Keeylocko was his own unique brand of rancher (no pun intended) - who understood the interplay and connection between all living things and bred his cattle accordingly.  He was a UofA graduate with a degree in agriculture and was concerned about how the lack of foresight and degradation of the natural world would feed a growing population.  He was a  proponent of environmental education, and built a little research  library  that contained out-of print books on ancient civilizations around the world.  (A man after my own heart!)  He was more of a steward of the land than just a cowboy:

Nicole Santa Cruz in the Seattle Times, 2010: 

"Keeylocko was born in South Carolina in 1931. Abandoned by his mother, he was rescued by a woman who gave him the name Keeylock (he added the O later). He left home at 14 and traveled America as a hobo before serving in the Army for 23 years.

He then attended the University of Arizona, earning degrees in agriculture, because he wanted to breed aggressive, well-armed cattle that could protect themselves on the range. (“Give them back their horns,” he says.) After experiencing discrimination at a cattle auction, he decided to create his ranch.
Keeylocko’s life is as unpredictable as the Wild West. He’s an ordained minister. And he has traveled the country, giving lectures on black cowboys.

“There are people that believe that people like me only play basketball, football, dance or maybe play the banjo,” he said. “What they don’t know is, there were black cowboys long before there were white cowboys.”

His life has made him open to welcoming anyone in his town, regardless of color, or as is the case in southern Arizona, regardless of citizenship. He’s known for chasing the Border Patrol off his property.
“I tell people that Cowtown Keeylocko doesn’t choose who comes here,” he said. “That’s the real West.”
Those he welcomes include illegal immigrants who come for water — from the U.S.-Mexico border, less than 50 miles away.

On a recent afternoon, Keeylocko continued to nurse his tequila at the bar, sweating slightly. Aside from the faint hum of a fan, which didn’t provide much relief, the only sounds were insects chirping. Keeylocko’s eyes became soft...

Rather than go on about him, he speaks best for himself. In six minutes. Enjoy!

I first learned about this remarkable man from an old episode of Arizona Illustrated and fell in love -- then, as usual, life happened.  In 2018, when I heard of his passing, I did an extensive web search,  gathering articles and photos and watching videos of him and his life, and vowed to do a painting of him. Then the Trump War on Asylum Seekers sucked up national oxygen and my attention turned elsewhere.

Then the triple-header of Ahmaud, Breonna, and George Floyd ripped my life foundations out from under me.  I was raised with a set of values that glorified diversity... albeit with an "under God" hook.  And I did have racism awareness growing up and plenty of first-hand witness to Arizona's brand of bigotry.  But the depth and insidiousness of nation-wide systemic racism revealed itself in new ways to me everywhere.  It's virtually inescapable.  By design.  We white people take so much for granted...  God. 
But I also witnessed something incredible: after 400 years of colonial control, a great reckoning seemed to be stirring within many Caucasian Americans as wave after wave emerged from all corners of the country, calling to end the perpetuation of violence and inequality towards black people-- indeed, all people of color on this land we share.  All the while, Nature's voice was blaring-- falling on impervious orange ears, bouncing off red ball-caps, steel-toed boots, long-guns and battle-gear, fluttering with "patriot" flags as it claimed thousands of American lives, unabated.  Conspiracy theories and falsehoods flooding social media are now believed as fact and stoked by the president, creating real-life threats and incidents.  Victim-blaming is now called Patriotism and collective survival assistance is now called Radical Left Socialism.  It is  overwhelming.

So I shut down my Facebook, took time out and rediscovered the world as it really is while enjoying the peace of covid sequester in my home.

Here finally, after months in the making, is my vision of Ed J.B. Keeylocko.  I brought out his "swamp" green eyes.  Above him is his signature Blue Dog Saloon.  I include his pinto horse, Jazz, who seemed to be a perfect fit for this painting.  He was an incredible man and led an incredible life -- I am sorry our paths never crossed this time around.  For those who had the privilege of knowing him, I hope this portrayal of him comes close to doing him justice.

I'm an old cowgirl from many years ago, so this man and this painting has a special place in my heart.
(Horse nerd note:  registered pintos have dark  bluish bands around  their white markings.)

I continue my personal code against for-profit sales of my work. However, as always, I offer my digital files free of charge for 501(c)3 non-profit  fundraising purposes for  historical/educational/cultural preservation and community benefit. This of course, includes Mr. Keeylocko's Legacy.  I'd be honored to contribute my small part.  Feel free to contact me.

