Jason Rich was only 10 years old when he began mingling with real cowboys on a ranch in southern Idaho, including his uncle. Rich told The Epoch Times that his uncle was a “true cowboy.” Along with his cousins, they assisted their father in herding cattle to cooler pastures during the hot summer days.
Rich admitted that he wasn’t the best at lassoing in the Wild West, but he still mounted horses and fell in love with cowboy culture, finding inspiration for his career as a Western artist. “You have to listen, smell, and learn from those cowboys personally,” said Rich, now 55, residing in Mendon, Utah. “Being in this environment is priceless for capturing real emotions and accurately expressing this culture.”
Despite growing up around horses as his father raised them and frequently trained and rode them, Rich never saw himself as a “bona fide cowboy.” Riding horses so often allowed him to take photos from horseback, capturing material for future paintings – often featuring him and his cousins riding side by side in the photographs.
In modern society, few artists are aware of the different “subcultures” within cowboy culture, such as the buckaroo and Texas cowboy, or even the special role of the pickup men in rodeo performances who manage wild animals and ensure the safety of riders after they fall off. Rich, however, frequently incorporates these details into his artworks.
Speaking of pickup men, he stated, “They are exceptional riders, so I painted a lot about them in various ways.”
While the town of Mendon has a population of just about 1,300 people, it boasts a large rodeo arena. Rich often brings his camera to nearby Lewiston for Roundup rodeo performances to gather reference photos for his artworks, including his piece “Rodeo Rush,” depicting two riders galloping past a blurred audience background. “You can feel the speed of the horses running. That’s what I wanted to convey in this painting,” he said.
And the confident rider depicted in the painting? That’s the pickup man.
Another cowboy has fallen from his horse, clutching the reins for one last moment of glory, while his horse gallops riderless.
In the end, Rich left the cattle herding life to his cousins and pursued another passion: art. After obtaining his degree, he briefly worked as a high school art teacher before shifting gears again to visit major galleries with his oil paintings. Success almost immediately followed. The phase of being a “starving artist” was minimized. Over the years, he has received numerous awards.
Rich noted that especially after his wife resigned, he had to treat painting as a business. Like one of his art idols, 19th-century realist portrait painter John Singer Sargent, Rich had to learn to meet customers’ expectations. However, this new drive brought inspiration: scenes of groups of horses galloping through rivers, sunsets, and Western landscapes.
“River Run” is another grandiose oil painting depicting a scene of horses galloping through water. In the twilight, the horses appear dark but cast into silhouettes by the water splashes, illuminated by the glow of the pink sunset behind them, with a cowboy in a crimson outfit softly portrayed in the background.
Evidently, horses are the main characters of his paintings and a key factor in attracting viewers.
“People resonate and react strongly to the images of horses and rivers,” Rich said. “Such scenes are really tranquil and evoke strong emotions.”
In his studio, Rich often paints but still ventures out on horseback to seek inspiration. Sometimes, his cowboy cousins ride as models for him, while natural landscapes help him tell stories.
“Trotting” depicts a cowboy discovering a lake while backpacking. Though based on Taggart Lake near Jackson, Wyoming, Rich prefers to “edit” the scene by removing some details.
“There’s no specific story,” he said. “I’m just presenting these images, trying to create a beautiful composition.”
The scene of the lake and mountains appears as eternal as cowboy art itself, much like another artwork, “Buckaroo Roper,” displays.
“I’ve been observing these cowboys since the ’70s,” said Rich. “To be honest, what they do hasn’t changed much even today.”