By late fall, snow had already started falling in southwestern Wyoming. Even though she still had gardening to do, that snowfall was a joy to Amanda Cowan. “The elevation is about 7,500 feet, so it’s really hard,” she says. “The sun rays are high, and the wind never stops, but I do feel so blessed. I moved around before I got married; then I came to Wyoming. It gets 30 [degrees] below [zero], but this place is so amazing. I get to work on the ranch every day and paint. I’m so blessed.”

The ranch is Myers Ranch, a sprawling stretch of some 7,000 acres that was established in 1847. Moose, deer, and elk roam the property, while Cowan, her husband, Jake, and nephew, Justin, herd cows. Both the Mormon and California trails run through the ranch, and pioneers moving West settled there. “Kind of small for Wyoming, but it’s enough for us,” Cowan says of the ranch.

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

A Cool Drink on a Hot Day

Oil
24” by 30”
“A cowboy and his horse can ride for many miles in a day, checking bulls, checking pairs, or moving a herd from one pasture to another. On the day I took the reference photo for this piece, that was exactly the case. The thing that caught my eye the most here was the reflection of the world on the water. The horse, the rider, the sky, even the trees on the other side of the water—all were beautifully bounced back off the rippling water. This piece won first place in oils at the Cowboy Classics show in 2019.”

Morning Staff Meeting

Oil
24” by 30”
“In this painting, two cowboys meet early in the morning to plan out their day. Mornings start early and there is always more to do than daylight allows. A little bit of communication can go a long way to make the work flow smoother and prevent a lot of unnecessary stress and confusion. Efficiency is important when there is so much to try to accomplish before the day is over.”