These next set of illustrations were created in partnership with Buffalo Bill Daze in Georgetown and in celebration of Buffalo Bill and his travels to the small, but significant Colorado town. For those who may not be familiar with Colorado, Georgetown is a one hour drive due west on I-70 from Denver. You might miss it if you blink as you are driving to Vail, but if you pull off, what a treasure awaits. We were invited to participate in the Buffalo Bill art show, and then partake in the Buffalo Bill Daze events, of which there were period actors walking all around us, mine tours, and a chance to meet the real Buffalo Bill in person! (well, not quite, but close enough. Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley were played by seasoned actors and were a thrill to get to know). The curator of the Buffalo Bill museum was present and offered a wealth of knowledge, as I picked his brain about the era, them man, the myth, the legend.
When creating these paintings, I immersed myself into the designs of the old time show posters. I used these as inspiration in creating my own “poster-esce” designs for the two characters, including hand drawn lettering. I wasn’t content to do a simple portrait. As a part of my new mod-narrative caricature style, I wanted to see if I could apply the same technique to Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley. I started with a ground base color and I built them up out of the color, using my thick flat brushes to try and keep it as loose as possible. I worked on Buffalo Bill first, and when finished, I immediately jumped into the Annie Oakley portrait. The second time around, I had a feel for everything, and it went much quicker and more smoothly. In fact, I felt so confident going into the Annie Oakley portrait, that I decided to time lapse my progress (and add funky stock music). The video you can watch below.
After finishing off these two, I’m wanting to do more. Perhaps more of the Buffalo Bill performers, including Wild Bill Hickok, Sitting Bull, and maybe some other bands as well. Considering all of the renewed attention to Billy the Kid and the recent photograph of him playing croquet, maybe Billy is next on the list?
Much was going on at the Daze that the originals are still available for sale. I also had high quality art cards professionally manufactured as well. If you want to own a piece of this exciting series, be sure to place an order. *Ahem* Christmas is just around the corner… Jus’ sayin’.
