The Cowboy

2012 Oil on Old Barn Wood
24″ x 15.5″ unframed
$1300
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The Carey Ranch
The eldest of six children, Del Carey, at the tender age of nineteen or twenty, was thrust into heading the ranch and family when his father died in a tragic horse accident.  In a parade in Miles City, his horse reared up and threw him backwards.  Del’s father struck his head on the curb and died five or six days later.  When his mother remarried and moved to Seattle, Del stayed to run the family ranch on Foster Creek in Custer County and ultimately bought it outright.  He loved ranching and he preferred his horses over machinery.  Once someone became stuck in the creek near his house and asked Del to pull him out.  Mounting his trusty horse instead of his truck, Del quickly pulled out the pick-up.  He loved to rope and was an honored, invited helper at the local brandings, for he put the care of the calf above all else.  He was the children’s favorite, for he had one very tame horse which he let all the little ones ride.  Married with seven children, life was not always easy for him, but like a true cowboy, he just tried to enjoy what God had given him.  He played the banjo, fiddle and mandolin at local dances and loved reading about the lives of other cowboys.  About 45 years old in this painting, he is pulling a calf to the branding fire.