Annie Oakley....Get yer Gun!!

Little Miss Wing-Shot....and I thought it was Sure-Shot!

Here's what I found out about this western charactor. She really wasn't western, just very skilled with firearms and horseback riding. It was only through the promotion of the Buffalo Bill's Wild West Exhibition, she became the archetypal(prototype/stereotype) of the western woman. As the girly-girl who created the genre "cowgirl", Annie projected an image so feminine, ladylike, Victorian and unique that most people found themselves drawn to the version of a strong, acheiving woman....viewers cheered her onward just to see and believe that women, even of the western variety, were fully capible of manley feats and daring exploits.

Her Motto:
Aim at a high mark and you will hit it.
No not the first time,nor the second and maybe not the third.
But keep on aiming and keep on shooting
for only practice will make you perfect.
Finally, you will hit the bull's eye of SUCCESS.

(Maybe she was a womens libber...because I don't think she was just talking about shooting)

As I am working my way through the 'Taking Flight' book by Kelley Rae, I did this 13 x 13 picture of Annie with alot of influence by another favorite artist named Thom Ross.

Once one has viewed the art of Thom Ross, one never forgets it. His work is best described as "mod historical western genre and figure painting." Ross is best known for his accurate and extremely whimsical portrayal of events taken from the Wild West era. His paintings are bright, bold and refreshing in their style, yet accurate in their history.
He has had a life long interest in American History and the "folk hero" who is a product of that history. His emphasis however is focused on the historical "folk hero" as compared to the mythical "folk hero". (An example of the historical folk hero would be Jesse James, a mythical folk hero would be Paul Bunyan; one actually existed while the other is a product of tall tails.)
His desire is to produce a work of art that requires the viewer to re-examine either what he knows about history, or what he thinks he knows about history.
His work is seen at Visions West Gallery..CLICK HERE or by searching Thom Ross.

Do you think the two styles can be blended together???