Rockwell has lived all his life in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, Utah and Montana and his intense interest in the western world around him comes to life in his detailed canvasses. He completed his first oil of the heads of a mare and her colts when he was but five years old. His detailed sketches of horses and Indians filled the Smith home in his early years and have been mostly replaced by his fine paintings. After the ninth grade, Rocky quit school to become a full-time painter. His parents encouraged him to finish school, but he refused to attend and became almost immovable from behind his easel. He has turned out a large number of canvasses in that time, all of which show his great feelings for people and animals and his intense observation of his surroundings. Rockwell's love of the Indian people is shown with great feeling in his paintings, for example, "And the White Men only Took the Tongues." He has always lived on the borders of Indian Reservations and has had the opportunity to observe the Indian tribes closely His uncles have adopted four young Indian girls and Rockwell has gotten to know them well. He has always been encouraged to study the work of the great masters, including the 15th century Dutch painters, who were committed to the completion and mastery of each work of art.