Fixin’ to Lay a Trip by Bill Owen

Description

Will Wells is one of the cowboys who came to help us on roundups on our ranch outside Globe, Arizona. The first time he did so, he told us of the desire he expressed to his mother when he was a young boy; to be painted by Bill and have the piece appear on the cover of Western Horseman magazine. Bill did paintings of Will on our ranch, but after we sold the ranch and relocated to Wickenburg, Arizona, Bill went to gather research on a nearby outfit Will was running cattle on in the Bradshaw Mountains, and the result was this painting of Will getting ready to rope a cow. It appeared on the cover of the August 2003 issue; the last piece of Bill’s art to be so featured, as shortly thereafter the magazine started featuring photographs instead of artwork.