It's Cowboy Standard Time

Cowboy Standard Time

When I was young, my favourite past time was playing cowboys. Every Christmas I received a new pair of holstered six-shooters and a new cowboy hat. I had worn out the ones from the year before. And when I wasn't outside riding the range, I spent hours playing with what my siblings and I called "little men" - those glorious small plastic figurines of the '50's and '60's that could turn your bedroom rug in the great wild west.

front

I used a cigar box for this project. On the front, after painting with light beige acrylic, I affixed two pages (copies) from an old cowboy brand notebook. I sanded the copies to give a more aged look. Then stamped the title. Below are two strips of cowboy ribbon and a nicely rusted star from a spur.

inside left

On the surfaces below I under painted with burnt sienna, coated with Vaseline in some areas, and then over painted with a light beige. When the top coast was dry, I wiped off the Vaseline and the burnt sienna shows through in a faux peeling paint look. This was the first time I've tried this. I like the result and hope to get better with practice.

inside right

And here, above, is the cowboy clock. Hey, when I was a kid, it was always cowboy time! A handful of those wonderful little men (in a variety of designer colours, LOL) surround an old wagon wheel with a Wells Fargo agent's badge on top. A fetching cowboy applique completes the back.

back

Lynne Perrella said once that my "little Erin cowboy energy" is what takes over when I start doing art. I think she's probably right. This was loads of fun to work on. I've worn many hats in my almost 60 years; jazz musician, junior high teacher, homesteader, opera singer, librarian, artist. And I've enjoyed them all, but I have to say that those yearly Christmas cowboy hats are among my fondest memories.