As I said, I would love to paint exactly like Charley Russell. But I know that if I do now exactly as Russell did, my finished product will differ entirely from his. He lived with the cowboys and Indians he painted. I don't. If I were to ape Russell's subjects, I would be dealing in nostalgia and anachronism.
Nostalgia and anachronism are well liked, and easy to sell. But they are not what Charley Russell painted. He painted an era passing before his eyes. I decided to follow the dictum of the impressionist Manet, who said "You are of your time: you must paint what you see." Eras are still passing in the 21st century desert.