Maggie Hanna, a new generation of ranch owner, runs the Hanna Ranch outside of Colorado Springs. She comes from a long line of beef producers and land preservation advocates. Her father, Kirk Hanna, worked hard to preserve the family ranch and Maggie continues in his legacy. She is presently Director of the Central Grasslands Roadmap Initiative.

Duke Phillips IV manages Chico Basin Ranch north of Pueblo, Colorado. His family have been raising cattle for generations and Duke continues that legacy. Fortunately there is a younger generation of ranchers in Colorado who are committed to maintaining those traditions. It takes a certain dedication to the old ways to do the job well, and Duke embodies that attitude.

I am fortunate to live in a house that looks out on the mountains. From my bedroom, I wake up to Mount Goliath and the changing weather patterns that continuously dazzle. I can see aspen groves and ponderosas, and the bristlecone pines remind me of the march of time. I appreciate this vista every day.

Cowboys know they have great responsibilities, to the ranch and to each other, protecting the livestock they work with. Each cowboy has a string of horses that he maintains and rotates each day. Often he has four or five well trained dogs, that are indispensable in day to day chores.

Entering the Faculty Club at the Benson Hotel, I am reminded that all research work depends on collaboration. Our doctors learn from those who came before. This painting represents the doctors that work in partnership, the same way that cowboys also cooperate, in the toughest of seasons.

The landscape of the West is vast. If presents challenges that can seem overwhelming. As with medicine, the unknown is always a mystery. It takes collaboration to get the job done. This painting represents doctors as cowboys. Both have to work together in the landscape, and rise from the shadows into the sunshine of success.

Colorado National Monument is a well kept secret. Just outside of Grand Junction, it forms the eastern end of the Colorado Plateau, which encompasses the canyon lands of four states. To capture the amazing undulating sandstone walls in watercolor, I painted it on a giant handmade sheet of very rough watercolor paper to exaggerate the textures of the canyon.

Telluride is the most dramatic town in Colorado. I've been painting that valley for almost fifty years and it never disappoints. The changes of seasons provide a kaleidoscope of color and shadow that is truly remarkable. I have been painting the Telluride Bluegrass Festival poster for forty years, and I have never run out of inspiration.