It's early morning as a cowboy on his trusty horse sets off to work the ranch today. The grass is green, and the distant mountains are hazy in the purple glow of early morning light. He must be roping cattle today, as his lasso is already in hand. I met this cowpoke on one of my many travels out west, and I had to take his picture so that I could paint him later. Waking early, I watched the ranch hands set off just as the day was dawning.
This fellow looks ready to work, doesn't he? Let's hope he has a great day with the cattle! It was a summer day when I took the photo, and the grass was emerald green even in the early morning's low light. The sky was cloudy that day, so even though the sun was rising, the sky was dark blue and hazy. There's just enough sunlight coming over the horizon from the right of our vantage point for us to see long shadows on the grassy field. I painted this scene on half-inch birch board (which makes my favorite canvas) and it was finished in about a week