Boots and Spurs

6x9 watercolor using White Nights paints done last of June, based on an earlier photo I'd made an ink sketch from, of two cowboys' sets of boots on a fence. For this one I only did the one pair of boots with spurs and tried to make the texture realistic. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Range Riders o

15x22 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper that I had applied gesso acrylic ground on in March. In this imaginary ranch life scene two cowboys can be seen in their yellow raincoats on horseback doing their work. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Lone Rider

Lone Rider 11x15 watercolor on Master's Touch 140 lb cold press paper, an imaginary western cowboy range rider out alone on his job. This was painted in March. Ranch life is a hard life but those who do it love it. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Brycen and Dog

15x11 watercolor on Kilimanjaro 140 lb cold press paper do e couple months ago, a commission plus a local wine label design for CaSh. This work is sold. COPYRIGHT 2024 Kay Smith

Working Cowboy

22x15 watercolor on 140 lb hot press Stonehenge Aqua done in July, using movie still featuring K.Costner on horseback in Yellowstone. In this depiction I've tried to show the working side of managing a ranch. This work is one of the Caboose WC show at Heritage museum show "Way out West". COPYRIGHT 2024 Kay Smith

Retired Wagon

11x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper, a composite painting using several photos as one. Here the old wagon is parked alongside a barn building, its body resting and rusting. This is one of the featured art pieces in the current Caboose WC show at Heritage museum through October 31st. COPYRIGHT 2024 Kay Smith

Lost Wagon on the Prairie

6x9 watercolor on Strathmore 140 lb cold press paper painted a couple weeks ago using my wagon sketch I found in an old sketchbook. But no reference photo could be found so colors are imaginary of the lost wagon on the prairie. COPYRIGHT 2024 Kay Smith

Longhorns Diptych

30x45 watercolors, two paintings, on Arches 140 lb cold press paper recently painted that go together as a diptych (an artwork made up of two matching parts). With this diptych featuring almost identical horns, these can be hung right next to each other or with a space between, framed separately or together. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith

Sandy Day in the Saddle

12x9 watercolor on Winsor Newton 140 lb cold press paper done last week during one of our sandstorms. This western theme painting was prompted by reviewing family photos. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Western Style

11x5 watercolor on mixed media 140 lb paper sketched in pencil then painted yesterday. With this imaginary female figure I've added a horizontal background of distant rocky mountain ranges. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Worn out Wagon Wheel

5.5x8.5 watercolor over pencil sketch of broken and abandoned wagon well and its parts (ref courtesy Jo Castillo) painted last weekend. I so enjoy painting old relics of the western frontier. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Shorthorn Skull

12x9 ink on Bristol 300 series, 100 lb. paper done over the weekend. No pencil sketch only used a black Tombow brush pen (watersoluble), then water to activate black to gray tones. When dry, black India ink with a chopstick was applied to emphasize darkest darks and create texture marks. Blue watercolor was spritzed over it all to finish. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Cowboy and His Horse

9x12 ink using black Tombow brush pen on Bristol board 300 series done last week.  With no pencil drawing beforehand, only dark areas were put in first then water added for greys; white is the white of the paper.
COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Donald's Calf

6.5x4.5 mixed media (Tombow black and burnt sienna brush pens, Magic colored pencils, apricot paint marker on toned sketch paper done today for online WetCanvas challenge in Southwest/Western forum; photo ref courtesy Donald Smith.
COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Roping

8.25x5.25 charcoal sketch on vintage book page that had been gessoed previously.  This young cowboy is preparing for his roping calf session atop his trusted quarter horse.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Desert Skull

6x9 mixed media (walnut ink, watercolor, and spray ink stain by Tim Holtz) done on  140 lb hot press paper done last weekend.  In order to depict desert colors and the feel of heat, I had to use browns, clay colors, and oranges to support the almost all white bleached cowskull.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Wild Mustangs

 4.5x7 mixed media done today using the Micron 03 pen sketch below on alcohol ink marked newsprint from last week's ink class.  I had cut this section out with intention of using it somehow.  The wild horses reference, courtesty WetCanvas/Li Newton, is currently featured in the regular weekend drawing event in which participants have 2 hours to select an image then do a work from that.  When dry from watercolor and gouache applications, I adhered it to matboard using matte medium and a brayer.  Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith; 1971ks@att.net contact email to purchase.  Cost:  $95 plus s&h.*

BEFORE

*Note:  This work is now SOLD

Happy Trails

11x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper painted a few years ago for a western show a friend and I did in Oklahoma.  This shows the back end of a white horse and a cowboy in a red shirt, an imaginary scene for the most part.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Roping Horses

11x15 watercolor and India ink on Fabriano 140 lb hot press paper done this afternoon.  The photo I used was a full body view of the cowboy's horse so I cropped into it quite a bit and edited out background and foreground clutter, then added an extra horse.  Splattering was done on the main horse when paint was drying so some spots are blended while others such as the black ink, are not.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Ram Skull

11x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Saunders paper, an older work in which I used cut Frisket pieces over a wash, rearranged, repainted to give an overlapping of color shapes.  This piece is SOLD.
Image is COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.