CALIFORNIA RODEO DEBUTS 2023 COMMEMORATIVE POSTER
The California Rodeo Salinas commemorates each rodeo with a custom poster. This year President Fred Hooker chose a classic rodeo event and an artist who was commissioned by the California Rodeo Association for the first time. The 2023 poster features saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper on Calgary Stampede’s horse W- 16 Wild Cherry, at the 2021 California Rodeo Salinas.A photograph taken by Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association photographer Phil Doyle was used as inspiration for the watercolor painting by western artist Teal Blake.
Blake, who has been painting professionally since 2005, grew up in Montana, on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, surrounded by ranching country. Growing up in his father’s studio looking at C.M. Russell paintings and reading Will James books inspired him to pick up a pencil and start capturing his own visions of cowboys and the American West. He has always liked to show what makes the traditional West: cowboys not always clean shaven, shirts not always creased, and their horses’ manes not always long. In 2014 Blake’s labor, talent and accomplishments earned him an invitation into the renowned Cowboy Artists of America organization. He has also been honored with several awards, including the Joe Beeler CAA Foundation Award and 1st Place Watercolor at the Phippen Museum and has been featured in such magazines as Western Horseman, Western Art & Architecture, Southwest Art, Ranch & Reata and The Cowboy Way.
Posters will be sold at the Flair on the Farm event November 19th from 10am to 4pm and November 20th from 10am to 3pm at the Salinas Sports Complex in the Rodeo’s souvenir booth for $20. They are available online at https://carodeostore.com/collections/rodeo-posters... for $20 + fees. They will also be sold at the California Rodeo Salinas July 20-23, 2023.