TD Kelsey wants to be a painter.

He’s been sculpting for more than 40 years, and his award-winning works are in the permanent collections of museums that include the C.M. Russell Museum and the National Museum of Wildlife Art. He has monuments placed at the Saint Louis Zoo and the historic Stock Yards in San Antonio, Texas, among dozens of other locations.

Kelsey loves sculpting. It’s a medium that has allowed him to capture the essence of the animals he loves so much, especially horses. It has helped him to create a career, make lifelong friendships, and travel the world. He is sure that he will never run out of ideas for new sculptures and that he will always be a sculptor.

Read the full article in the January/February 2021 issue.

Morning Downslope

Bronze
20” by 9” by 19”

“On a backpack trip North of the Bonnet Plume River in the Yukon, I watched a bull moose leave a patch of scrub brush right at timberline and slowly make his way to willows along the river in the valley below. In no big hurry, he occasionally stopped and lifted his head, seeming to look back over his shoulder. I realized he was checking the air for whatever might be behind him on the mountain. In the morning, there is usually a downslope breeze, however faint. There were a lot of wolves and bear in the area, but apparently none ever became a concern. He slowly made his way down the ridge to the river, stopping every little bit for a wind check.”

Green Grass Good Morning

Bronze
29” by 58”

“More cowboys are bucked off during spring works than at any other time. The horses have had a long break. The green grass is coming on. They are fat and full of themselves. In this case, the cowboys were scattered by the cow boss, just after leaving the chuck wagon. They didn’t get very far before one horse just could not stand it any longer, and the fun started.”