Cowboy Arts & Gear Museum

Gina Teichert was the artist in residence at the Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum during the 2024 National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada, Housed in the historic storefront of spur and saddle maker GS Garcia, the museum served as a setting from Teichert’s quippy cowboy lexicon paintings and a blockbuster community portrait project.

Cowboyology paintings

Riffing off the cowboy lexicon, Teichert’s Cowboyology series celebrates the playful side of life in the west. From skewering cowboy archetypes to giving out trophy buckles for rodeo failures, the artist is clearly having too much fun.

See available works

Clothing designer Paige Calloway sitting for a portrait at Elko cowboy poetry

With support from Travel Nevada, Gina Teichert whipped out free portraits for museum visitors during her cowboy poetry week residency. Sitters were asked to contribute their own word - a nickname, an inside joke, and adjective - anything that meant something to them.

Following three marathon days of painting, Teichert created a poem using the words selected by sitters in a collective portrait of the cowboy poetry community.

Community portrait project

Have photos from your portrait session or the Cowboy Arts & Gear Museum opening night?
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