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Wayne Justus is a realist painter of the contemporary American cowboy in opaque watercolor and oil. Born in Escondido, California, Wayne spent much of his youth traveling with his parents. While other kids were climbing trees, Wayne had a pencil in hand sketching scenes from the life he loved best - the cowboy life. He and his wife Kathy live on a small ranch on the Western Slope of the Rocky Mountains.
Justus has won numerous awards, is a member of the American Indian and Cowboy Artist Association and has emerged as one of the premier artists in the Southwest. To gather authentic materials on the American cowboy, he travels and works as a cowpuncher on several large working spreads. “One truth I try to portray in my art is how the cowboy works and exists, much as they did 100 years ago. The authenticity of my paintings is important to me and getting the cowboy experience first hand is to know the way it actually is.” He takes his role as a visual historian seriously.
Slight in build, with the rangy look of a good jockey, Justus moves with the easy going deliberation of a man who has time. He has the soft-spoken assurance of the genuine article. As the old John Wayne saying goes, “He’s the kind of man you wouldn’t mind sharing a winter cabin with.”
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