Counting Coup

I’m sure every artist comes up with their painting titles in a different way; some just roll off the tongue and fit the art. Personally, I prefer titles with a little jest to them, a deeper meaning and generally something with some humor.

My better half has a Jack Russell named Moose. He’s a little slower than he used to be, and actually a pretty good dog now that he’s got some age on him, but nonetheless, he’s still bitten more people than any dog should be allowed to without being sent to the happy hunting grounds.

Moose enjoys sitting up front when we are driving anywhere and generally within reach of me, and due to his delightful little attitude towards life, I like to occasionally reach over and touch his teeth, pulling my hand back before he can close his three good teeth on me like an old snapping turtle. “Counting coup” is the term — getting close enough to your enemy to touch them without getting hurt. One of the greatest honors for the Native peoples of the Great Plains was to count coup on an enemy.

So, there we were, headed out of town, Moose up front, and me explaining to his mom what counting coup is and how I wanted to use it as a painting title but just hadn’t figured out how to do it yet.

While getting the gate at our destination, I noticed a Hereford bull across the fence line. He’d noticed me as well and was standing head-on toward me. He was rangier looking than the common English breed, with horns that went out a bit, and he held his head like a fighting bull, high and looking around, pretty.

Cowboys like to have mucho fun too, and it wasn’t hard for me to picture some “hand” trying to make a name for themselves by attempting to throw a rope on this toad only to have the coup go wrong — rope hanging off of him, saddle busted, horse running off.

That evening, I sketched the bull from across the fence. Moose slept on the bed.

This article was originally published in the July 2023 issue of Western Horseman.

The post Counting Coup appeared first on Western Horseman.