Painted at the historical Babbitt Ranch in Northern Arizona.

The Working Cowboy depicts a group of cowboys performing daily tasks in the Arizona desert.

Some cowboys tie up calves, while others keep watch over the cattle.

The painting conveys the action and vibrancy of the cowboys’ jobs, while at the same time showing the difficulty of the tasks.

Uses many textures and colors to convey realism in the painting.

Foreground is painted with blotches of paint that create the rough texture of the desert while in the background, more fluid brushstrokes are used to create smooth mountains.

The color palette includes earth tones that suggest the toughness of the terrain and the heat of the Arizona sun.

The use of large negative space, or the space that is not filled with action or objects, suggests the vastness of the land.

In the painting, the real-life cowboys are made to appear tough and absorbed in their work.

Notice the cowboy in the foreground. Although he holds a prominent place in the painting, he is turning away from the viewer. In fact, the only face we can see completely is a cow that looks directly at the viewer.

Owen chooses this technique in order to convey the value of the cowboys and their importance to the Arizona landscape. It seems these cowboys are too busy to pose for a painting.

What things do you see in this painting? What is this type of painting called? (Western Art – art that depicts historical and contemporary scenes and symbols of the American West).

What other sort of theme (certain topic or subject is always represented) would you see in Western Art (Stage coaches, western landscapes, buffalo, native americans etc.)

Does the painting itself look real to you? When art looks very genuine or realistic-it is called realism. Bill Owen accomplishes this by using a smaller brush, a smaller amount of paint and many brushstrokes.

The cowboy in the foreground is not facing the viewer? Why do you think the artist chose to do this?

EXAMPLES OF EXAMPLES OF BRANDING AND BRANDING AND

SYMBOLSSYMBOLS

Step 1 - On the small light brown sheet of construction paper design your brandStep 2 - Tear the edges of the light brown sheet of construction paperStep 3 - Wrinkle the light brown sheet of construction paper then flatten outStep 4 - Glue down the light brown construction paper on the middle of Step 5 - Take a thin line glue and make a design Step 6 - Take the white string and lay it over the glue design. Cut off any extra.Step 7 – Stamp a western design in each of the corners