Narrie Toole

Narrie Toole grew up on a wheat farm on the Kansas Colorado line west of Manter. She graduated from a class of 40 in high school, then attended and received a degree in Art Education from Kansas State University. Most of her adult life has involved ranching and farming. Narrie performed her ranching duties along with creating high fire reduction pottery professionally for 16 years, in her studio known as “Chicken Coop Ceramics”.

After years of raising feeder cattle, Narrie pursued an interest in developing a registered cowherd. For the next sixteen years, she personally, managed, raised, and showed a much respected and well-known herd of cattle. With the experience from her feeder cattle, she selected genetics for carcass traits, bunk line conversion, docility, and maternal suitable for short grass country. Developing accurate knowledge of cattle confirmation and being able to analyze them quickly was key. They were good, honest cattle and a joy to work with.

During the more than twenty years of ranching, Narrie recorded lots of scenes: long rides on miles of pastures, processing and doctoring the cattle, weather. As she comments on her unique perspective, "The danger that comes with trying to care for and protect cattle and horses…working when you’re so tired you can’t hardly walk. Losing your boots in knee deep mud and manure, scours, infections, things that aren’t romantic at all. Working in 105 degree temps with 40+ wind or 20 degrees below zero with the same wind.The joy of saving the calf that isn’t breathing or the one that has dust pneumonia. The pleasure of seeing a calf bedded in straw and out of the wind during a blizzard, soft munching when the wind noise is shut out." All the years of daily contact gave Narrie an excellent base to paint these animals.

Personal issues resulted in Narrie moving to Colorado for four years.Although trained in most mediums during college, she had not worked in painting for years.While in Colorado, Narrie reintroduced herself to oil painting and all the new associated materials.

In 2005, Narrie moved to a small ranch house in southwestern New Mexico where she set up “Estudio de la Montura”. She goes on to explain her love for the area. "The Mimbres has a long history of ranching and the first time I drove in, I ‘was home’. It was a perfect place to create and develop my painting style."

Narrie is a charter member of the American Society of Bovine Artists.

“There is an authenticity and intimacy in the paintings that originates in her first-hand knowledge and experience of the life of a cow-girl who spent her days on a horse, on the range, and in the corral.

The excitement of those days is captured with her loose impressionistic style, use of pure bright colors, and backgrounds that don’t carry much detail but are thoughtfully and deliberately executed to help create mood and motion.

Cattle and horses dominate her work, but she also paints exquisite Native American portraits.

She owns and operates Estudio de la Montura and has sold her paintings to individuals and businesses nationally and internationally.