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ROUND TOP & RYAN BUENNING
Truth be told, this collection feels like a creative collaboration with all of Round Top – the vendors and the visitors and, just, the vibe. Artist and entrepreneur Ryan Buenning, owner of The Horseshoe, is enmeshed with all of it, and it was his artwork that kicked off Cowboy Graffiti.
Ryan’s signature style is retro and rustic, intentionally weathered, with a decidedly Western lean, all painted onto thin steel. Some of his most well-known pieces are monochromatic nods to mid-century icons like Johnny Cash and Hank Williams. Some are steel signs colorfully reminiscent of old Route 66 roadside adverts or dive bar signage. Most recently, he’s explored a more abstract style, a “colorful cowgirl collage”, as he described it – like the piece that pulled us in.
“It feels weird to call it fine art,” Ryan laughed. “But these are pieces that can be hung in a different context and more permanent spaces than the tents in fields where I started out selling metal signs! The piece that Double D Ranch bought was part of my first inaugural gallery display of Western pop art.”
Ryan’s art has a gritty charm to it, a punk-rock playfulness, and that’s what set the tone for this collection. Luckily, he was happy to collaborate with us, and we were able to create the colorful custom print that captures his aesthetic and the essence of Cowboy Graffiti in a fun, wearable way.
“I’ve made art on metal for years, but never done anything like this,” Ryan said. “It’s incredibly flattering for someone to see your art in such a way they want to reimagine it into a whole different medium.”
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