Middle of winter can be brutally cold on the Navajo Reservation. However, weather doesn’t negate the need to take care of sheep and livestock. In fact, it becomes more important to make sure they are well tended to during the bitter cold days and nights. This beautiful pastel by well known Diné painter Teddy Draper captures the feeling of a lone rider anticipating the warmth of his Hogan after a long, cold day battling wind and snow.

Draper is known for his unique use of pastels. There is just the slightest hint of lavender in the clouds of the cold blue evening sky. In the distance rise the rock spires so well known on the Navajo Reservation. Beckoning the Diné man is the warm glow of his Hogan. The details of the man’s clothes and the existence of a Hogan reveal he is following a traditional way of life. The painting is signed and dated 1990.