inside this newsletter. . .
Show Schedule 2010
Kelsey Life
Quest for the West 2009
Research Trips:  Livin' The Dream ~
"Don't Buck With Me"
"Otro Hombre - The Palluche Bull"
The Russell
Career News
Greg's work featured in New Book

EVENT / SHOW SCHEDULE 2010

March 17-20, 2010:  The RUSSELL, CMR Museum show, Great Falls, MT - We'll be there!
March 17-20, 2010:  CM Russell Auction Exhibit Rooms, Great Falls, MT - We'll be there, check our schedule:  CM Russell Show Event Schedule
March 25-27, 2010:  Night of Artists, San Antonio, TX  - We'll be there!
May 28-31, 2010:  Phippen Fine Art Show, Prescott, AZ
August 14 - November 15, 2010:  America's Horse in Art, AQHA Museum, Amarillo, TX - tbd
September 10-11, 2010:  Quest for the West Art Show & Sale, Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, IN
September 2010:  Conservatory Art Classic, Clifton, Texas
October 22-24, 2010:   Special Workshop, Triple Creek Ranch, Darby, MT - for details or to book contact us or: Triple Creek Ranch
November 20-21, 2010:  Mountain Oyster Club Art Show, Tucson, AZ
updates will be recorded as the year progresses

 Greg is represented by one of the finest Western Art Galleries in the country: 
 
THE LEGACY GALLERY
Jackson, Wyoming & Scottsdale, Arizona
Contact the gallery or view their website to find Greg Kelsey pieces only available through them.

 KELSEY LIFE

For us the passing of time is marked by events and special occasions ~ happenings really.  It's the happenings that make up the sum of our year.  Research trips to Texas and Largo Canyon, brandings, riding the summer cattle permits on the mountain, rodeos, ropings, the completion of new works, Lauren growing like a weed, working horses at home, fall gather, art shows and so on.   As we look back over our Spring, Summer and Fall we're thankful for all the time we have together and the freedom this life has given us.  We love this life - it is a gift we cherish.
As you can see by your latest glimpse of the Kelsey family, Lauren is creeping up on her momma rather quickly.  She is turning into a beautiful young lady with a precious heart and soul.  She spent quite a bit of time with Greg in Largo and enjoyed the freedom of riding the range with her dad.  Mom wasn't around to put a whoa on things so it was just blow and go.
 
On our first trip to Largo, Greg headed out a few days ahead of Lauren and I with horses and trailer to join the guys working the gather.   With hands short and a lot of country to cover, they rode long and hard.  They had all the cows and calves in before everyone else arrived for the weekend festivities.  When Lauren and I got there, I manned the camera and he was able to stay in the saddle.  Lauren vaccinated and ran buckets, I ran irons, branded and shot hundreds of photos.  Greg joined in on the sorting, roping and dragging calves to the fire.  Lauren cleaned over 200 calf fries for supper - what a trooper. 
 
During the summer months there was a reprieve from show traveling.  Greg helped ride and check cattle on the Gosney mountain permit with Calvin Buffalo and Craig "Uptown" Upton.  He packed his clay along with him and sculpted in the late afternoons. 

In October we gathered First Notch with our good friends the Snooks and Hines and had a grand time on the mountain.  Lauren rode a bit with Greg in the more open pastures then worked on building a fort in the oak brush with the other kids.  I stayed in camp with the ladies and enjoyed some Dutch oven cooking and good wine.  It was an  escape to hide away in the mountains for a few fall days with horses, family and friends. 

Greg and his good friend Richie Hine covered rough country with Ernesto, Donnie Snooks' lead hand.  Riding the thick brush with ever multiplying aspen saplings, oak brush and down timber on steep slopes while keeping an eye out for stray cattle and bear sign, kept them in the saddle for long hours.  With the limited sight distance they had a "holler back" rule to alert the other riders that they had a cow on the move.  On the last morning four of the guys headed out to bring  Donnie's rancorous bull in.  He was ornery as ever and refused to be pushed. They spent themselves and "umpteen dollars worth of horses on two thousand dollars worth of bull."  As funny as that sounds it aptly sums up gathering cows off the mountain.

Currently the Kelsey homestead is buried in four feet of snow.  We've become intimate friends with our snow shovels and Greg has spent more than a few hours on the 'little tiny tractor' plowing. Just to be able to navigate our road and get the animals fed has kept us elbow deep in it.  Cabin fever has officially set in.  One has to love Colorado in the winter.  Once we see the ground again - which we are anxiously waiting for - we are sure it will be very green!

