T.D. Kelsey grew up on a ranch near Belgrade, Montana. He rodeoed for years in rough stock events and team roping, later training and showing his own cutting horses. His bronze sculpture, Touching the Big Sky, captures that same wild energy. Rising fourteen feet high in the center of Belgrade’s West Post roundabout, the piece commands attention against the wide Montana horizon. It shows a cowboy and his bronco mid-buck, its rugged surface of over 300 welded bronze pieces reflecting the grit and motion of the American West.

I’ve loved art for as long as I can remember. As a kid I’d draw and carve late into the night after chores were done, a “closet artist,” you might say. My heroes were Charlie Russell and Will James, storytellers who could capture the West in a single stroke. Still, I never imagined I’d make a life out of it. I wanted to be a fighter pilot like my dad. I even flew for the airlines before realizing my heart belonged to the dust, the horses, and the sculpting clay.

By the time I was twelve, I was casting little terracotta pieces between breaking horses for neighbors. The ranch life, the cold mornings, and the long rides, have shaped everything I’ve created. Touching the Big Sky is rooted in that experience. It’s not just a cowboy on a bronc, it’s a tribute to where rodeo really came from. It's about grit, integrity, and the connection between people and the land.

Creating this sculpture was a challenge. It was so big I couldn’t see it all at once, so I hung mirrors on every wall, turned binoculars backward, even rolled it out into the pasture just to get a look. It’s a strange thing, putting your soul out there in metal for everyone to see. You never quite know how it’ll be received.

If I have any advice for young artists, it’s this: get a good job while you’re building your art, don’t depend on it too early. Hold fast to your values, stay tough, and grow a thick hide. You’ll need it.

If you’d like to see more of TD Kelsey’s work and the stories behind each piece, head to tdkelsey.com. It’s a place where the spirit of the West still rides strong, one bronze at a time.