The Wyoming Heritage Series of paintings is an ongoing project that explores our state's unique history and asks how that history has shaped the state we know today. Why does Wyoming remain the least populated state in the continental United States?  In post Civil War America, when  nearby states were growing and prospering, Wyoming was known for Red Cloud’s War, the "bloody Bozeman Trail" and the Fetterman massacre.  This was followed in 1876 with Custer’s defeat at the Little Big Horn.  In 1892 the Johnson County War was front page national news and inhibited investment in our state for decades.  Wyoming was not a destination, but a place to quickly move through on the way to a safer, more settled location.  Indian wars, land grabs, lynchings, range wars, and cattle/sheep conflicts gave Wyoming a valid reputation for lawless violence.  Those who remained in the “big empty" were brave, stubborn, and resilient  hard cases who were ready to “cowboy up” and defend themselves and theirs from any threat, be it ancient indigenous people, or modern corporate greed.  These paintings pay homage to that heritage and legacy.  Just as the great American rivers have their source in Wyoming’s mountains, the great American stories in every western novel, cowboy movie, or TV horse opera can find their source in Wyoming’s history. 
 
   I chose to explore the significance of Wyoming’s unique heritage by examining historical figures whose stories resonate today and illustrate different  aspects of our "Wyoming character".  Tom Horn, an ethically challenged Apache fighter and range detective who was hung, perhaps unjustly, for the murder of a child.  William F. Cody, the showman and superstar of his time who helped turn the page on the old west and created the myth, hype, and romance that is so much a part of the American psyche today.  Jim Bridger, mountain man, pathfinder, and human GPS who's uncanny knowledge of the lay of the land directed the generations that followed.  The subject of the most recent work is Nate Champion, the "bravest man in Johnson County,” who was a martyr to corporate greed and the insurrection it sponsored, the Johnson County War. 
 
   I am encouraged that two of the first three completed paintings were accepted into distinguished art exhibitions;  The Governor's Capitol Art Exhibition at the Wyoming State Museum (Buffalo Bill Cody), and the Spirit of the West Art Show and Sale at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum (Jim Bridger).