Don Walker, Bareback Rider

"This was my first rodeo painting and I was impressed with the courage it took to be a bronc rider. I depicted my model symbolically, like a modern-day knight, holding his rigging as a knight would have held his helmet.

"I chose my model by hanging around the chutes. The bandaged hand was very storytelling and the dark glasses a very contemporary bit of mystique. My model was a college student who had been a high school wrestler. He assured me he never worried about getting hurt, but was limping badly when he posed for me."