Antique Frontier Scene (?) Watercolor in Period Gilded Frame silver hardware I love whoever made this

I love whoever made this puzzle so much--such a clever and brilliantly executed thing

and perhaps especially through zooming in on his face with those big blue eyes and loose red lips

12 color plates by John R

but do rather them all three in a row or pyramid

Antique Frontier Scene (?) Watercolor in Period Gilded Frame silver hardware I love whoever made thisI'm not entirely certain what is going on in this evocative little watercolor, but I really really love it, with its big dark sky enveloping what looks like a western frontier structure to me, and cowboy looking figures standing next to what I assume is a fire. Considered together with the deer watercolor surely by the same artist, which I just listed, my guess might be that these were done as first hand sketches out west, late 19th century or so,