I love to set up my easel at outdoor festivals and let kids (and even adults if they want!) try their hand at painting. It's the only opportunity most of them have ever had to paint in oils. They get such a charge out of the experience, and I enjoy giving them some simple instruction and letting them go at it. Even if it's a painting I intend to finish to show, there is nothing I can't fix later such as an off color or value.

I recently participated in an outdoor art show in which the bank sign up the street read 106 degrees one day and 108 degrees the next day.

Now wait! - before you leave, I promise this isn't a blog complaining about the weather. It's August. It's supposed to be hot. I met a lot of great people and made good sales, so no complaints.

Rather this is about how inspiring it is, despite sometimes harsh conditions, to see fellow artists so passionate about their art that they refuse to be slowed down by age. Two of my friends, Robert, age 70, and Jim, age 80, were at the same show again this year. Both are painters, and both endured the heat for the duration while several younger participants packed up after one day. Through it all, they remained upbeat (that's not to say we didn't talk about the temperature once or twice). But they worked hard and made sales. I very much enjoy being around these kind of people, and I appreciate them setting such a great example of the American work ethic. These guys have been doing shows since the early 1970s.

My goal is to always work with the same intensity they have.

I read an article recently about artist Jeanne-Claude, in which she was quoted as saying "Artists don't retire. They die. That's all." Having noticed that several artists I admire have passed in recent years, but kept working right up to the end, I know she's right.

 I was blessed with great parents, who encouraged me to develop my ability in art. They were always among my most ardent supporters. Dad, even when facing the end of his life, kept asking me for business cards because he passed them out to hospital staff. My mom has told me numerous times I used to sit in front of a large aquarium we had, starting when I was 3 or 4 years old, and draw the fish for hours (I guess I have some life drawing experience I forgot about!). Also, when I was very young an aunt gave me a book on how to draw animals, both realistic and cartoon. I don't know how many times I drew every picture in that book. I still have the remnants of it - no cover, pretty ragged, yellowed and some pages missing - but boy did I learn a lot from it.

In Hollywood western movies - and don’t get me wrong, I love those movies and wish they’d make more of them - an accurate representation of the black cowboy has never really been portrayed. Historically, black cowboys in the old west made up nearly a third of all cowboys. In fact, some drives were made up entirely of black cowboys (except for the trail boss, according to historians). A cowboy of any color had a hard life, but the black cowboys lived a more dignified life than their counterparts in the south during the same time period. They ate the same food, slept around the same campfire and did the same back-breaking work as the white, Mexican and Indian cowboys. In fact, one could say the cattle drives of the old west were a true American "melting pot".

Most people are aware Bill Pickett invented the sport of “bulldogging”, which is still used in rodeos today. But there are also active organizations like the Oakland Black Cowboy Association and the Black American West Museum in Denver which promote the contributions thousands of other black cowboys have made and continue to make to the fabric of our history.

In my quest to paint the American West and everything it represents, I’ve been privileged to paint some great American cowboys. This painting, my most recent, is of a gentleman who works in the Fort Worth, Texas, stockyards. He’s a perfect representative of his predecessors who played a major role in building the West.       

As I say in my biography, to me painting represents freedom - so it’s just natural that the wide open spaces, rich history and independent people of the American West translate so well to canvas. I have painted many subjects including musicians, landscapes, nudes, portraits and pets to name a few. But nothing grabs my imagination like the people of the American west. I've grown up with them my whole life.

Cowboys, Indians and mountain men all are fantastic painting subjects and represent what is best about America - freedom, self-reliance, work ethic, optimism, and love of life and nature. Horses and cows are just plain fun to paint. The grandeur of the western landscape and the majesty of its wildlife are second to none in the world. God made a great playground for painters like me. We may have limited time on earth, but the inspiration for creating works of art is infinite. I'm happy to be a part of it all.