Doña Imelda is the quintessential essence of a desert wise-woman and healer. She came to me as inspiration from a real-life curandera named Huila in Luis Alberto Urrea's novel, The Hummingbird's Daughter. 

Imelda walks barefoot with Mother Earth through a Sonoran sky-island landscape. The saguaro cactus is in the midst of spring bloom, surrounded by Chaparral (creosote bush). Edging up the hillside is a gnarly old mesquite tree with a great horned owl gazing at her in the distance. (In indigenous folklore, owls are believed to portend death; but I present it here as the symbol of transition, ready to help Imelda guide spirits of the suffering to the Spirit or Flower World.)

She walks with reverence to all living things and gazes fondly at the life she sees around her. She is greeted by hummingbirds, a horned lizard, and creatures of the spring; including a dragon fly. I gave the turtle a mystical quality because I see her as the spirit of my own artist mother who loved turtles. Another mystical, mythical creature is the water-serpent, La Corúa. A vanishing folktale of the Sonoran borderlands tells of La Corúa: a large water snake with a cross on its forehead that guards the spring and cleans the veins of water with its fangs. It is believed that if you kill the Corúa the spring will dry up.*

Imelda wears a simple huipil with embroidered flowers typical to the Yoeme (Pascua Yaqui) tribe. Around her neck is an Ojo de Venado (Dear Eye), a talisman to guard against evil spirits, and a handmade rosary with La Virgen de Guadalupe and shells for each mystery. She wears a golden rebozo (shawl) and a satchel for herbs and other healing talismans she finds.

Plants of medicinal significance:
Imelda is carrying Arizona/Summer poppies or Baiborín (Kallstroemia grandiflora) - used for fatigue, body pains, fever ... and mange in animals. Growing along the spring is a Passion-fruit vine (Passiflora mexicana) or Pasionaria, which grows in canyons of Southeastern Arizona and Mexico. A sedative, it quiets respiration and blood pressure.

The Chaparral, (Creosote bush), one of the most common, widely dispersed plants of the Desert Southwest, and has many medicinal properties. When applied as a salve to the skin, chaparral slows down the rate of bacterial growth and kills it with its antimicrobial activity.

Lastly is Toloache, Sacred Datura (Datura meteloides). Though highly toxic, this is one of the most beautiful plants of the Southwest. According to the Seri tribe, Datura was one of the first plants ever created. Therefore, it is said that humans should avoid contact with the plant as it is extremely sacred. Only shamans use the plant, as inappropriate use can be very dangerous. The Mixteca of Oaxaca, Mexico, believe that the plant spirit of Datura is an elderly wise woman.


*Tucson’s internationally renown folklorist, “Big Jim” Griffith has kept the tale of La Corúa alive through the years, and it became the inspiration for the name of my art business.)

I created this painting styled as an ex-voto; a votive offering to a saint or divinity, given in fulfillment of a vow. (Click on photo to enlarge)

Adelita (la soldadera) stands tall, gazing forward, carrying a young child in a traditional indigenous sling. On her thigh rests a Carabina 30/30— (Winchester 30/30) decorated with a rose and two hummingbirds; both powerful Yoeme (Yaqui) symbols. She is dressed plainly, in a Tehuana style skirt. She shows signs of struggle but is poised and undeterred. She is the enduring Woman Warrior Spirit personified, the unsung strength of the world.

The girl child Adelita carries represents a new generation of life. She could be the child of Adelita, or a rescued child separated from her own natural mother. She sleeps peacefully.

• Blood on the ground: Mexico’s bloody history and ongoing struggles.
• Aztec calendar motif: embodies sun & earth deities Tonatiuh & Tlaltecuhtli – both related to sacrificial blood.
• Border Fence: symbol for all that is ridiculous.
• Skeletons: ancestors, perished migrants.
• Rattlesnake: Animal guardian, powerful transformative medicine. Also connected to the Aztec serpent goddess, Coatilcue, and Cihuateteo; one who guards the spirits of women who died in childbirth.
• Prickly pear cactus: (in this case opuntia var. Santa Rita) Food & sustenance for desert survivors.
• Mourning Dove w/creosote bush sprig: Desert peace symbol.
• Banner: In English: “If you want peace, work for justice.” --Pope Paul VI
• River: Santa Cruz River; without which human settlement in this far corner of the Sonoran desert would not have been possible.
• La Virgen de Guadalupe: Our Holy Blessed Mother and Empress of the Americas, sprung from the ancient Aztec mother goddess Tonanztin. Some believe that she holds the spiritual blueprint of the U.S. Southwest.