Although most of my artwork is digital, I do occasionally put brush to canvas in the real world. Truthfully, I know I'm not very good. Nevertheless, this is something I created in late 2007 and early 2008 that I'm finally getting around to framing. The subject may look familiar, as it's an element from the Hawgleg Publishing company logo and appears in several other images in my gallery. I created three treatments of the lone cowboy on three pre-primered panels. I used a simple rag painting technique for the background. Each panel was created separately, but I did lay them next to each other so I could carry some elements of the background over into the neighboring panel. I used standard water-based acrylic paints to create the background, then I let it dry a few days and used graphite paper to transfer the base image to the panel. I then painted the figures using a deep eggplant color (it takes on a brown hue in certain light). Also, in the background, I used a faint wash of metallic gold paint which catches the light quite nicely at a distance, adding a bit of interest to the paintings. All in all, I think they came out nicely. They seem to evoke a sense of a lone figure striding toward you, emerging from the wavy heat rising off the desert sands like a vengeful ghost. When I look at them, I definitely hear the faint echos of anEnnio Morricone soundtracks to a Sergio Leone spaghetti western as I stare at it, imagining the dust, the heat, and feel my pulse race as my nostrils catch the faint smell of sweat as it strides closer, hinting at the violence to come. The specific image I created here was to help me decide what color of matte I want to use when I take it to get framed. I'm leaning toward eggplant color, but am open to suggestions (I've also seen a deep brown leatherette at the store that looks interesting). I'll let the framer and my wife guide me.