This last year was much about good friends; great friends.  The Lord has blessed us with the most wonderful people in our lives.  Knowing and loving life is apparently not a given these days for everyone.  But we have come to appreciate that each day is a blessing and this life and the people in it - a gift.   
 

QUEST FOR THE WEST 2009

Oh what a night! As art shows go, Quest for the West is a top notch event.  The venue is a spectacular show case for art and the support behind the show is superior.  The planning and dedication by the Museum staff and Western Art Society is passionate.  This year left nothing to be desired!  The artists "brought it" so to speak, with a phenomenal grouping of works.  The patrons appreciated and responded with total sales of $800,000 + during the opening night hour and half sale.  For Greg and I, it marked one of the best opening night sales of his career.  We were awe struck and still feel extraordinarily blessed and grateful. 

Our sincere thanks go out to the Eiteljorg Museum's ambitious staff, volunteers, Western Art Society and the dedicated patrons.  It continues to be a thrill to be a part of the Quest for the West.

Mark your calendars and make plans now to attend the show next September 10-11th, 2010 Quest for the West Art Show & Sale at the Eiteljorg Museum.  We will keep you up to date with show schedules and ticketing information as the date approaches.

RESEARCH TRIPS - LIVIN' THE DREAM

From the wide open spaces of the lower panhandle of Texas to the rugged canyon country of New Mexico ideas were sparked and ignited into new works.  Not enough can be said about the value of research trips and field study.  More than anything it is the special connection to subjects and the rejuvenation of the creative process. 

For the first time, Greg was able to dedicate a month solely to research.  He traveled to Texas and visited both the Veale Ranch and the historic Pitchfork.  The re-emersion into cowboy living gave Greg a refreshed state of mind.  It was a needed hiatus from schedules and deadlines in the studio.  With a new clarity he was able to study and catalog his subject matter as well as participate unabated in a life he loves.

The Veale Ranch, managed by Buster Frierson,  offered a view of Texas cowboys working cattle with Dallas and Fort Worth in the backdrop.  Just a step outside the bustling cities ranch life flourishes.   The good humor with which each man enjoyed his work was infectious.  In the shadows of a historic barn and hand built corrals the traditional work of branding calves was accomplished with skill, precision and love - I must say - love of the work and cowboy living.

"Its heritage and stature position the Pitchfork Land and Cattle Company among a handful of great American ranches. The Pitchfork's operations span around 180,000 acres in 2 states and more than a century of continuous operation primarily under one family. The Pitchfork stands as a testimony to those who have loved the land, its horses and its cattle and to those who have dedicated their lives to making it one of the finest ranches in the world."  The Pitchfork name alone conjures up visions of the Old west and cowboy work done the traditional way. It is a place rich in ranching history that has endured many changing seasons in its time.  To put it plainly, for a century the Pitchfork's profits or loss were affected solely by the weather and the price of beef.  Though the ranch is now more diversified; from cattle and horses to hunting and oil, the hands still eat at the same table as did cowboys of 1900.  Work on the Pitchfork is still conducted in the traditional cowboy way - from the back of a horse.  The chuck wagon and men head out on the open range for upwards of 3 months at a time to find, sort, brand, doctor and cull the herds.  In the wide open country there aren't working pens to be had in every pasture.  Cattle are 'held' in corners of cross fences while calves are roped out and drug to the branding fire.  The cowboys themselves are a bunch steeped in tradition, old and young.  Their gear is mostly custom made and well worn.  The intricate silver work on their bits and spurs in a testament to the esteem they give it.  Their ideals center on hard work, good horses and the open range.  Many don't see four walls or more than a bedroll for months, some years.  The "cowboys work the range in a manner consistent with their forebears who first rode for the brand in the 1800's".   It's the way they prefer it. 

The signature Pitchfork brand (three prong fork) has become and icon of the West.  That brand is marked on the left shoulder of its horses.  They are versatile and proven ranch and competition horses.  In 1993 the Pitchfork won the coveted AQHA Remuda Award recognizing ranches that raise the best cow horses.  The ranch's remuda consists of about 50 brood mares, 125 saddle horses and a few high quality studs.  Though the Pitchfork bred Quarter Horses are highly sought after, the ranch raises horses primarily for it's own use but does offer horses for sale at a few select sales. 

