American Miniatures
Works from 175 artists
On February 8, more than 175 artists will be presenting new, small-scale works at the annual American Miniatures show at Settlers West Galleries in Tucson, Arizona.
These well-attended and lively events feature many of the artists in attendance and a spirited by-draw sale that can be quite competitive, with many collectors vying for some of the top works. The gallery’s miniature show is especially popular, with most works under $5,000, and some even starting at $1,600, which offers collectors a chance to build and expand their own collection, or even gift a piece to family and friends, at an affordable price.
“For well over 30 years our American Miniatures show has enticed collectors with the promise of ‘big’ paintings in small packages,” says Mike Salkowski, gallery manager. “It presents an opportunity for buyers to either branch out of the typical subject matter or styles of work in their collection, or to add more pieces by some of their favorites without overwhelming their walls by trying to squeeze in one more big painting. For our artists, the struggle of painting small is a welcome challenge, stretching their abilities as well as their creativity. The results are often spectacular, and the small jewels of this show are among the most sought-after pieces we will offer this year.”
Artists in this year’s show include Ken Carlson, Z.S. Liang, Tucker Smith, Robert Griffing, Daniel Smith, William Acheff and many others.
Cowboy Artists of America member Phil Epp
will be presenting one of his colorful acrylic works with Hilltop Breeze, which shows horses huddled together under a magnificent sky. “Detailed small paintings are difficult for me unless they are studies for further efforts,” Epp, fresh off a successful showing at the annual CAA exhibition, says. “I have the opportunity to observe and record live horse groups on a regular basis and I never tired of watching the interaction between the figures. This painting records one of those observations.”
Bud Heiss also paints the landscape in The Lay of the Land, which shows two bushclad hills in front of a larger mountain range in the distance. “My focus for The Lay of the Land was to create a dynamic composition that depicts dramatic light and shadow,” Heiss says. “Most of this painting is invented, based on ideas inspired by various areas that either I’ve lived in or traveled to. As
I constructed this work I experimented with the composition, purposely creating the flow that moves the eye here and there, and for me, evoking mystery and expectation of what I might find over that next hill.”
Another noteworthy landscape work is Matt Smith’s Autumn Reflection, which shows bright cliffs glowing in the afternoon sun while trees with fall leaves are positioned dramatically at the edge of an encroaching shadow sweeping through a desert canyon.
Two portraits come from Griffing, who paints a Native American subject in Seems Like Only Yesterday, and Myron Sahlberg, who painted a young female subject wearing a large cowboy hat in Musing. A human figure also plays an important role in Liang’s Change is Coming to His Way of Life, which features a Plains Indian on horseback as he gazes down at a broken wagon wheel.
Don Oelze’s Sisters will be available as well. The work shows two female subjects surrounded by beaded creations. “In my painting called Sisters I wanted to paint something a bit more close and intimate than what I normally do,” the Montana painter says. “I was attracted to the light in this scene but on a deeper level. I wanted to portray the special relationship between two young women who take care of each other, watch out for each other in a life which is full of hardships and struggles.”
In Karin Hollebeke’s At the Breakin’ Day, the painter focuses on four horses lit by a single light source coming from inside rider’s winter cabin. The warmth of the light seems to keep the cold at bay in the small work. “Springtime in the higher elevation of the ranch usually means the snow cover hangs on a little longer,” she says. “Cattle have to be checked on, regardless of the weather, so cowhands have to saddle up and head out at the crack of dawn. After a long day on the range, the cowboys return to the warmth and comfort of the line shack for a good meal, good company and a bunk for their tired body.”
Other works in the show include wildlife, such as the quail in Carlson’s Song of the Saguaro, and Tucker Smith’s elk piece Vigilant.
American Miniatures hangs throughout much of February, but collectors are encouraged to participate in the February 8 opening since many of the works are sold during the by-draw, fixed-price sale.