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Sculpture Depicting Southwest Ranching
Some pieces may not be listed on this particular page.
Please see the Catalog for
a more complete (alphabetical) listing. Also, sculptures have been
grouped by subject matter or project. These links are below:
 The Deer
Song The "Deer Song" sculpture depicts a High Plains American
Indian, wearing a whitetail deer head dress as he sings his
ceremonial hunting song. The North American Indians had a close
religious sensitivity with every part of their environment,
believing that everything has a spirit. The Deer Song celebrates
that religious sensitivity as the singer asks the deer's spirit
to make his hunt successful and to forgive him for taking the
deer's life that its body might be a source of nourishment
for the hunter and his family. The patina is red-brown leather
for the skin tones with darker reds for the head dress and
bone color for the antlers. The sculpture won the blue ribbon
at an annual Texas Society of Sculpture Exhibition in Austin,
Texas.
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The South Canadian River in the Texas Panhandle is a
treacherous place, said to be a "mile wide and an inch deep" and most
of that quicksand. Cattle crossings were at rocky locations with better
footing. In some cases, a cable was stretched across to aid the cattle
and cowboys. This depiction of longhorns swimming the Canadian River
was a winner during the 1974 TCA Gold Medal-exhibition, exhibited at
the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, and published in XIT-THE AMERICAN
COWBOY.
"A Stitch In Time" (catalog item)
 A
cowboy hand sews a loose stitch in his saddle. This 1/6 scale sculpture,
like the following, is one of 12 trail drive camp scenes of the "Cowboy
Country Club" series that are sold separately or as a group (catalog
item) on a common cast bronze base.
"A Hole In One" (catalog item)
 Keeping
the cold and wet out is a full-time maintenance job for working cowboys.
This one pokes a finger through a hole in his boot as he prepares to
layer sheets of old newspaper over the inside of the hole.
"Barbara Allen" (catalog item)
 Playing
this old cowboy favorite brings up memories of home in the evening
around the campfire. Many of the old cowboy songs had their beginnings
in folk songs brought over from Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries.
"Chiggers" (catalog item)
 The
invisible chiggers are an unwelcome part of any outdoorsman's life,
especially that of a cowboy who has to ride horseback with chigger
bites under his leather chaps and in the worst places!
"Chuckwagon" (catalog item)
 The
trail drive chuckwagon was home and headquarters for the cowboys who
drove cattle from Texas to the railheads in Kansas or worked cattle
in very large pastures. This sculpture is an exact replica of the artist's
old personal chuckwagon and is complete in every detail, including
the wood grain, a working chuckbox tailgate, wheels that move and a
singletree with a moveable fifth wheel.
"Come And Get It" (catalog item)
 The
camp cook's call to breakfast, lunch, or dinner was the cowboys' favorite
tune. "Cookie" would often serve thick beef stew with vegetables,
hot apple pie, and thick sour dough biscuits cooked over the coals
in Dutch oven!
"Espuelas" (catalog item)
 A
cowboy's spurs, or "espuelas", are an important part of his riding
gear, especially for persuading old-time range horses which often started
out a cold morning with excessive spirit and speed!
"Forty Winks" (catalog item)
 Using
his saddle for a pillow, his saddle blanket for warmth, and his cowdog
for company were part of the day's routine for range cowboys.
"God Is Peace" (catalog item)
 There
was always a bible in camp on trail drives and many an evening hour
was spent reading a favorite passage before bedding down for the night.
"Redwing" (catalog item)
 Cowboys
playing the camp fiddle alongside a guitar and harmonica was often
a part of trail drive camp life. "Redwing" is another favorite cowboy
song with its roots in the songs brought over from Europe by a cowboy's
ancestors.
"Rise And Shine" (catalog item)
 The
wakeup call coming before sunup from the foreman on a trail drive sounds
just as bad to a sleeping cowboy as it did as a child on a school day.
"Too Thin To Plow, Too Thick To Drink" (catalog item)
 A
cowboy doubtfully drinks his morning camp coffee without complaining
because "He who complains about the cooking becomes the cook!"
"Coup D' Etat" (catalog item)
 For
the early horseback American Indian, "Counting Coup" or merely insulting
one's enemy was as important as actually defeating him. This sculpture
shows a fast riding warrior ticking with his lance his fallen adversary.
"Courtship" (catalog item)
 A
stud nips at his mare in their rough but sensual mating run. This sculpture
features on a common base the same figures as "Stud" and "Brood Mare".
"Cowboy Courtship" (catalog item)
 An
old-time cowboy offers flowers and his love to his bride to be during
their outdoors picnic.
"King Ranch Saddle" (catalog item)
 One-third
scale highly detailed Texas double-rig saddle from the artist's personal
King Ranch Saddle. The Texas double-rig was one of the first livestock
saddles developed after the Civil War and played an integral part in
gathering the vast herds of Longhorn cattle for the trail drives to
market. This sculpture is mounted on a walnut rack and base; complete
and totally detailed with tapederos, leather tooling and saddle strings.
"Mail From Mom" (catalog item)
 One-quarter
scale of cowboy leaning on the ranch mailbox, reading a letter from
his mom. Sculpture comes with buyer's name and town on side of mailbox.
"Money In The Bank" (catalog item)
 This
1/4 scale cowboy is bringing in a newborn calf that needs a little
extra help to survive.
"The Prayer" (catalog item)
 This
sculpture shows a horseback American Indian hedging his bets with his
God by offering a prayer with one hand in a supplicating posture while
the other is in an asking mode.
"Refusal" (catalog item)
 Winner
of the Texas Cowboy Artists Association Gold Medal for Best Sculpture,
the Refusal features a Comanche medicine man attempting a bride-capture
with a Comanchero woman. She holds an early cap and ball revolver.
It's up to the viewer as to who wins.
"Texans" (catalog item)
 A
cowman walks hand in hand with his wife as he leaves for the long trail
drive to the northern markets. He holds his "King Ranch Saddle".
"Texas Double-Rig Saddle" (catalog item)
 Before
the Civil War, there were no American saddles suitable for working
stock, especially the large and wild Texas Longhorns. The "Texas Double-Rig
Saddle" evolved from the U.S. Cavalry McClellan saddle and the Mexican
stock saddles which had roping horns, high cantles, and broad swells.
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Copyright © 2005-2008 Thomas Studio & Foundry Inc. All
Rights Reserved.
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Member: TSOS (Texas
Society of Sculptors), AARC (Austin
Architectural Artisans), DFAC (Austin
Diocese Fine Arts Council)
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