This may take a while. After graduation I worked in south Texas for an oil company in Premont. I had a key to the King ranch. I hunted quail but more often dove.I loved south Texas. I transferred to Houston after four years or so. For a birthday present my best friends wife asked me to go to a art studio and pick out some prints my friend might like. The one I liked best was $90.....John Cowan's Hot Tank. She choose a Manard Reese(SP) duck picture. I went back to buy Hot Tank but it was gone. I joined CCA real early. I bought all of the Cowan's stamp prints. I looked in every art store I went into for 20 years for that print before the internet.
I bought seven or eight of his prints and had them in my office. About 20 years later I got a call from a man about an oil deal around Midland. He showed up and after saying good by he asked me about Jack Cowan.
I basically said I like them because I can put myself in them hunting, fishing etc. I then told him about Hot Tank and how long I looked for it. He said, Jack is one of my best friends. The next time I see him I'll see if he has one laying around. He called me about nine months later. His son had a meeting with another oil company in Midland and wanted to come by and visit. We talked until his son called that his meeting was over and we said good bye.
He walked out and then stepped back in with a tube in hand. An artist print of Hot Tank.I framed it and wrote Cowan a thank you letter. He replied with a hand written letter about the main guy in the picture.
The Human Resources Manager walked into my office quite often. If I was on the phone she would stare at that picture until I hung up and then always say, "I just love that picture!"
I walked in one day and she was staring at it.
It dawned on me that she was from Corpus Christi.I told her the main guy in the picture was Hayden Head and he died of a plane crash on a planned hunt. She started crying. After a while she said he was my Dad's hunting buddy. My Dad was going with him that day and my Mom had emergency surgery and he had to cancel.
I headed to Highland Park one Saturday a long time ago to pick up a shotgun I had bought. Collector's Covey was close by the gun store. From memory they were relocating to another store. They had a table with the Cowan painting's of Redfish and Specks. I think they were about $5. I think I bought about seven of the Reds and three of the Specks. Sadly I have three well worn T shirts left.