In the 2000's my cowboy imagery moved away from the confines of ranchery. 'Intimacy and Thorns' explored the brutal confrontation between the new settlers of the West and the ancient inhabitants who were gradually being driven from their ancestral lands.
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| Mitchell - Intimacy and Thorns 2 |
Cavalrymen have been making raids on the encampments of native Americans to punish them for opposing settler expansion. With the advantage of surprise, the troopers are able to cause havoc and many deaths before they leave. But not all of them escape.
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| Mitchell - Intimacy and Thorns 1 |
A group of Native Americans are out hunting for food, food which has become much harder to find since the settlers arrived and drove away the buffalo with vast herds of domesticated cattle. After days of fruitless searching and frustration the hunters encounter a lone cowboy, out checking fences. The young, hungry bucks cannot contain their anger. They want him to feel some of their pain.
These pictures exploring piercing scenarios were a dark precursor to the Cactus Kid fantasy
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Read Part 6 of the Cowboy Folio (link pending)