Through my work in our family’s cattle business I had the opportunity of experiencing the cow/calf industry on a daily basis from the back of a horse. This gave mean appreciation for the “true working cowboy” which has sparked a passion in me. To seek out and capture the “American Working Cowboy”. Though very few, there are still some who live the dream.
-Marlene McChesney
She
Born in a time and place
Where cowboys were in short supply
With the example and the blood of her family
She would develop a cattleman’s eye
Now you may have already noticed
The use of the word SHE
And if you are thinking what I think you are
You had better let it be
She knows her way around a cow and calf
And at a glance, can spot a good horse
It’s not only been her life, which it still is today
It’s her dream of the future of course
She has found a way to preserve life
One that appeals to us all
What she sees through the eye of her camera
Will become history on someone’s wall
So if you’re ever around her at all
You will bee it right from the start
It’s not a fad or a craze, it just what it is
For she truly has a cowgirl's heart
-Bo Baudino Ridin' the Rio Grande
Marlene McChesney fell in love with all things equestrian as a young 4-Her and has recently made Ocala her forever home. She is a third generation farm gal from West Central Illinois where she spent the last twenty-five years as herdsman for her family's cattle operation. She was a board member for Tri-County Cattlemen's Association for nine of those years and also served on the Illinois Beef Association Board.
Ten years ago Marlene bought a digital camera in hopes of capturing a few choice shots of the cow hands as they worked the cows and calves in opaque clouds of dusty sand one muggy summer day.The results were stunning, as evidenced in her seminole print "Ghost Rider" in her gallery website, A Cowgirl's Heart.
Marlene is a member in good standing of the Equine Photographers and Artists International and her work was the subject of the feature story in the July 2007 issue of "Horses in Art" magazine. Then, the Art Guild of Burlington, Iowa, asked Marlene to display and sell her photography at the May 2008 Solo Artists Show.
In recent years Marlene commuted frequently from Illinois to the cattle ranches of Northeast New Mexico, where she established cherished friendships and enjoyed a keen cowgirl camaraderie with the women and men working there.
But Marlene has more than just an "eye" for the business of equine photography; she has a cowgirl's heart which understands the Ocala lifestyle is a unique blend of hardships and joys, struggles and sacrifices: wagering all of one's strength and determination on long-shots and dreams, mixed with a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work. She gets you.
Marlene says, "The blend of foggy sunrises, the massive oak trees draped with moss and all the miles of board fences outlining the pristine pastures of Ocala have truly captured my heart. Each day fills my senses anew with the realization that beauty is around every corner and that peace is in this place. The partnership of man and beast is evident in Ocala as the two work together to build a bond and a brand, hoping all the while to capture the hearts of generations to come."
Marlene’s latest project The Heart Beat of Ocala will be a photographic journey of the women and their equine partners and their untold stories. The Heart Beat of Ocala is all around us, but sometimes our collective pulse is best monitored by a newcomer's fresh touch. It serves to remind us of all we have here in Ocala~ our love of family, the bonds of our friendships and our passion for horses. These close connections are the foundations of our lives, yet they remain largely unspoken. Marlene hopes to capture them on canvas. Her medium is photography. Her message is connection.
