Despite his longtime love of Westerns, local pastelist Jim Tyler kept his boots on the ground while photographing the key players behind a cattle drive in Santa Margarita, rather than saddle up alongside them during the shoot.
Tyler said the owners of the scenic Camatta Ranch “had the good sense to not put me on a horse” during his recent visit, an experience the artist immortalized through the reference photos and some of his latest pastel paintings—currently on display at Gallery Los Olivos through the end of April.
The artist became well-acquainted with Camatta Ranch through his membership with the San Luis Outdoor Painters for the Environment (SLOPE), which often partners with organizations to raise funds and awareness for land and wildlife preservation projects.
“One of our long-term partners is the Land Conservancy of SLO,” Tyler told the Sun, “and one of their high-priority projects is helping to preserve the Camatta Ranch, one of the most spectacular and historic ranches in the county.”
Known locally as an avid plein air painter, Tyler is also an award-winning photographer and was invited by the Morrison family, who owns and operates Camatta Ranch, to photograph a cattle drive and branding on the property. Tyler used several of the photos taken during the two occasions as references for new pastel pieces.
“Two things that surprised me at both events was that there were more women than men working the cattle, and there weren’t modern machines like ATVs [all-terrain vehicles],” said Tyler, who observed lots of ranchers on horseback that day without a motorized transport in sight. “These families love the Western traditions, and they are keeping them alive.”
Tyler said there were multiple families and individuals from separate ranches at the event to assist the Morrisons during the cattle drive and branding. Some families’ children helped out too, with adult supervision.
“The kids were participating under the guidance of the adults, learning to rope and wrestle the calves,” Tyler said. “At both events, there was a strong sense of community. … Everyone knew each other and had clearly been working together before, either at Camatta Ranch or their own ranches.”
Some of Tyler’s new pastel pieces were based on photos he took during a preparation period before the cattle drive, “when the cowgirls and cowboys were saddling the horses at dawn and warming them up,” and later trailing the horseback riders as they moved the herd.
Tyler added that he’d purposefully take some of his reference photos from an angle very close to the ground, looking up to his rider and horse subjects from below, which helps celebrate their majestic appearance.
During the branding event at the ranch, Tyler photographed a single horseback cowboy “alertly keeping an eye on everything,” and later based his pastel piece Mindful Eyes on that photo.
“The branding itself was incredibly efficient. There were dozens of cowgirls and cowboys with specific roles; separating the calves, moving them into the pen, roping, wrestling the calves down, branding, and inoculating,” Tyler said. “Teams rotated in and out to keep everyone fresh. Those who weren’t actively working were leaning against the fences and talking like it was a family reunion.”
Among his featured pastels in the new Gallery Los Olivos exhibition, Tyler said one of his personal favorites is The Land is My Child, a wide landscape based on one of his sunset plein air studies at Camatta Ranch rather than a photograph.
The piece’s title was inspired by a conversation Tyler had with one of the Camatta Ranch’s co-owners, he explained.
“I was talking to Felicia Morrison about land conservancy and California land values and whether there was a temptation to sell the ranch. She said, ‘The land is my child. I’d never sell it. It’s mine to protect,’” Tyler recalled. “There was a determination in how she said this that affected me.
“We’ve all heard of the nurturing aspects of Mother Earth, but Felicia rightly pointed out that we need to protect our land as relentlessly as a mother bear protects her cub.”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood has mindful eyes on his inbox. Send comments to cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 4-14, 2024.