Don Weller always intended to make horses his career—but he wasn’t planning on painting them. His goal, he says, was actually to be a rodeo cowboy.

It was an obsession that started when Weller was 7 or 8 years old and reading cowboy stories by Will James. He says he whined enough that his mom bought him a horse of his own, which he started riding around his hometown of Pullman, Washington.

Don Weller (Utah)

A Culdesac of Conjecture
Watercolor
18″ x 24″
“These guys are discussing where the cow might be. Nobody knows for sure, but the debate goes on.”

Don Weller (Utah)

Old News
Watercolor
17″ x 20″

“This is Colin Fryer examining some remote petroglyphs. Originally, the painting had a rock wall delineated with all its cracks and details. Visually, it was just too busy. I simplified the wall with a flat mixed color of gouache.”