The Best Trails Are The Ones A Cowboy Makes Himself

When I first began the collection of Big Hat No Cattle paintings, I started with a cheap vision board and some cowgirl idioms. I wanted to create something as unique as my fingerprint. I had this crazy idea to embed history into the background of each painting. I wanted the painting to reveal more depth of personality upon closer examination, like people. There is more to a person than meets the eye.

Have you ever been hiking? Like enjoying a hike along the Niobrara River on a windy day only to be startled by a rattlesnake. Okay so maybe the snake is a bit dramatic, but the snake is hidden within the depths of foliage. A surprise, something you will remember for a lifetime. I want to create a piece of art that evokes wonder, like you are trying to figure out its personality.

In a previous blog post I posted my original vision board, it is like the vomit draft of a manuscript. I tossed around alcohol inks, sprayed paint in the background and then lightly put down some acrylic paint to mark my cowgirl hat and squash blossom necklace. I whipped in the gallery wall to help me visualize the result of my intentions. I embedded some cowgirl sayings and idioms in the background. My favorite saying on this painting is, "Don't let them tame you." The vision board is like a crude napkin rendering of my idea, but I look at it every day. It is a gentle reminder to stay focused. As my friend Bob Mills says, "Anything can be accomplished with a lot of try."

Below is the Saint of Shadows and this painting taught me how to apply larger pieces of history on to the canvas. The sheet of music is over 100 years old, and it was super delicate. I had two sheets, and it's a good thing because I got bucked off in the first round trying to adhere it to the canvas. It ripped and I almost cried. I then sprayed the second sheet with a light coating of fixative and let it dry. The fixative I used is like a spray varnish except lighter. It gave the sheet some protection from the moisture of the molding compound I used to adhere it to the canvas.

If you know me, you know I always led with plan A, and always have an ace up my sleeve. I quickly learned I need to be more strategic about how and where I place the idioms within the background. As I move forward with each painting you will see them as part of the painting upon closer examination. They won’t float out in space as much. Every painting is a shoulda, coulda, woulda!

I should have done this…. I could have done that…. If I had done x-y-z first I would have done…you get the picture. Every painting is a teacher. As an Artpreneur or Solopreneur you learn from a million tiny decisions, and you build from failure. The Wright Brothers crashed their airplane before they managed to get it in the air and sustain a 12-minute flight. They were betting on a dream and you can let yourself bet on your dreams too.

This leads us to The Diamond In The Rough. You'll notice I didn’t put any cattle in the background. Duh! He doesn’t have any cattle yet. He has to do the work! He is going to land face down in the dirt more times than he can count. You will too, so buckle-up Buttercup.

However, I was generous and gave him a windmill and a couple of tanks. At least he has water…until the well runs dry. This is what scratch looks like. 

After some research I found a 1908 map of the sandhills region. I bought it off a guy in Philadelphia. It was like two pigs fightin under a blanket to get it to adhere to the canvas, but I didn't give up. I cut the map down into the shape of a diamond (as a joke) before I laid it on the canvas. *This is where I got the idea to brand each piece with a diamond brand. My brand is what a rancher would call a “two-iron" brand. One iron for the top part of the brand and one iron for the bottom.

When ranchers brand their cattle, they like one-iron brands because they have learned it’s quicker and safer to brand a calf if you only carry one iron while maneuvering among the calf wrestlers. So, my brand might be frowned upon, but I am going to let myself use it since I’m using a paintbrush. 😊

The diamond brand is hidden within all the Big Hat No Cattle paintings and long after I am gone it will become part of my creative legacy. Remember you write your story. Let others think what they want, and you let yourself be free to create your story. It’s your one precious life, start living!

Next up in the Big Hat No Cattle Collection is a Beekeeper. I am buzzing with enthusiasm and after a bit of research I have acquired a beehive patent from 1863.

So, until next time…standby for news! 😊

~ The Big Hat No Cattle blog is how an Artist started with nothing, dug in her heels, and painted her dreams. ~ Please share, like, and hit that subscribe button so you don't miss a post.