At 5, Bradley Chance Hays got his first pencil and paper set.  At 6, his dad gave him his first rope.  From then on, his rope and his pencil became his life — and still are 18 years later.  Now, Hays is a professional calf roper and artist, painting primarily expressionistic pieces of horses.  “It’s kind of a wild duo,” he said. “Art’s been good to me. It’s opened a lot of doors.”

Growing up the son of a rodeo cowboy — his father — and an art teacher — his mother — Hays learned both crafts and works hard to combine the two.  “It’s tough. I’m not saying it’s easy. It’s cost me relationships just to do what I love,” he said. “To make it great, you have to sacrifice things.”

Hayes remembers a time when he would sit at the dinner table, drawing on a giant roll of paper while his mother cleaned the kitchen.  “She wouldn’t buy me coloring books, you see? I had to draw my own stories and then color them in,” he said. “My mom knew.”

Having a rodeo cowboy father and an artist teacher mother gave Chance Hays an opportunity to explore both of his passions.

“When I was a kid, I would never get coloring books. While she would cook for my dad in the mornings, my mom would lay out rolls of paper, and I would lay down and draw my stories,” Chance said. “It just stimulated my abilities. I had to do everything myself. My mom made me build my own canvases in high school, too. I never got anything pre-made. It opened that creativity.”

While he had a love for art, he shared that with the rodeo.

“I loved art and my dad was a rodeo man. It was probably one of the best experiences for me because I grew up in a real rodeo home. It was no joke and there wasn’t any messing around,” Chance said. “I just ate it up”.

“Sacred”, 72x48

Work by Chance Hays isn’t just about the finished product, it’s about the performance and creation of artwork. You can find him live painting downtown here in Saratoga Springs during the summer. But Chance doesn’t show up alone, he brings his cattle dogs: Jake, Pearl, Moose; and a small mutt named Nemo. His companions bring just as big of a crowd as Chance and his artwork do.

Meet the Pack!

The year of the pandemic has presented artist Chance Hays with challenging hurdles. This past summer he has spent his time in Montana crossing paths with local artists and spending more time riding horses and leading excursions through the wooded and mountainous landscapes. However spending more time in what Chance emphasizes as the “Real World” has only lead him to create some of his most powerful works in his career as a professional artist.

“Guardians”, 60x72

This year presents a special occasion, missing his yearly tenure this summer, artist Bradley Chance Hays was able to instead spend some time with us this past fall. It’s been an unprecedented year that calls for extraordinary work. Spa Fine Art is proud to present the Bradley Chance Hays 2021 Winter Collection. The work depicted is a limited time exclusive collection through Spa Fine Art, offered to on a first come-first serve basis.

“Nestling”, 48x72

“The Herd”, 48x60

Explore some of our favorite memories from Chance Hays’ yearly tenures:

To Request more information about the work depicted in this article please contact the gallery:

spafineart@aol.com 518.587.2411