Collector’s Focus: Women Artists
Heide Presse learned to sew quilts and period clothing and read the journals of people who traveled west in the 1800s, not only to bring accuracy to her paintings, but to shed light on the people themselves.
In Dry Sink, a young woman washes dishes in a basin set in a dry sink. Today an interesting item of home décor, dry sinks were used in kitchens and bedrooms before the invention of indoor plumbing, equipped with a basin and a pitcher. Sunlight streams through the window of Presse’s painting, illuminating not only the woman at her work but the shelves of utilitarian items from mixing bowls to an elegant gold rimmed soup tureen. Presse says, “There’s something about the character of older things that engages my imagination. I refer to them as my props, but they’re more than that.
I like having remnants of the past around me in our home, and they happen to make wonderful additions to my paintings as well.”
Several years ago when we profiled Roseta Santiago’s collection of Native American, Western and Asian artifacts, she commented on how she enjoys having them around her where she can feel the creative energy of the artisans who made them. She continues to collect and trade and, from time to time, borrow pieces that fit her inspiration for a painting. A favorite model, Ty Harris (Diné/navajo), stopped by her studio one day to show her her new haircut. “I persuaded her to stand in the lush landscaping against one of the colorful palette walls I use for backgrounds,” Santiago says. “I added the textile that resonates so well with her natural
Navajo beauty along with a trade blanket.”
Her rapport with her models results in not only historical accuracy, but psychological and loving insight.
Terri Kelly Moyers also collects artifacts and historical clothing for use in her paintings. She says, “I enjoy painting women. I feel women had a major role to play in the West, and maybe that hasn’t been recognized as much as it could be.” Whether cowgirls or young women dressed in their finest for fiesta, Moyers’ subjects are animated by their environment, the bright light and consequent shadows of the Southwest with a punch of color from geraniums and roses.
The life of the cowgirl is real for Deborah Fellows. Her father was a world champion bronc rider and she grew up sharing the chores on the family’s ranch. Of her sculpture I Saddle My Own Horse she says, “This sculpture portrays today’s woman who is not bound by the constraints placed on women of
“When collecting contemporary Western artwork, I would do my research on the artist and study their path and staying power. Originality, authenticity and earned credentials are very important in attributing to the value and worth of the collected work.”
—Amy Ringholz, artist
the past. She has a healthy measure of ability, determination and femininity. In a lifetime of endeavors and relationships, ultimately you have to saddle your own horse to truly claim your position in this world.”
Pioneer Betty Wollman (1836-1927) said shortly before her death, “The hardships were many, and the courage and self-denial of the women who worked side by side with their husbands and sons and brothers in those primitive days are largely responsible for the development of the Middle Western States, now so rich in everything that goes to make life worth living.”
This special collector’s focus features artwork from some of the leading women in the country working in Western subject matter as well as the galleries that represent them.
Dawn Sutherland, a native of northern Wisconsin, moved to Arizona not long after she first picked up a paintbrush. “I had to learn how to paint rocks and canyon walls,” she says. After her first river trip through the Grand Canyon, she realized she needed to figure out how to paint water as well. This will be Dawn’s sixth year painting in the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art where her studio painting will feature both Canyon walls and the Colorado River.
“I am inspired every day by my surroundings and my love of birds and wildlife. My artwork is a means for me to interpret what I feel when I see a beautiful animal or catch a special behavior or moment in their life,” says wildlife artist
Cher Anderson. “As a member of Artists for Conservation, my goal is to inspire people to become aware of what is happening on our planet and surround themselves with beautiful art honoring these species.”
Judith Durr creates a variety of Native American subject matter, especially clothing and regalia, in her studio in Cave Creek, Arizona. “I love to paint. I paint from my collection and from those of other collectors; I find painting from life stimulating,” says Durr. “Each one of my paintings is skillfully layered with glazes using the technique of the Old Masters. My
goal is to continually push the boundaries of excellence of superior oil paintings.”
The work of Billings, Montana-based artist Angela Babby has been shown in numerous shows across the country, including the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market and SWAIA’S Santa Fe Indian Market, among many others. Her Lakota ancestry and the mysterious nature of glass inspire her glass mosaic tile works. “Glass is eternal,” Babby says.
Kelly Collectibles and Online Art Gallery, owned and run by Kelly Shaeffer, connects emerging national and international artists with collectors. Shaeffer has extensive experience working at fine art galleries in Santa Cruz, California, and Whitefish, Montana, giving her an inside perspective on how a gallery operates and represents its artists. A number of talented women artists are represented by the gallery, including the work of Ivette Kjelsrud.
