Tools of the Cowboy Trade – Featuring Camille Vernon

The first Friday of every month from February through October, the Museum sponsors “Tools of the Cowboy Trade” in conjunction with Ogden’s First Friday Art Stroll.  These are presentations by professionals in art, music, crafts, and working tools of the cowboy and western way of life.

Join us Friday, April 3rd for a unique evening of entertainment with Camille Vernon and local rodeo queens and their attendants who will be displaying beautiful dresses brought to life by Camille.  She will be working on painting a dress during the art stroll and the rodeo queens will be available for autographs and pictures.

About Camille

Camille Vernon has been crazy about art since she was three years old, so it seemed a logical choice, when she continued with higher education, to put art at the forefront of her studies.  She received her training at Weber State and Utah State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

It doesn’t matter what someone wants her do, if the surface is paintable, she will paint it.  She has done walls, canvas, portraits, shovels, milk cans, murals, clothing and boots.  Her expertise in painting western themed clothing will be her area of concentration for this months event.

The people who settled the west used their imaginations to find beauty in many commonplace or useful things, such as the horse hair used in hitching bridles and belts; or, the braiding of rawhide to make hobbles, reins or bridles.  Camille has chosen paint to make her mark.

With western wear, if she paints on fabric she used a fabric paint.  On leather she uses the type of paint that is long lasting and flexible on a leather surface. She brings alive the boots, dresses, jackets or belts that she designs and paints for many of the queen contestants that we see around the state.  She has been doing work for Chenae Shiner, who won the title of Miss Rodeo America for 2014, since she was 14 years old.

Her talents don’t stop there.  She is involved with “Boot Camp,” an organization that provides would-be rodeo queens with the skills they need to be successful — knowledge, riding, clothing, modeling, and speaking.  Camille specialized in speech writing and public speaking, writing some of the speeches herself.