Roping a $10K scholarship, Keagan George bull-riding inspired painting tops all entries
BARRHEAD — A 23-year-old amateur artist’s latest painting will be seen by thousands, if not thousands of people around the globe.
On Monday, Oct. 5, the Calgary Stampede unveiled Keagan George’s work, “Best Seat in the House,” a painting featuring Utah bull rider Hayes Weight on his mount, Judge and Jury, after selecting it from eight finalists.
George is the ninth Alberta youth to have their work featured on the official Calgary Stampede poster.
Her painting depicts Weight successfully riding the bull from the shoulders down.
“I wanted the bull’s head to command a large part of the poster to create the feeling of being close to the action,” George said at the painting’s unveiling. “The crowd in the background shows the scale of the rodeo, while the movement of the bull, rider and chaps builds anticipation. I made the fringe on the chaps red because it’s eye-catching and connects the piece to the Calgary Stampede.”
Since 2018, the Calgary Stampede board has selected a young artist aged 15-24 to be featured on the Calgary Stampede poster. The winner receives a $10,000 scholarship.
“Keagan George’s artwork captures the energy, courage, and extraordinary athleticism that makes the Calgary Stampede unlike anything else,” Calgary Stampede board first vice-chair Cherie Copithorne-Barnes said.
The 2027 contest was George’s fifth entry, and she advanced to the top 30 twice and the top eight twice before being selected as the 2027 poster artist.
George, who grew up on a homestead near Dunstable, said she has always been interested in art.
“I’ve been drawing my whole life,” she said. “It is just something I’ve done; I haven’t really received any formal training.” She added she has been selling her art on a part-time basis, mostly through word-of-mouth, since she was 16.
George noted her favourite subjects have always been animals, saying she first started drawing animals from feed store calendars before moving on to photographing animals near her homestead, which more often than not were calves and other cattle.
However, when she learned about the Calgary Stampede poster contest, George said she decided to transition to painting, as the contest required entries be submitted in colour.
“I was in my first year of university (where she was enrolled in the Grant MacEwan University Acupuncture Program), and a lot of my classes were online (because of the pandemic), so I got into it more as it was something to do,” she said. “Then I kept entering the contest year after year because it was making my painting skills so much better.”
George said although she has entered the Calgary Stampede Poster Contest several times, she has never attended the event in person.
“But I do like rodeos, and have attended several of the smaller rodeos in the area,” she said. “My favourite event has always been bull riding. It really resonates with me; that’s why I picked my subject. To give people the feeling of action when they look at the poster.”
As for what George will do with the scholarship money, she is not sure yet.
After graduating from Barrhead Composite High School, George enrolled in the Grant MacEwan program for acupuncture because she wanted to be an osteopath and she needed it as a prerequisite to get into the program.
“I used to get these really bad migraines, and I went to an osteopath, and he worked on my neck and I haven’t had one since,” George said. “I’m still thinking about going into osteopathy, but I also might do more on Chinese herbalism.”
Whatever George’s final decision is, she knows she will continue her art.