Newest paintings~
Hightail
to Freedom 36" x48" oil on linen
When the Chiricahua first emerged out of the landscape, they
assumed it was a party of raiders looking for strays, just like them,
except the strays belonged to the ranch. They started towards the group
to chase them off the range. Instead of running, the Apache turned
toward them and the cowboys realized they weren’t facing raiders but a
fully armed retribution party of more than a dozen.
Both men realized their predicament; this was the Chiricahua
retaliation for the brutality inflicted on their camp.
The men wheeled and spurred their horses on a desperate ride to
safety.
The Rescue 24" x 36" oil on linen
He tried a quick glance to see if
the pursuers were close but the girl clung so tightly he couldn’t get a
clear sight. They were coming, no doubt.
Ely, the gelding, was laboring but
they had to reach the blue ravine fast. Would the gelding even make it
to the ravine?
Too much, he thought, even for my
amazing Ely. Fool! You crossed the wrong kind of men this time. To what
end? The right and wrong of the world is no affair of mine and yet, here
I be, on a spent horse under a glaring moon trying to save some poor
girl from…evil, evil men.
His skittering thoughts evened as he
became entranced by the steady, strengthening rhythm of the horse.
Leaning forward close to the beast’s neck, he spoke, firm, guttural;
Go, Ely, Go.
The End of Soapy Smith; Skagway, Alaska
40" x 30" Oil on Linen |