Inner Flint
NEWEST WORK
Inner Flint is a portrait built slowly in oil, one layer at a time. The subject, a young boy, is taking shape with each pass of the brush, but it’s not just his likeness I’m after. My goal is to capture that spark, that inner flint, that lives behind his eyes. The kind of grit that doesn’t shout but stays steady, quietly holding its ground. The grid is still there, the underdrawing still raw, but I’m hoping by the end, he’ll speak for himself without ever needing words.
Little Wrangler
NEWEST WORK
20" x 20"oil on canvas
I wanted Little Wrangler to capture the strength and determination of a young girl who’s already found her own seat in the saddle, even if her feet might not yet reach the stirrups.
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This painting was born out of a fleeting moment at my hometown rodeo, watching a little girl, no older than seven, stand tall in her oversized hat and hand-me-down boots. She had the same watchful intensity as any of the cowboys in the arena, her small hands gripping the fence rails like she was ready to ride out and conquer the world.
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What struck me that night, and what I’ve tried to preserve in this portrait, was how her spirit seemed to outgrow her frame. Her eyes said she’d already seen enough to know that grit and grace are woven together in the dust and the heat of a rodeo ring. In painting Little Wrangler, I wanted to honor that unmovable spark: the way children, even in the smallest towns, carry the future of our traditions, our stories, and our communities in the tilt of their chins and the fierce light in their gaze.
