Doris McGowan paints a legacy inspired by life out West
STORY AND PHOTOS by Ricki Spargo
In a quiet home down lettered highways in central Missouri, Doris McGowan is surrounded by her life’s work. The walls she built now serve as a gallery, holding a lifetime of memories — horses she rode and landscapes she crossed. Each masterpiece was painted by hand and is preserved in frame.
At 82, Doris has seen and painted it all. The Consolidated Electric Cooperative member has built a career shaped by Western culture. The Texan skies and intricate horses that appear in her work aren’t imagined or inspired — they come from years of life experiences working cattle and riding horses.
A Wellsville native, Doris wasn’t born with a paintbrush in her hand; she found her passion for art in the classroom. “I used to sit in school and draw all the time,” she says. “I had knots on my fingers from all the drawing I used to do.”
Her earliest opportunities to practice came in the halls of her high school, where she painted the school mascot anywhere she was allowed.
Inspiration from the Landscape
After marrying “Cowboy” Clarence in 1960, the couple made their way to western Texas. While Clarence worked at a feedlot, Doris trained horses and began painting what she saw around her. “I took a lot of inspiration from the landscape we were living in,” says Doris. “That was our life. It’s all I knew so that’s all I painted.”
Her oil paintings quickly found an audience, selling privately and through commissions at cattle and horse expositions. Doris continued to refine her craft, drawing inspiration from the livestock and landscapes that surrounded her each day. Her art featured intricate detail and rich colors, something only achievable through oil paints.
“Oil is so forgiving. You make a mistake? Just scrape it off and try again,” she says. “I think you need forgiveness in art, especially when you’re capturing the details of life.”
Over time, Doris served as an official artist for livestock associations and earned recognition in numerous art shows.
A Creative Career
Eventually, Doris and her family returned to Missouri after their time in Texas and a brief stint in Kansas. The move marked a new chapter in her creative career. She went on to work as head artist at an advertising agency, where her talents expanded beyond canvas and explored new subjects — creating pieces for Disney-related projects and developing point-of-purchase designs that would be placed at the checkout counter.
Throughout her career, Doris explored creative side projects, experimenting with new mediums and ideas that brought her work to life. From hand-painted skipping rocks to illustrating cowboy poetry books, she was always searching for another way to create.
Though she set down her paintbrush in the late 2000s, the feeling of seeing her work shine still resonates. “It was a joy to spend my life painting and illustrating,” she says. “I hope others take inspiration to see the beauty in their everyday lives, just as I did in the feedlot.”
Email Ricki Spargo at rspargo@ruralmissouri.coop.