Winner
2015 American Artists Professional League Sculpture Theme Show, New York, NY
2007 Best In Show & 2nd Place in Sculpture Phippen Museum Fine Art Show, Prescott, AZ
2007 International ARC Salon Sculpture Finalist
35″ x 31″ x 14″
Limited Edition of 9 Bronze
$18,000.00
Let Curt tell you about this piece!
Wendy and I were in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in 2005 and I ran across a little stapled together book. It chronicled the roundups that took place in the area and the drives of cattle from the upper Green River area to either Opal or Rock Springs, Wyoming. This was part of the Upper Green River Cattle Association. It is still an active cattle association today. During part of that drive, from Big Sandy, Wyoming to the Green River, about 35 miles, there was not a drop of water. Cattle can get awful thirsty in that distance, so problems are bound to occur when they smell water. It is from reading this little book that the idea for this piece emerged.
The period is 1915 or so, and all of the gear this cowboy is wearing and using is from that era. You can tell that he is riding a young horse because of the hackamore on his head. In a cowboys’ cavvy, or string of horses, there are anywhere from eight to ten head, depending on the ranch. These are the horses that a cowboy will choose from for a days work. Often they are switched at noon to give the horses a rest. Among those horses in his cavvy, there will be well broke veterans and green youngsters. With those young horses a lot of miles are part of getting them well broke. So on this day, the young horse is confronted with stampeding cattle as they smelled the water of Green River. The cattle are dry and decide to run for it. With all of the commotion the colt starts to buck and in an instant this cowboy has his hands full.
His saddle was built by R.T. Frazier of Pueblo, Colorado and is a Nelson tree with fourteen inch swells. It has a border stamp that goes around the skirts, jockeys and fenders. His chaps are also built by Frazier and are the shotgun style with conchos and rivets as decorations. The quirt in his hand has a wide popper at the end and will really crack when he swats the colt. The idea is not to hurt the horse but to get his attention amidst all of the noise. These are big cross bred steers and with all the goings on it will to take a lot to get them under control. The colt has one ear forward listening to what is going on in front, and one listening behind.
As a sculptor, design is the first consideration of sculpting a piece. I love how the bronc takes you right down to the cattle and the cattle take you back up to the bronc. I love the circular motion of this piece there is really no front or back so you can view it from every angle and get something fresh and exciting. The second steer just hangs out there thus giving an added sense of tension. The big loose textures of the base move your eye around to the figures and move light to add to the movement. You can almost hear the “Bawlin’ Broncs and Clatterin’ Horns”!