Cast in Bronze, Drawn with Mud explores the layered relationship between tradition, transformation, and storytelling through art. Bronze casting is one of the world’s oldest sculptural techniques—most famously associated with European traditions, from ancient Rome to Rodin—and as the American frontier era closed, artists like C.M. Russell adapted the medium to depict the mythos of the West.
In these paintings, that trajectory is reversed: bronze’s dimensionality is flattened back into two dimensions alongside traditional Native American drawings and petroglyphs. The shift is both aesthetic and conceptual, creating a meta-narrative that reflects on how art has evolved across cultures while honoring the deep roots of Indigenous mark-making. The work becomes a dialogue between two histories—one native, etched in stone and earth; the other cast in bronze.
The patina carries its own symbolism. It represents the passage of time and the dramatic changes that swept across the American West in just a few centuries. But as metal weathers, the blue-green patina that forms is also a protective layer—a metaphor for preservation: of memory, of history, of stories. Like the petroglyphs that have endured for centuries on rock faces throughout the Southwest, it shields the past while keeping it visible to the present. The Portrait on the Left has developed quite a bit of patina on the figure, while the one on the right is still unblemished. However, the Patina is still developed behind him, as if the cave wall itself is fading into history.