Newest paintings for auction

July 24th: Coeur d'Alene Art Auction, Reno, NV  36" x 48"

Charge of the Bar T Brigade

   We were having one last drink when the Professor stood and began to recite a poem, The Charge of the Light Brigade by a man named Tennyson. That poem, it’s a good one, full of thundering horses and flashing sabers and brave soldiers. The way the Professor told it, it was like we were there, charging into the valley of death. It was quite a moment when he finished and the whole saloon gave him a cheer. That was when Press jumped up and hollered “Nobody rides like Bar T boys” and off we raced to the livery.

      And that is how we came to be banned from Cheyenne.

April 10th: Scottsdale Art Auction 36" x 48" SOLD!

The Wild Ones

Amid the torrent of a prairie squall, cowboys try to turn the leaders of a stampeding herd of longhorn cattle. They’ll either turn and control the herd or spend the next day rounding up the scattered remnants.

These are untamed creatures not suited for domestic life… and that describes the cattle, the horses and the men. Half wild cowboys riding half wild range horses trying to herd half wild cattle. That’s the real Wild West.

March 20: The CM Russell Art Auction  30" x 45" ; Great Falls, Montana  SOLD

Ambush on the Bandit Trail

The farmer had called the trail “las pistas del bandido”.  Miguel asked, Does it go the river? Si, Si. How long will it take us to get to the river? With his hand, the man had indicated a low sun, late afternoon. Then he smiled and said something in Spanish but his meaning was clear.

We might not get there at all.

March 20th: "The RUSSELL" Art Auction 36" x 48" CM Russell Museum; Great Falls, Montana   SOLD

Stampede! Stampede!"

A peaceful night camp on the Western Cattle Trail explodes into action as the cowboys mount their night horses and race to overtake the riotous mob of half-wild longhorns. Hours of fast, hard work lie ahead.

Andy Adams vividly describes two such stampedes in his book “The Log of a Cowboy”.  It’s compelling drama: frantic shouts and orders, blind plunges through thickets, firing pistols and the relentless efforts of the men.

The End of Soapy Smith; Skagway, Alaska  40" x 30" Oil on Linen

     Something had to be done about Soapy Smith. He and his gang of bullies, con artists and thieves were choking the liberty and hope of Skagway, Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush. The good citizens formed a vigilante group, the “Committee of 101”, but Soapy could not be cowered.

     A particularly dastardly act, even by Soapy’s standards, set the Committee of 101 into action and a meeting was called for the evening of July 8, 1898 on Skagway’s Juneau Wharf. Determined to thwart the committee, Smith boldly marched down the wharf with his Winchester 92 tipped over his shoulder. He was stopped by a man named Frank Reid. Reid, a veteran of the Wild West, carried his reliable old Smith and Wesson .38 revolver and when Soapy swung his rifle, Reid didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. The gun misfired.

     A brutal toe-to-toe gunfight ensued and both men received fatal wounds. Some accounts say the fatal wound to Soapy was actually shot b a man named Murphy after the initial gunfire. Soapy’s last words were “My God, don’t shoot!”

    In the Skagway Cemetery is an impressive stone monument over Frank Reid’s grave. A hand painted board marks Soapy’s final resting spot.