Some of my favorite artists...

There was a time in my life if you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have told you an artist.  As just a youngster, 6 or 7 years old,  I told a college age girl whom I adored that I wanted to be an artist and without knowing it, she squelched that dream by telling me that I did not want to be an artist because the classes were so hard (according to her friend taking those classes at the college level.) 
She had no idea that her comment would make me reconsider that dream and I have pondered how we treat a child's dreams so flippantly.  I am guilty of doing what my older friend did to me with my children, when they tell me what they want to be when they grow up, but no more.  As I was giving all the reasons why Anna does not want to be a soccer player when she grows up, the above memory came back to me and I regretted all the negative words I just spewed.  Now when she tells me her latest job possibility of being a house builder, I reply with words that encourage and hopefully fan the spark of an interest that just might be legit.  Who am I to say that she is not going to be a house builder or even a soccer player?  I cannot help but wonder what I would have done with my older friends words had they been encouraging since her words had so much power the other way...

So I love art and I would like to share a few of my favorite "   arteests"

The first artist is Carrie Ballantyne.

  Carrie is a self taught artist and is married to a working cowboy.  Her portraits are stunning and her subjects are real people which I love.  Below is called, "Boyd Camp Cowgirl"

Left is "Hannah's Palomino"






 

Finally, above is called, "Guardian of the Pup"       

These images have been obtained from "Wyoming Print Gallery and Framing" and you can view more of her work at there website:

  http://bighornprints.com/ballantyne_prints.shtml