The South African province of Natal is a strange origin for a Western painter, but that is exactly where T.W. “Pops” Vanya started. The artist arrived in Texas at the age of 3 when his parents returned to the United States. Growing up in rural east Texas and working cows alongside several uncles and neighbors, Pops’ wife ended up as the controller of an 11,000-acre agri-business operation with 2,000 cattle. It was there Vanya found his niche in the art world.
Prairie Madonna, oil, 30 x 40 in.
Studying art at the University of Houston in the early 1970s provided the necessary background and training to become a full-time working artist. He works out of a studio he and his friends built next to his 120-year-old home where he lives close to the cattle, horses, ranches and cowboys he loves to paint.
Reluctant Child, oil, 30 x 40 in.
Prairie Madonna pays tribute to the women of the West that made homes on the plains alongside the men that took on the challenge of frontier life. Pops loves portraying the people that make up the West. Viewers can feel the sun on the back of this mother as she folds the sun-dried washing. In Reluctant Child, viewers of his work can hear the mooing of calves and mommas as horse and rider move a hesitant cow in from the holding pen to the working area, capturing the early light of a chilly morning. Teamwork between horse, rider and ground crew sets the stage for this painting. Seen in Whirling Dervish, horsemanship is everything, and it shows how man an animal can work together.
Whirling Dervish, oil, 30 x 36 in.
Pops’ work will next appear at the 43rd Annual Roundup Exhibition & Sale at the Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, Texas, on April 24, and then the Fayetteville Art Walk in Fayetteville, Texas, on May 2.
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