Riding, roping, and sculpting are the things Greg Kelsey’s dreams are made of. Deep inside this sculptor beats the heart of a cowboy. He is the intrepid soul who likes to stand on the precipice of the future and hurl himself headlong over the edge to pursue his dreams. If it doesn’t always look real pretty, chalk it up to opportunities—not challenges—that have served well him during his 45 years on this earth.

From childhood on, Kelsey was drawn to the natural world, coming from a long line of ranchers and rural dwellers. He also was drawn to art at a young age, thanks to his mother, a public school art teacher whose passion for art drove her to earn a Master’s Degree. Kelsey often accompanied her to the University of Houston in El Paso, Texas, where he haunted the art school hallways and museums the way most kids skulk around amusement parks.

Greg Kelsey (Colorado)

Pretty Handy
Bronze
12″ High
“Several years ago now, when my daughter Lauren was out helping me gather our longhorns, I told her I had to ride ahead to set some gates at the pens. I asked her if she could finish driving the cows to the corrals by herself, and she said she had it handled. I looked back, as I rode off, and noticed how pretty she was and just how handy she had become—a confident horsewoman with stock sense. She was ‘pretty handy.’ This piece has come to depict the strength and beauty of young women of the West. It romantically captures the empowerment and historical significance of the modern cowgirl.”

Greg Kelsey (Colorado)

Sundance & the Wild Bunch Hit the Union Pacific
Bronze
22″ High
“I live in the old stomping grounds of the Wild Bunch. My neighborhood of the Four Corners was a known hideout for the gang. Unsigned banknotes from the Wilcox holdup appeared in Monticello, Utah, and in Durango, Mancos, and Cortez, Colorado. Scenes from the Hollywood Movie ‘Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid,’ which most of us have seen, were filmed around here. The Wilcox holdup became one of the West’s most famous train robberies. The tale resonated with me; the dynamic action of the story was perfect material for a sculpture.”