Texan had already worked as a journeyman carpenter, oilfield welder, a corporate salesman and as a professional cowboy. All of the skills he learned and used in these former professions were about to be used in his next profession...that of a sculptor. He created his first small sculpture in 1981. In 1989, Edd Hayes created his first monument, a twenty-seven foot tall bronze, of Rodeo Superstar Casey Tibbs on the famous bronc, Necktie, titled, "The Champ". This monument became the center piece and official logo of The Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of The American Cowboy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Hayes now has eleven bronzes in their permanent collection inside, along with two more monuments outside of this great museum. "Wild and Free", designed and created by Hayes in 1991/92, was originally installed at the entrance to the Astroarena in Houston. In December 2003, this monumental sculpture was relocated to its new home next to Reliant Stadium. The six, larger than life-size, wild mustangs, are in a setting of waterfalls, a creek, along with native Texas stone, plants and grasses. A sixteen foot tall sculpture of Pegasus, titled, "The Struggle - Man and Energy", graces the front of Energy Plaza at I-10 West and Kirkwood in Houston. At The George Ranch Historical Park, under a three hundred year old live oak, a bench with life-size bronze portraits of "Albert and Mamie George" invites people visiting the ranch and museum to sit a while and enjoy. A life-size firefighter, "In the Line of Fire", for the future Houston Fire Museum in downtown Houston. "Marshall Cator, Last of a Rare Breed", was recently installed at The Panhandle Plains Museum in Canyon, Texas as well as "Aggie Spirit", a life-size bronze installed at the Northgate Promenade in College Station, Texas. Other bronze sculpture by Hayes can be found in corporate and private collections around the world as well as in the permanent collections of major museums in California, Colorado, South Dakota, Texas and even Russia. Two bronzes that were in the first 'Bush' White House are now in The George Bush Presidential Library at Bryan/College Station, Texas. Hayes' donated works of art have raised money for The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, American Cancer Society, The Sunshine Kids, and various other children's charities around the country. Hayes was the only artist asked to exhibit his bronze sculpture at The Economic Summit in Houston, where he personally signed and gave away over a hundred prints to dignitaries from all over the world. He is a member of The Former Texas Rangers Foundation and The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo where he serves as a Steering Judge for the School Art Program. He is also a member of The National Sculpture Society. In 1998 Hayes was named by The Texas State Senate as Official Texas State Sculptor.
