Ray Strang

Painter of the West

Artists who have successfully caught the true spirit of the Great West-who have met the challenge and have portrayed in their work the feel of the land, are few and far between. Whenever we think of great painters of the West, we think of Frederic Remington and Charlie Russell. Arizona has a rich heritage of color and romancethe pioneers, the prospectors and cowboys. The colorful settings and vast distances are a challenge and an inspiration to all who are thrilled by the charm of this fascinating region. Ray Strang, whose paintings are reproduced in the following insert, is a truly great artist of the West. His work so reminds one of Rem-ington and Russell. To those who know Arizona-these paintings will give a glowing pride of possession “This is my country!” To those unfamiliar with Arizona, we say, “This is the real West! This is Arizona! Our skies-our deserts, mountains and rivers. This is our scenery and these are our people!” “If I had not been a painter, fascinated by the color and variety of desert and mountain landscape, I might have left with the rest of the 'dudes' that first spring, completely disappointed,” says Strang. “I was not looking for painted redskins, two-gun law men, or handsome cowboys. But being by preference as well as by profession, primarily a 'figure' painter, I am always in search of 'human interest' subjects; and as such, the color and romance of the western pioneers had interested and excited me.” Ray Strang spent many years in New England before coming to Arizona. There the traditions go back for centuries. It was hard for him to realize that in Arizona the 1860's and 70's could be History. “Who are these pioneers? None other of course than the menand the women of the 1880's; the Mormons from Utah and the cattlemen from Texas; Americans like ourselves, and contemporaries of our own grandparents! No wonder I couldn't find an 'old' West! It's a brand new, romantic West that is still with us. “The young men in Levi's, big hats, and fancy boots that we see on the streets every day are just what they appear to be, cowboys. And the cowboy today is very little different than he was either twentyfive, fifty, or seventy-five years ago. His job hasn't changed a bit... he still makes his living on a horse.

“Unchanged too, is the small army of hopeful, venturesome men, young and old, who will search the mountains and canyons, for their hidden treasures. No modern invention has yet displaced the sturdy, patient burro that carries the prospector's burdens and shares his long, lonesome days and nights. “So, too, at long last, am I able to repeople these dim desert trails and 'ghost' towns with real men and wonien. Here are my subjects, the pioneers and builders of a new era. It is my job to portray their lives and characters with understanding and enthusiasın. Then some day, when the country is no longer new, it won't matter whether my canvases are dated 1870 or 1940. They will simply be records of the Old West.” In describing his paintings reproduced on the following pages, Ray Strang gives an insight into the motives that prompted their creation.

Of “Horse Power” he relates that when these rivers suddenly fill up after a heavy rain in the mountains they really mean business and aren't to be trifled with. Accidents like this are, unfortunately, not uncommon. Every year cars, trucks and busses get caught while crossing a normally dry wash or river. Horses, cattle and even men are imperiled by these flash floods. In this case, which was witnessed by the artist, the old man got out all right but lost his jalopy. It was carried several hundred yards down stream by the rising torrent.

The second painting, “Spring”, shows the flowering of the desert,

Ray Strang Painter of the West

From the blue bonnets of Texas to the riots of bloom on the California coast, which is a yearly source of inspiration to everyone who can paint, rhyme or click a camera shutter. This is just a sample of Arizona's contribution to the gay pattern. It's of the valley just west of the artist's home near Tucson where every spring nature spreads a solid carpet of orange poppies for mile upon mile.

Of the fascinating painting on the third page, "Slow Poke", the artist says: "Animals, old and young, have many characteristics that closely parallel what we call human traits. Sometimes they're smart; sometimes they're dumb. They can be stubborn or willing and loveable. They have their ups and downs just as we do. The little fellow here started out full of beans but now he's tired out. He's too young to realize that there isn't much farther to go; he's had enough and is inclined to protest every step. Anyone who has ever taken a scampering youngster or puppy on even a short country hike will recognize this situation. You carry them the rest of the way home."

The double spread in the center, "Native's Return", reflects that ghost towns are still to be found in various parts of Arizona. There is nothing as empty as a deserted town and as you prowl around through the forsaken buildings you can't help wondering where the people have gone, who they were and what they were like. Here's the evidence, relates the artist an assayer's office; a few saloons; a church; a general store; and the dance hall with the battered old piano still sitting in its corner. Thousands of people still living somewhere, swarmed here only a few short years ago. Surely one of them wanders back occasionally for a look at the old place.

The fifth painting is titled "Water." The River! Water! The pictures this subject suggests are endless. The history of the Southwest could be told by them alone. Nowadays it's common to have cowboys stop in to water themselves and their horses at your well but not so long ago they had to depend entirely on the few rivers and springs that held water the year around. One marvels how they ever managed to make it from one wet spot to the next. "Waiting for the Mail" is the sixth painting. Of it the artist says, "This is my town. Cortaro a flag stop on the Southern Pacific. The tiny 'depot', so typical of many, with the general store, postoffice, gas station, a two-roomed schoolhouse and four or five dwellings form the hub for a rural community with a radius of thirty miles or more. There is no R.F.D. here and folks come for their mail in every con-ceivable type of conveyance, afoot or on horseback. There are miners and goat-herders from way back in the mountains, cowboys and ranchers, 'dudes' and their wranglers and people like us who just live here in the foothills, and from the irrigation valley come the cotton farmers and their seasonal hoards of choppers or pickers. Altogether I think we make a pretty complete cross-section of Arizona life."

The last painting, "Wood Gatherers" delineates a country that seems to be completely devoid of wood although there still live hun-dreds of Indian and Mexican families who depend entirely on it for fuel. Many even make their meager livings by hauling a load into town occasionally to sell. The Indian almost never cuts down a whole living tree. He is content mostly with dead wood but here and there chops off a live limb or two. This makes gathering a load a very slow business but it conserves the supply in the long run and to an Indian that is of far more importance than his time or labor.

Yes, Ray Strang is a great artist, and as his work becomes better known-his fame will inevitably spread. This is the real West-the real Arizonathe land of his preference. The land never to be fully understood, but always to be loved by those who know it.