The Sentinel

The Sentinel is one of the largest commissioned paintings I have ever had the opportunity to do. The size is a 6-foot by 4-foot oil on canvas. The client, who is a financial advisor, wanted a local artist to create a western painting for his office that showed the growth and building of the west. An open space with room to grow, the image would be an analogy of how growth and wealth happen in the financial industry or for that matter wealth-building in any trade. In this case, I had a lot of freedom to create an image that the customer wanted. The only real requirement he had was that it had to have a longhorn cow in it, preferably a cattle drive.

I envisioned a wide-open range (one of my favorite movies) where the cattle drive was traveling over the plain and comes into view in the distance. The lone rider is a guide, making sure a clear route is ahead, safe for the large cattle drive to move toward its retirement, and securing final success.

4-foot by 6-foot oil on canvas painting.

Scroll down to view close-ups of the painting, the progression, and reference photos used to create the composition.