Deb Trotter, Cowboy's Sweetheart

"YEE HAW" bracelet

Posted in Western Cowgirl Art | 28 Comments »

"Excess Baggage"

Posted in Western Cowgirl Art | 7 Comments »

Where have I been, you wonder? Can’t you see? I’ve been counting the clouds.

I lost my senses in the South Fork of the Shoshone River…

Before this was a road, it was a cowboy’s trail. Now it is my trail. Each and every year in October, I come back to my trail. I am never disappointed. Never alone. There are spirits here to keep me company.

I end up by Castle Rock. I run my hand along the fence, careful of splinters, but unable to resist following the patterns someone has formed – with wood and nails and barbed wire.

Folks out here usually don’t cotton to fences, but they would like this one. It speaks of time worn away. It is a force of protection for the horses and cattle. And – a pure form of beauty for an artist.

This is the West I used to dream of. This is my very soul.

The rocks. The sky. The clouds. The trees. The crisp, clean smell of delicious fall in the Rockies.

I love fall. I live for fall. I am enamored with fall. I am, in short, delirious in fall.

How lucky, how very very lucky – how blessed, how golden and luscious and snow-capped – and, oh – how artistic – am I?

Posted in Western Cowgirl Art | 9 Comments »

Posted in Western Cowgirl Art | 18 Comments »

I just discovered a wonderful product called "yupo" (pronounced YOU – Po).

Yupo is a synthetic watercolor paper made of polypropylene and is acid free. Water color glides like silk across its surface.

As you can see, I have been experimenting with backgrounds created with thinned-down acrylic paint and watercolors. All I can say is,  Yee Ha, pardners! What a ride! I am hooked.

Won’t these pieces be amazing as collage backgrounds? I think some of them could even stand by themselves as abstract art.

I started by painting a background color. Next I dribbled paint in various places on the surface and misted the surface with water. In some areas I used a brush, while in others I just let the patterns happen by themselves.

It was so much FUN to see the various shapes and colors emerge.

If you’re intrigued enough to give Yupo a try you can purchase it online from Dick Blick or Cheap Joe’s.

I promise you will love it.

But right now, time’s a wastin’. This cowgirl is heading back to the Yupo!

Happy Trails.

Posted in Western Cowgirl Art | 13 Comments »