A Cowboy Artist’s Vision Quest

Montana Artist Ryder Gauteraux 

Written by Amy Grisak

Photography Contributed by Ryder Gauteraux

Glendive

The spirit of the West has been in artist Ryder Gauteraux's blood since before he was born. Growing up in an off-grid log cabin that his folks built in the Blue Mountains of Central Oregon, Ryder and his siblings lived an untethered life in their beautiful, wild landscape. These early experiences—and his time competing in the rodeo as a young adult—manifested into sharing his vision of the rugged, uniquely American lifestyle in the many forms of his artwork.  

An artistic path is never a direct one. Ryder’s years in the rodeo circuit and the realities of this rough-and-tumble livelihood inspired him to go beyond the standard rodeo life when he discovered a closely related, practical avenue. 

Being a practical fellow, when he needed a pair of chaps, he fashioned a leather pair for himself, which eventually evolved into a business. It wasn't long before he created his first pair of cowboy boots, and his unique and much sought-after form of art was born. 

In his Wallace, ID studio during the early 2000s, he created colorful and finely crafted boots for everyone, from those who walked the red carpet to those who worked cattle. He said on numerous occasions he left a beer garden barefoot after selling the boots he wore to an interested party. Each pair was one-of-kind.

Creating silver jewelry was the next step. "Jewelry is basically small sculptures. I learned the whole (bronze) process through making jewelry," Ryder said. "I love these little Bronc Rider bolo ties." 

Yet, he yearned for something bigger. "I started shifting to bronze a couple of years ago."

It seemed the natural next step in his world. "When I was out of high school, I thought the bronc riders were the coolest. Then, when I was doing art shows, I thought the bronze sculptors were the cool guys," he said. 

In studying the artwork of Charlie M. Russell and Frederick Remington, he said that they also earned their "cool" title with their bronzes. Their works deeply inspired him as they chronicled the final days of the iconic West when cowboys and their Native counterparts shared the landscape replete with its wild inhabitants. At this time, the buffalo still roamed the Plains in remarkable numbers, and grizzlies were the true symbols of the unyielding wilderness.  

With an affinity to this life and its excitement, Ryder was also determined to be one of those cool guys, so he offered his vision in the heavy, solid art of casting bronze.

When he asked an art buddy how to create a bronze, he realized that the first step was forming the scene out of wire and clay. "He set me off in the right direction."  But when many people launch into a new project, they begin with a simple, usually single, topic. Not Ryder.  

"A lot of sculptures start out small, but (my first) is essentially seven different sculptures," Ryder explained. "I had this vision in my head called Cowboy's Vision Quest. It's a cowboy riding a buffalo. I made them out of wire, to begin with. I had to teach myself how to sculpt, but you just keep trying," Ryder explained. He worked on the piece for over four years until it became the reality he had in his head. 

Studying the Cowboy's Vision Quest, the scene is all about movement and anticipation. We are brought into the excitement of five Native men running at a full gallop on their horses. One carries a cowboy who is about to jump on the back of a running bison, while another ponies the cowboy's horse towards the end of the speeding line of horses fueled on adrenaline.  

"When I look at this piece, it has way more meaning than I realized. This cowboy is about to jump on this buffalo for fun, or that's when it all started," he said. But as the piece has evolved, Ryder feels a different resonance. "It's how we should attack and ride life. It's the mindset to lean into it--and jump." 

For Ryder, this epic leap into bronze was not only a lesson of patience but also an immersion into the nuts and bolts of clay sculpting and all its possibilities. "Looking back, I had to teach myself a lot," he noted, but he’s taking the knowledge he’s earned to new levels.

And like Russell and Remington, Ryder wants to capture the spirit of this world, and like them, he brings his own experiences into the effort.  

He said he's lived on Native reservations for several years and occasionally herded wild horses. "I never considered myself someone that knows the conformation of horses really well, but when I started sculpting them, I figured I did pay attention. Chasing wild horses taught me how a horse works," he said, illustrating how his life, even though he didn't know it then, was a study for his future endeavor. 

Always working on the next vision, Ryder is looking forward to attending the Best of the West Art Show in March 2025 in Great Falls. "It's kind of exciting that I'm launching into the bronze world. I'm going to bring  a piece I'm working on now… the cowboy trying to rope a grizzly. It'll be a mantlepiece."

Residing in Glendive, Ryder has wide open spaces big enough to hold the grandness of his artistic vision. "At my place, I have a leather shop, then there's the silver shop, and I'm building a (bronze) studio." 

In this new shop, Ryder will be able to let his creativity loose as he pours scenes into bronze inspired by the Western landscape he loves so much.  

Website: www.gauteraux.com