Archives for Genre

The Studio of Nancy Cawdrey

The Studio of Nancy Cawdrey

January 1, 2021 | by

Many people are working from home these days, but few of them have a setup as enviable as that of Whitefish, Montana, painter Nancy Cawdrey. All she has to do is wake up, descend two flights of stairs, and she’s in a 1,000-square-foot studio where she can work on her latest oil or watercolor painting or on one of the vibrant silk paintings that have become something of a trademark during her two-decade career. “My studio is in my house,” Cawdrey says. “It’s a little bit like the European thing, where you work on the ground floor, live on the
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Talent Times Three

Talent Times Three

January 1, 2021 | by

It’s always exciting when we feature artists and their art for the first time within the pages of Art of the West. That is just what we are doing on the following pages, as we share with you the words and works of three contemporary Western artists: David Frederick Riley, Gregory Strachov, and Jeremy Winborg. While their journeys and subjects differ, what they share is a love of creating art. Riley evolved from painting portraits to wildlife in muted tones. Strachov is fascinated by rocks, finding a beauty in them that most of us wouldn’t see. Winborg captures the strength
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Capturing Nature’s Stories

Capturing Nature’s Stories

January 1, 2021 | by

Alone, on top of a high, open Montana hill in the darkness, Mia DeLode stood in her sheep wagon, watching as the band of wooly animals she was protecting from predators was bedding down for the night. Then the first lightning sizzled and cracked. The sky roiled. A second bolt spiked and jagged, fracturing the clouds with an explosive roar on its way to the ground. It was followed by another and another. “The crashes of blinding light [were] impossible to sleep through, impossible not to think the next bolt will strike too close,” DeLode says, recalling her days as
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A New Chapter

A New Chapter

January 1, 2021 | by

TD Kelsey wants to be a painter. He’s been sculpting for more than 40 years, and his award-winning works are in the permanent collections of museums that include the C.M. Russell Museum and the National Museum of Wildlife Art. He has monuments placed at the Saint Louis Zoo and the historic Stock Yards in San Antonio, Texas, among dozens of other locations. Kelsey loves sculpting. It’s a medium that has allowed him to capture the essence of the animals he loves so much, especially horses. It has helped him to create a career, make lifelong friendships, and travel the world.
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Winds of Inspiration

Winds of Inspiration

November 1, 2020 | by

Renowned artist Thomas Blackshear II is no stranger to commercial work. Before diving into the Western art world, he was an illustrator with companies such as Hallmark, Lucas Films, and Anheuser-Busch on his resumé. In the fall of 2019, he got a phone call from the manager of The Killers, a popular alternative rock band that wanted to use his work for its newest album. It was a project unlike any Blackshear had ever experienced. The Killers is an American band that originated in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the early 2000s. Almost 20 years and six albums later, it has
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Faith and Perseverance

Faith and Perseverance

November 1, 2020 | by

Kevin Red Star has been painting scenes of Native American life for more than 50 years. Described as a master artist, visual historian, and an ambassador for his native Crow culture, his paintings have earned spots in several prestigious collections that include the Smithsonian, the Denver Art Museum, and the Heard Museum. Red Star’s works extend far beyond the United States, however, and are included in the collections of museums in China, Belgium, Japan, and Germany. His paintings also have earned a myriad of awards, including the 2018 Montana Governor’s Art Award for lifetime achievement and the 2018 James R.
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Young Talent, Old Soul

Young Talent, Old Soul

November 1, 2020 | by

Brittany Weistling was thrilled when she was invited to be a guest artist at the 2012 Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and Sale. That meant her paintings would be exhibited outside, rather than inside, the main gallery, but that was just fine with her. Weistling’s paintings sold, validating what the show’s officials already knew: Her talent deserved to be showcased during the event, which is conducted each year at the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, California, and features works by some of the country’s top Western artists. What made the experience remarkable was
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Sharing the Magic

Sharing the Magic

November 1, 2020 | by

In mid-August, David Yorke had just returned from his annual pilgrimage to the Shearer Ranch outside Wall, South Dakota, where he had spent three days sketching and photographing local cowboys and Native Americans as they reenacted scenes from the past. He has participated in the event for the past 20 years, normally joining 49 other artists for the retreat that ranch owners Grant and JoDee Shearer have hosted since 1987. This year, thanks to COVID-19, only about a dozen artists participated in the event. In an effort to avoid the risks of getting the virus while flying, Yorke opted to
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Beyond the Known Pathway

Beyond the Known Pathway

November 1, 2020 | by

Whether he is depicting a day in the life of a pioneer family, working cowboys, dedicated ranch hands, or snow-covered fields, Grant Redden brings authenticity and a sense of immediacy to each scene. He does so as he continues to master his craft and seek ways to touch what he describes as “a raw nerve of emotion that is inside each of us.” Collectors eagerly seek out Redden’s paintings, and he has earned many awards and honors, including becoming a member of the prestigious Cowboy Artists of America (CAA) in 2012. “Membership in the Cowboy Artists of America has been
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Journeys Into History

Journeys Into History

September 1, 2020 | by

Until a functioning time machine is invented, the next-best way to travel backward into history just might be to take a long, careful look at one of Heide Presse’s richly detailed figurative oil paintings. In doing so, you’ll find yourself somewhere between 1840 and 1860. Zoom in anywhere—the model’s hairstyle, the appliqué pattern on the quilt draped over a chair, the intricate construction of the bonnet, the hem of the petticoat peeking out from beneath the calico skirt—and you’ll see the result of Presse’s meticulous attention to detail. Presse is a gifted painter, but she is also a keen student
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