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They have energy, wit, wisdom and self-awareness. They have charm, style, independence
and a love of animals that goes beyond the mythic. They are the cowgirls of Donna Howell-
Sickles. It all started with a postcard. Howell-Sickles came upon a 40’s-era, hand- tinted
postcard of a woman dressed in wild west gear astride a big sorrel horse above the
inscription, "Greetings from a real cowgirl from the ol’ Southwest." "This was a wonderful
image in that the colors were printed over the black and white processing," Howell-Sickles
says. "And her bright red lips were printed just slightly off-center. That quality of the real and
unreal fascinated me." That postcard started the Texas Tech University graduate on a search
for her own American cowgirls, ones who were strong and joyous. The search led to rodeos
and Wild West shows, dating as far back as the 20’s and reaching up until today. "I kind of got
acquainted by name with all of these old rodeo women," she says. "Wonderfully, wildly atypical
for their time." And from their inspiration and her own love of life and art, Howell- Sickles
created a new cowgirl for the 90’s and beyond. Now her images are eagerly sought by
collectors, galleries and museums and adorn the walls of many a person who admires bold
colors, decorative design and symbolic strength. Howell-Sickles has had more than a dozen
one-woman shows and was named the featured artist at the American Woman Artist show at
the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming. Her book Cowgirl Rising was
published in 1997.
and a love of animals that goes beyond the mythic. They are the cowgirls of Donna Howell-
Sickles. It all started with a postcard. Howell-Sickles came upon a 40’s-era, hand- tinted
postcard of a woman dressed in wild west gear astride a big sorrel horse above the
inscription, "Greetings from a real cowgirl from the ol’ Southwest." "This was a wonderful
image in that the colors were printed over the black and white processing," Howell-Sickles
says. "And her bright red lips were printed just slightly off-center. That quality of the real and
unreal fascinated me." That postcard started the Texas Tech University graduate on a search
for her own American cowgirls, ones who were strong and joyous. The search led to rodeos
and Wild West shows, dating as far back as the 20’s and reaching up until today. "I kind of got
acquainted by name with all of these old rodeo women," she says. "Wonderfully, wildly atypical
for their time." And from their inspiration and her own love of life and art, Howell- Sickles
created a new cowgirl for the 90’s and beyond. Now her images are eagerly sought by
collectors, galleries and museums and adorn the walls of many a person who admires bold
colors, decorative design and symbolic strength. Howell-Sickles has had more than a dozen
one-woman shows and was named the featured artist at the American Woman Artist show at
the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming. Her book Cowgirl Rising was
published in 1997.
Donna Howell-Sickles
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