Range Branding by Bill Owen

Description

Bill had wanted to paint this piece for five years, but the time just didn’t ever feel right to him. When the CAs firmed up plans to move their annual CAA Show back to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, where the CAs began, Bill felt the time was right and knew he wanted it to be featured in the 2011 CAA Show catalog. The piece was used in various publications, advertising the upcoming event. Bill’s statement regarding the painting itself: “Rough country ranches are run differently because it’s impossible to gather all the cattle during roundup. Therefore, the cowboys carry a running iron behind the cantle of their saddle, so that when they come across any cattle that were missed and are unbranded, they can build a small fire and brand when and where they’re caught. The event I’ve depicted here took place on a ranch near Yucca, Arizona. The cowboy doing the branding is Clay Tyree and the other cowboy is Shawn Grose.”