Spotlight | Women Artists of the West Show: RS Hanna Gallery

Fredericksburg, TX, November 15-December 15

Sue Favinger Smith, Barn and Baler Shed, oil, 12 x 18.

This story was featured in the November 2012 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Order the Southwest Art November 2012 print edition here, or purchase the Southwest Art November 2012 digital download here. Or simply subscribe to Southwest Art magazine and never miss a story!

On November 15, RS Hanna Gallery opens the Women Artists of the West 42nd annual National Exhibition, comprising over 130 juried works from more than 70 member and guest artists. Although once limited to western-themed works or artists who lived in the West, today the organization includes artists from all over the United States and broader subject matter. Special events for the show include artists’ demonstrations and a paint-out on the weekend of December 7-9 and an artists’ reception and awards presentation on Friday, December 7, from 6 to 8 p.m. Here we introduce you to a few WAOW members, many of whom are participating in this year’s show.

Barbara Jones, Persimmons, oil, 11 x 14.

Oil painter Leslie Allen creates loosely rendered works featuring landscapes, figures, birds, and flowers. Carol Amos captures the landscapes and florals of her Arizona home. Flowering cacti, and the animals that frequent and inhabit them, are favorite subjects.

Jeannie Breeding has traveled to six continents to gather reference material for her impressionistic landscapes, visiting countries such as China, New Zealand, Greece, and Spain. Heather Coen works in oils and pastels for her landscape, animal, and still-life paintings. She frequently depicts favorite wilderness scenes in the Mountain West.

Judy Fairley’s preferred mediums are pastel and scratchboard. Her works include western wildlife, from bears to hummingbirds; domestic and exotic cats; and cowboy scenes. Still-life artist Barbara Jones employs classic chiaroscuro in dramatic paintings that capture the beauty of ordinary objects, from ripe fruits to vintage linens.

Cathy Sheeter, A Kind Eye, graphite, 12 x 16.

Landscape artist Paula Holtzclaw chooses to paint “what is beautiful and meaningful,” often depicting the colorful reflections of low-country waterways along the southern Atlantic coast. Bronze sculptor Phyllis Mantik deQuevedo specializes in figurative works and portraits of beloved pets.

Sharon Markwardt’s large canvases celebrate western culture, from longhorn cattle to buffalo to cowboy boots, depicted with dramatic perspectives and vibrant color work. Inspired by a strong sense of conservation, Marti Millington paints the endangered landscapes and wildlife of the West, from wild mustangs to wolves to wildcats.

Although Oregon artist Cathy Sheeter works in multiple mediums, her favorite is scratchboard, with which she creates realistic portraits of wildlife, horses, cats, and dogs. Sue Favinger Smith lives and paints in Oregon’s high desert, where the absence of “notable features” commands her canvases. She explores the landscape through texture and abstraction.

Louise Thies works mostly from life to capture her landscapes, still lifes, and portraits. Favorite subjects include high-country vistas and waterways, rolling farmland, and ramshackle farm structures.

Cecy Turner paints a variety of landscapes, including the mountain West, the Texas desert and hill country, the canyonlands of the Southwest, and the ancient, beguiling structures of Europe. —Laura Rintala

contact information
830.307.3071
 www.rshannagallery.com

Featured in the November 2012 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
Southwest Art magazine November 2012 digital download
Southwest Art magazine November 2012 print edition
Or subscribe to Southwest Art magazine and never miss a story!