Cowboy turned sculptor

Near Orofino, Idaho, on the banks of the Clearwater River lives "Wh 76-year-old John Gillam, an old time, humble cowboy, turned sculptor. When I first moved here, I was in the roofing business. Arizona, defense contractor. I would have stayed with the cowboying but I was too crippled up. I haven't even had five minutes of art training. It's just something that I really enjoy doing. These are just extra tools. My fingers and hands, 90% of it is done with my hands.” And those hands have done some awesome work. From rosary figurines to larger than life-size pieces, artist John creates beautiful bronze sculptures. "As far as recent larger than life-size, the Veterans Memorial in Lewiston and then I guess you could say Mother Teresa, the large size of mother Theresa, and then the logger in Orofino, I think he was put up in ’94 or somewhere around there.” His mother Theresa creation stands for viewing across the country. "The first one went to Loyola University. The second one, I believe, went to St. John's Cathedral in Boise, and then another one they called for went to Scottsdale.” After all is said and done, Western art is Gillam’s first love. Currently, in his studio, a bigger than life cowboy. And how long will it take to finish it? “Oh anywhere from three months to 20 years. If I could sell him where he sits on a sidewalk in Scottsdale, I should get at least $75,000. I know other artists, if they did the same piece, the same costs, everything that I do, they could get $150,000 for the same piece. That's because their name is somebody else. I would like to see it in a cowboy atmosphere. Maybe at some feed yard or something. I would like to see it where real cowboys can see it, not just dudes on the streets in Scottsdale. That's very important to me to get it right. If a good cowboy looked at it and said now that's a piece of art, that makes me feel good.” Fame and fortune? Not important. Just getting it right defines artist John Gillam.