Top 25 Reasons to Be a Cowboy | #15: The Art

Have you ever noticed that it seems like someone is always taking pictures at a branding? Or just how many photographers are either on assignment or freelancing at the World Championship Ranch Rodeo in Amarillo?

Why is that? Why are cowboy images so endlessly luring to the artistic crowd?

The West, ranch life, and cowboys give artists a full range of subject matter. From peaceful scenes to sweeping vistas to wild action. From faces filled with character to the rare beauty of a horse. Of course, it all goes back to the singular essence of the American cowboy. There’s just nothing like it. Throw in beautiful backdrops and animals and there are few subjects that can compete so well as a muse for the artist.

And while much of the art produced is intended for those outside the culture, those of us within the culture are the real beneficiaries. Throughout the ages, from Charles Russell on down, cowboy culture has enjoyed a chronicling unlike most other professions in America. Through paintings, photographs, video, and sculpture, cowboys can trace their own look through ages and regions. What a treat to have our heritage so well documented.

The mere documentation is one thing, but it’s wholly another to enjoy a truly gifted artist’s sensibilities applied to such a compelling subject matter.

I recently had a discussion with an artist friend of mine. I was quizzing him about his motivations and goals in his work. I’m paraphrasing, but what he said surprised me. For him, it wasn’t about drawing or painting an exact replica of the source image he captures either with his camera or has in his head. For him, the source was an inspiration for telling a larger story.

Maybe Charlie Russell witnessed a couple of cowboys roping a bear. But how he rendered the light, what background he used, the reactions of onlookers might all have been altogether different from the actual scene. What he did do, though, was create an image that could have happened—maintaining authenticity in the process—but adding an element of style and beauty that was not there originally.

That’s what my artist friend was trying to help me understand. An artist doesn’t copy. An artist is inspired and creates.

What an honor that so many are inspired by what we as cowboys do. I hope they continue to tell our story.