In This third part of the series, Art and the Cowboy, Joella Oldfield brings the story home. IN the first installment, Joella, Fred Oldfield’s daughter and Ambassador for the Fred Oldfield Cultural Center, gave Fred Oldfield’s credentials for calling himself a cowboy artist, as he was a working cowboy for at least 40 years and distinguished himself among so called cowboy artist for working at his craft well into his 40’s. So many of his early paintings show the cowboys early working equipment, Saddle and stirrups, halter and rope. Fred was famous for welcoming working cowhands who would inspect his paintings, and say “Yeah, he got that right.”
In Part II we saw many of Fred’s finished paintings. Dorothy says, “I wrote about Fred’s working painting. One of my favorites is the painting of Fred’s story about surviving the cold Eastern Washington winters. They’d bury live coals he said and then lie down on the warm earth. That would give two hours pretty comfortable sleep.
To see an interview with Dorothy and Fred about his active life as a cowboy painter https://itsnevertoolate.com/videos/
Now in Part 3, Joella introduces us to Fred’s community.. You’ll meet movie stars like Jack Palance and Personalities like Black Angus founder Stuart Anderson, but the most important person in Fred’s like always was his dear wife, Alice, bedridden because of MS and how Fred kept his community alive, even as he refused to leave her side.
From Joella’s invitation to the Western Heritage Center: At Fred Oldfield’s Western Heritage & Art Center learn the history of the Western lifestyle and advancing Western art through the example set by Fred Oldfield. Our vision is to provide a creative outlet where the history, passion, and art of Fred Oldfield’s life will live on in all generations. Fred Oldfield had a passion for life that is reflected in his work. His colors are bold and powerful like the beauty he sees in his surroundings.
VISIT THE CENTER
You may call anytime to inquire about center hours or to have have one of our amazing volunteers give you a private tour. Call the Center at (253) 267-5582 .
If you’d like a copy of Fred Oldfield’s recipe for a joyful life, or the story about sleeping on hot stones, write /" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">">