Meet Chad Poppleton | Artist / husband, father, and Rancher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chad Poppleton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chad, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I think that the most important factor in any success is vision, a good product, and integrity . When I think of branding I think about a brand on cattle. The difference between a livestock owner and a Rancher is very simple. A livestock owner has stock that may not represent them but, rather their efforts are centered around adjusting themselves to the livestock. They work around the livestock that doesn’t represent them. A Rancher has livestock, usually land, equipment, and most especially a life centered around their existence. Their livestock represents themselves. When you brand cattle your putting your name on the animal telling everyone what your product is. As an artist my brand represents a product that I condone. If I have integrity, then I will produce the best product possible for others and set a standard of quality for others to rely on. This is my brand. This represents my best product and its a product that is reliable for the use intended.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve been an artist my whole life. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawing or creating something. Growing up on a farm/ranch and having a father who was an artist has molded me to who I am. I don’t think that anything else would be possible to become. Art is who I am quite literally and I don’t know how to be anything else. My work in art is an opinion of what I consider to be incredible. A visual stimulant per say. I am very blessed to associate with great people and feel lucky to call them friends. Becoming a member of the Cowboy Artists of America has been a crowning event in my life and its something that I take very seriously to represent their brand. Being an artist is hard and there really isn’t a professional formula written on success for this field however other artists that have walked the path are usually more than willing to lend a hand. Some artists are naturally talented and others of us really have to work at it. Hard work trumps talent. The early days where hard building houses in the day and painting at night and weekends. Eventually we had to take the leap of full-time artist and my bad timing was right before the 2008 economic crash. However I’ve learned that the Lord is in the details and following his plan works better than my own. I learned also that not everyone is going to love my work and thats ok with me. It’s a difficult pill to take. However, my hope is to provide a service to others giving them a little joy everyday.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend was visiting for a week and I wanted to show them the best time ever then I would load up the horses and take them on a pack trip into the wilderness. I’d hope they could unwind and enjoy the sunrise on a mountain lake tempting fish to bite their lure or dose of campfire smoke while enjoying a ribeye steak. It’s a humbling experience riding through Gods finest country to the rhythm of horse hooves on the trail and the sway of their walk taking us to places where talking would seem disrespectful.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First of all my wife, Amy, for trusting me and tolerating my dream. And also my Father for the encouragement.

Website: www.chadpoppleton.com

Instagram: Chad Poppleton

Facebook: Chad Poppleton and Chad Poppleton Fine Art

Other: you can email me at cpoppleton@gmail.com