The Cowgirl Project- Ann Duce

@cross_iron_ranch_horses
@kusler_silver_design
Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, Canada

Reference photos by Kaitlin Llewellyn @forest.land

“Work Diva” on the easle and nearly complete. I loved the grumpy, working expression of Ann’s horse as she threw a loop.

The beginning of “A Rolling Stone” in a quick Burnt Sienna sketch.

Ann Duce used to refuse the word cowgirl.

To her, it sounded decorative. Soft. Less serious. She wanted to be a cowboy — not because she rejected being a woman, but because she wanted the respect that seemed to come with that title.

In her world, it felt like you were either born into the cowbiy identity or married into it. Becoming it on your own wasn’t an option.

Ann says,
”There were a few “headstrong” women in the area that knew homesteads weren’t built with only men, and the world needed more cowgirls. I remember my first rope came from one of those women, I’ll forever be grateful for her handing me a rope and telling me we needed more women in the branding pen.”

“A Rolling Stone” challenged me in a couple of ways. The first, The reference photo did not include the horses head, so I had to use my imagination. The second way it challenged me, is that I normally paint a more zoomed out lens of the cowgirl and horse allowing me to meld the background with the subject in a soft way.

Around that same time, Ann was also told to sit in the truck because women didn’t belong in the branding pen.

That contradiction shaped her.

Today, Ann owns and operates her own ranch. She can do any job that needs doing. She’s often still the only woman on the crew. And she admits she sometimes puts on her hat and wonders if she’s earned it. That’s the part that stays with me. Because what she articulates so clearly is what I’ve been trying to paint for years: cowgirl is not a skill set. It’s a set of traits.

The Cowgirl Project was built on that exact belief — reclaiming “cowgirl” as a mindset. Ann defines cowgirls as capable women. Tough. Resilient. Loyal. The strongest in the room — and still the first to show kindness to someone trying.

That’s the woman I paint.

History didn’t document most of these women properly. Their stories were told while cooking, riding, working and yet they were integral to building the West.

Ann’s story isn’t about earning a badge. It’s about becoming the kind of woman who can stand in her own life and say, “I can do what needs to be done.”

The soft layout and underpainting for “Work Diva”