A Strenuous Life 1901

Charles M. Russell made this painting of wild west cowboys, we don't know when, but probably with oil paint. It’s not about one specific moment, but the whole process of life on the range. Look how the paint is layered—dusty yellows and browns, mixed with these high-key, cotton candy pinks in the sky! The brushwork is visible, loose, and free, which gives everything a sense of movement. You can almost feel the heat radiating off the canvas. Take that cowboy in the lower left, all sprawled out in the dirt. The quick, gestural strokes used to depict him really convey a sense of struggle and chaos. It feels immediate, like you’re right there in the middle of the action. The way the colors blend and bleed into each other, it's less about photographic accuracy and more about capturing a feeling. Like, what does struggle look like when it's painted? Russell reminds me a bit of Frederic Remington, but with an even more romantic view of the West. Both understood how to capture light and movement, turning the mundane into the epic. Art's not about answers, right? It's about opening up space for feeling and thinking.