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Bruce
Greene is a Western painter who has ridden trails
and experienced the cowboy life he portrays in the
very narrative images he creates. The artist is a
native Texan who has reached the pinnacle of his
profession through hard work and an extraordinary
talent for painting the story of one of our
country’s most revered icons, the American cowboy.
His scenes of contemporary cowboys going about their
daily work are admired and collected across America.
Several years ago, Bruce began making annual trips
to join in the spring work on the legendary JA Ranch
in the Palo Duro Canyon of north Texas. As Greene
describes his trip, “I go up there and stay on the
chuck wagon with the JA hands and the neighbors that
have come to help. We ride a lot of miles in rough
country. It can be cold, hot, windy, and wet. As a
matter of fact, it can be all of these in one day. A
fella' could get lost in some of the mesquite or
cedar thickets. Of course, we work a few cows on our
place and help out a neighbor now and then, but the
JA trip has been a real inspiration for me each
year. I am absolutely sure that this experience has
greatly affected my artwork. It seems necessary, to
me, in order to depict the contemporary cowboy with
accuracy and feeling. My good friend, Red Steagall,
calls it ‘getting the dust in your nose.’ For me,
that dust makes the difference.”
One of Greene’s most enjoyable, recent projects was
creating a painting for the Texas Rangers
Association Foundation commemorating and honoring
the history and high standards of the Texas Rangers.
The painting, titled “The Ranger Code,” was
purchased by members of the Foundation’s board and
is in the permanent collection of outstanding Ranger
art at the Texas Ranger Museum in Waco.
Greene was elected to membership in the prestigious
Cowboy Artists of America in 1993 and served as its
President in 2003.
The artist and his family live on a small ranch in
the historical community of Norse, near Clifton,
Texas. Greene’s studio sets on the edge of a hill
behind his home. From this vantage point, large
north windows offer a continuous view of the Texas
Hill Country, a few Hereford cows, and the
occasional whitetail deer. “It is a wonderful
blessing to be able to make a living for my family
doing what I love in this beautiful place,” says
Greene.
Greene’s works are represented by several well known
galleries in the Southwest. He has presented his art
in annual shows and exhibition such as the Cowboy
Artists of America Exhibition, the Prix de West Show
at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum,
and the Autry Museum of Western Heritage Sale, just
to name a few, and other prestigious venues.
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