My wife and I found time yesterday to travel to Wickenburg, AZ, through all the construction on U.S. 60 to visit the "Cowgirl Up" art exhibition of women artists. I have to tell you, I was impressed by the beautiful paintings of cowboys and cowgirls, Indians, cattle, horses, the Grand Canyon (a mighty task in itself) and the cabins and ranches and the West depicted in the exhibit. A lady named Louisa McElwain, I think it was, won the first-place prize and received the "Cowgirl Up" decorated boot trophy shown below on the brochure:
Ms. McElwain's painting was a winter scene of a cabin with cattle and horses around, done in heavy globs (excuse me for this description) of oil akin to one of the more famous artist's technique, the name of whom eludes my elderly brain at present. But I certainly don't want to take anything away from Ms. McElwain, who produced a stunning, vibrant picture deserving of the trophy.
The runner up painting was done by Harriet "Rox" Corbett, if my memory serves me right, who's charcoal drawings were so realistic I thought they were photographs until I got real close to them and read they were charcoal. WOW! Fantastic!
In my estimation, which combined with $l.99 will get you a cup of coffee at Village Inn these days, the judges must have had a difficult time with the selections, they were all so professional and beautifully executed. I liked the Grand Canyon and cliff paintings, myself, but they were all well worth the 30 miles travel to see.
This exhibit closes today, but the Desert Caballeros Museum is an interesting site to visit at any time of the year, and the town of Wickenburg is flourishing from the looks of it in these bad economical times. There was the usual travelers, taking a break from their vehicles on the way to and from California and Las Vegas, plus some regular tourists and the museum was having a steady stream of visitors, although it wasn't crowded. And the ice cream parlor was busy as usual. We had lunch there and the sandwiches were tasty and unusual and expensive for cheese steak with chips and dip on the side (??? chips and dip????). It took so long to be served they gave us a free ice cream dessert. We were in no hurry, so we enjoyed it all. Ah, the small towns.
Glad you made it, Oscar. Glad the trip was worthwhile too. Thanks to Google, I've been able to view Louisa McElwain's globs. You're right, she's a talented lady. You're pretty talented yourself. I tracked your story over at Frontier Tales. Enjoyed it, too. Sure emphasized the value of good oxen.
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