American Women Artists member Janeil Anderson paints strong women who work right alongside men on cattle ranches, capturing their way of life either through the working day or life behind the scenes. Upcoming shows for the artist include the Summer Stampede at the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas, and the Stampede Western Art Exhibit & Sale in Greeley, Colorado.
Artist Pam Bunch of Lee-bunch Studio Gallery in Del Rio, Texas, stops frequently on her road trips to capture sprawling landscapes that often incorporate livestock. “In this painting I was able to push colors, values, rearrange the landscape to a degree, and just really had fun with this scene. It was also a change for me to paint these cows and a challenge since most of my paintings contain horses,” she says of her oil Watching You, in which a group of cattle peers directly at the viewer. Bunch also exhibits at Ruiz Studio & Gallery in San Angelo, Texas.
“The most exciting part of my life is the creative process itself. My ceramics are three dimensional canvases that I use to create new and unique works of art. I get so fired up as I work on one of them, adding layers of color and design—it’s not conceit but excitement that consumes me as I look at the work in progress, marveling at what is happening in the studio,” says sculpture artist Rebecca Tobey. She hopes collectors share her passion for color and symbolism as they view her works, each of which has its own story to tell through the titles, cut-outs and paintings on its surface.
“I hope to convey an emotion between animals and their landscape through color, movement and drama,” says contemporary Western artist Mejo Okon. “I think Western artists are becoming more and more expressive.” Okon is represented by Mountain Trails Fine Art in Santa Fe; Texas Treasures Fine Art Gallery in Boerne, Texas; and Broadmoor Galleries in Colorado Springs.
Michelle Courier’s 2,000 square-foot space, Westward Gallery in Colorado, offers collectors and guests the experience
of viewing all of her paintings in one large space as well as the opportunity to speak with her directly. “An original piece of art is the creation by the artist’s soul, and there is only one original and the artist creates it to pass it on to be enjoyed by others,” says Courier, who is continuously inspired by the beauty of Western landscapes.
Having been around horses her entire life, Karen Boylan is often inspired by the Quarter Horses she’s raised. “They are a versatile, beautiful animal… t hrough detail, movement and light, I hope to share my experiences and the peace and joy that horses have brought into my life,” says Boylan. “My hope is that collectors can share the beauty and love I have for these magnificent animals by purchasing pieces that truly move them.”
Printmaker Sherrie York and painter Linda Lillegraven are represented by Ann Korologos Gallery in Basalt, Colorado. “Ultimately, they both apply their scientific approach to their linocut prints and paintings with meticulous representations of what they observe in their surroundings in Maine and Wyoming, respectively, but with vastly different styles. Sherrie York’s linocuts exhibit close observations of her immediate surroundings, exemplified in her Underfoot Series, while
Linda Lillegraven captures in oil paint the thin air, hard light and subtle transitions of color and tone of the big, open landscapes of Wyoming.”
Odd Assessment is a whimsical piece by
Sharon Markwardt that depicts three donkeys in a bright array of colors, peering quizzically down at the viewer. “The vibrant colors used by myself and many other women artists help express the personalities of my animal subjects, and make the works lively and fun to live with. What’s not to love about colorful donkeys?”
“Graduating as a drawing major from college, I have a wonderful time telling stories with my drawings that will leave a collector intrigued with a piece for years, enjoying different characters, as well as use of linework, composition and space,” says Jackson Hole-based artist Amy Ringholz. Her expressive wildlife illustrations dabble in abstraction and realism, drawing viewers in with bright and pale colors and a multitude of mediums placed side by side.
The oil paintings of portrait artist Judith Dickinson capture a sense of raw humanity— of seemingly unremarkable moments like the lighting of a pipe, that ultimately exude a sense of power through their simplicity. “Being a portrait artist at heart, I feel that conveying the emotions and soul of the person and
telling their story is my responsibility and joy,” Dickinson says of her artistic approach.
Oklahoma artist Sarah Harless depicts the natural beauty of the Western landscape with a sense of tranquility. “I like the more traditional ways of life and simplistic lifestyle when people lived off the land. We don’t get time back and it is vital to me to use my time wisely,” says Sarah. “I think my artwork captures some of the old ways that are still part of a tradition and lifestyle from the earlier generations.”
The variety of works created from the minds of the Western art world’s women artists, time and time again, prove to be as dynamic in style and individuality as the creators themselves.