Western Roots

For the past several weeks I've been painting from references sent to me by Abbey Vogel. Abbey is married to my nephew Adrian, who is a working rancher: a cowboy. They are great references and have been a lot of fun to paint from. They also bring back a lot of memories of growing up in Dodge City, Ks, the self-styled "Cowboy Capital of the World."
Western Art is a very popular genre here in the west. It just feels at home here where the equine population rivals that of humans, and hats a boots are the daily uniform of many. 

So it's not at all odd that our neighbor city of Temecula is sponsoring a Western and Wildlife Show next month.  This show has been the impetus, or excuse, for my spate of western paintings.

Here are the four I plan to enter:



I call this one "Cowhand Conversation" A cowboy's horse and dog may not be witty, but at least they always agree with him.

This one is "Over Easy".  It shows the power and grace of a horse and rider in perfect sync.

"Moving Day" is an important day in ranchers' lives

Is there  ANYTHING cuter than a little boy in a big cowboy hat?  Rings my bell!  Especially when the little boy is as cute as Paxton, Abbey and Adrian's first born.  "Pax in the Hat" is the title of this one.