On the range the cowboys ride only geldings.  Approximately 125 geldings make up the saddle horse remuda.  Fresh horses are jingled in five or so miles each day and traded out for the spent ones.  The cowboys make a rope corral with their lariats to hold the horses while their mounts are selected.  The wagon boss would float out about sixty feet of line with coils hanging in the air and rope out each horse.  The task is repeated at dawn, noon and dusk.  The wagon boss was amazing with the hoolahan.  Smooth and graceful, accurate and precise.  Greg was mesmerized by the scene:  on a ranch whose history extends back a century, watching a man masterful in his use of a rope, that knew his job so well that he could call out a horse's name with just a glimpse of its silhouette in the dim light before he threw his loop with amazing skill.  Greg has recorded in sculpture part of this process.  Photos of the clay in progress are available for viewing.  "Searchin' Silhouettes" has not yet been released for sale, though we are taking reserves for specific numbers.  It will be unveiled in bronze at the Charlie Russell show in March.
 
The Pitchfork has a good reputation for great horses.  These horses run together in a big pasture.  With that comes some fresh behavior.  The hours the cowboys put on them are invaluable.  Part of their job encompasses knocking the rough off one in the morning - the rough that comes with pulling one out of the pasture while its running in a herd - or easing a cold back on a brisk spring day. They deal with the quirks of the colts in a cowboy fashion.  They don't make anything a big deal; its all just part of it. The guys know that there is no way to get their job done without their horses.   There are miles to cover over rough terrain.  And these horses are good ones.  The end result of the miles these cowboys put on them is a confident horse that has seen some things.  Riding big circles in open country out with the chuck wagon seasons one and makes a great horse.  Their easy cowboy way with these fresh mounts inspired this sculpture, "Don't Buck With Me".    

The opportunity to camp and work amongst these men was priceless.  Smoking Bugler around the campfire and for a moment "sitting inside the window", soaking in the landscape, livestock and Fork's way of life gave birth to thousands of artistic ideas.  It strikes a cord with Greg that the "Pitchfork legacy has and will forever leave a mark on American tradition".  Greg is passionate about preserving American ranching history - past and present, and these two sculptures celebrate its beating heart:   SEARCHIN' SILHOUETTES and DON'T BUCK WITH ME.   

The twenty plus miles into Largo Canyon off the highway out of Blanco, New Mexico are some of the roughest roads traversed with truck and trailer.  We all crept in at 5 - 10 mph turning the 25+ mile drive into hours.  The sand wash paralleling the road and the stand stone bluffs of the Canyon rim are all one can see for miles and miles.  Gosney Ranch, owned by Greg's friend Don Gosney, is an exquisite place deep in Largo Canyon, rich in history and substance. The ranch house and pens are located in Palluche Canyon a finger canyon off Largo.  The house is an old rambling, stucco building built into and around sand stone boulders.  It is the home of the Lizard Lounge and the Palluche Bar, hangouts of the hands working the gather and branding.  It's a lot of country to run cows in.  It is rough and rocky, filled with sand stone and sage.  A great winter range with little snow (except this year) and high desert grasses.  Greg spent a week in early May with the hands  finding and gathering the cows and calves off the flat mesas above, and down and out of the remote fingers of the canyon.  They covered a lot of land.  Though the ranch manager, Calvin Buffalo swears, "it never rains in Largo" they were stalled by showers a few times last Spring.  But everything new grows from the rain and "Otro Hombre" found his beginnings in the Palluche Bar during those down pours:  OTRO HOMRE - The Palluche Bull.

SPECIAL PLANS FOR THE RUSSELL SHOW

We are planning a special opening night reception in our exhibit room at the Charlie Russell Show in Great Falls, Montana at the Heritage Inn on March 17th to kick off the show.  As plans are solidified we will send out more information. 

Greg will be participating in the new CM Russell Museum show The RUSSELL.  He has a sculpture entered in the fixed price Wall Sale and will be showcasing a special, almost completed clay in the Art in Action Quick Finish at the Meadowlark Country Club on Friday.  Be sure to contact us or check out the Museum's website to purchase tickets for the events.  To be sure to catch Greg in person view his schedule for the weekend:  CM Russell Show Event Schedule.

CAREER NEWS

GREG'S WORK FEATURED IN NEW BOOK

Greg is showcased as one of the sculptors in the new book Sculpture of the Rockies.  Contact us to purchase books through the Studio.
Greg and his work were featured in the following Western Art Journals
American Cowboy Magazine, June/July 2009 pg.49
Western Art Collector, August 2009 p.183
Western Art Collector, September 2009 p.192
Cowboys & Indians, October 2009 p.59
Western Art Collector, November 2009 p.112
Southwest Art, November 2009 p.95

Until next time . . . Take care and God Bless!