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15 ½” x 16″ x 13″
Limited Edition of 9
$4,000.00

Let Curt Tell You About It!

One of the greatest things about the West is the characters who live there, both today and in the past.  It is a most interesting challenge to portray the people of the West and their vivid and colorful lifestyle. This piece was especially fun to do because there is not only a human component to that character, but a canine one as well! For the most part, there are two things that keep a cowboy on a ranch. Good horses and good food! Cooks on the ranches, especially at the turn of the century, were often old cowboys and they were invaluable as cooks because they knew how important good grub was to the cowboys. The job entails a different set of skills and also had the benefit of having some time to relax at the end of the day. 

This cook is from around 1900 we know this from his clothing. His boots have mule ears. Mule ears on boots were popular to help you pull your boots on. I have a soft spot for mule ears! His bowler hat shows his individual nature and charm. His guitar is his prized possession. They were expensive. His love of music is shown by his investment in the instrument. Many cowboy songs talk about the life on the ranch and cowboys learn them so they can entertain other hands when the opportunity arises. Practice is important. So this old cowboy cook is taking advantage of some free time to get a little better. Most cooks have a good dog who is their faithful friend. His dog is waiting patiently as the cookie tells him all about the song he is about to play. Who knows, this may be one he wrote from his own experiences on the ranch, making the song an extra special treat.

This is such a piece of cowboy history and truth. The music of the cowboy continues today as buckaroos and punchers all across the West continue to write songs about their life and share them with others. This cook loves writing and singing about the cowboy life. His good dog is truly “Cookies Number One Fan”!