Cowboy Poetry Artists

CLARA SMITH · Western artist and graphic designer.

The poster for the 41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering was designed by Clara Smith of Bend, Oregon. Headin’ Out (2025)

Ever since she was little, Clara has been drawing horses and creating. Her love for Western art and culture was heavily influenced by her late aunt, Western artist Joelle Smith, who taught her how to draw and ride horses. Clara strives to document real Western life through her artwork, portraying the culture and traditions of the American cowboy. The authenticity of her work is apparent as the subjects include real people and real horses, set in real places. 

JAMES SHOSHONE · Artist, Vaquero, Storyteller 

This year’s wild rag was designed by James Shoshone, whose artwork is inspired by Washoe ancestry and cowboy experience. He shares his artistic guidance, storytelling, and art at this year’s Gathering. 

James Shoshone Jr. was raised Washoe and is a member of the Timbisha Shoshone, based on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation. A renowned buckaroo, James worked on many of the Great Basin’s legendary large outfits. His lifestyle, gear, and art embody both his ceremonial Native upbringing and vaquero traditions. James’ skill at illustration comes from experimentation and enjoying the spiritual environment of art-making. Many of his images are recreated from memory, drawn from bunkhouse stories or scenes from his daily ranch life. With pen and ink, or black and white, James strives to always create a piece of art someone would love. 

James is a featured artist in this year’s National Cowboy Poetry Gathering hands-on skills workshops. James invites you to bring your heart to his Western Style Horse Drawing sessions. James will show you how to distill the light, the form, and the spirit of the picture. Using lines and shapes-square, circular, tubular-you’ll build a foundation for structural and anatomical artwork with feeling! 

James also joins Martin Black, Mike Hanley, Slim Lowman, Henry Real Bird, and Chief Phillip Whiteman Jr. for Cowboy Stories. They swap tales about their lives in the saddle. From working livestock to training horses to riding saddle broncs, these buckaroos dispense their hard-won wisdom, find humor in any situation, and share their love for this way of life.

IN THE WIEGAND GALLERY

A Cow Town State of Mind

Clara Smith and James Shoshone’s artwork will be on exhibit throughout the Gathering in the Wiegand Gallery inside the historic Pioneer Building, headquarters of the Western Folklife Center, at 501 Railroad St.

When we gather to appreciate art—whether it be cowboy poetry, music, or western art and gear—we build community. It invites us to see the world through the artist’s lens, transforming an individual’s experience into shared stories, and encourages us to contribute our own. This exhibit is a celebration of the collaborations that have formed through art and the enduring friendships that grew from it. Clara Smith and James Shoshone join artists Buckeye Blake, Teal Blake, Morgan Buckert, Robin Egan, Yvonne Hollenbeck, Mark Kohler, William Matthews, Pedro Pedrini, Jordan Wright, and Bobbie Yokum, along with gear from the Western Folklife Center’s Contemporary Gear Collection and the James Wright Ranch Inc. Collection