Western Visions: The Beauty of Nature
Western Visions returns to the National Museum of Wildlife Art with more than 200 works of art available.
For the past three decades, the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has hosted its Western Visions exhibition as a way to connect artists, locals and visitors with wildlife through a diverse array of artwork. The show, a fundraiser for the museum, focuses on contemporary artists who continue the dialogue of what wildlife art once was and what it is today.
“This year, we honor the profound value of art in our lives and recognize its contribution to our collective joy and health,” says Amy Goicoechea, director of programs and events at the museum. “We are especially grateful for the creative expressions shared by premier artists whose paintings, prints, sculptures and sketches enrich our lives. It is our privilege to exhibit their work and offer it to our patrons in support of the Museum’s mission to ‘enrich and inspire appreciation and knowledge of humanity’s relationship with nature.’ Their work expresses positivity and allows us to experience hope.”
This year’s 33rd edition of Western Visions is scheduled to be a hybrid event with some components online and others in-person, making it convenient for all patrons of the museum to get involved whether they are traveling or not. “We wanted to make all things be as inclusive as possible this year. If patrons feel like traveling and being here, that’s great. The show will be open and works available for purchase live and on-site, but it is inclusive to our supporters who don’t feel comfortable with traveling,” says Goicoechea.
The annual show and sale will be fixed price instead of its usual by-draw event. Collectors can start buying works online August 24, and when the show goes on exhibit September 12, they can view it and make purchases at the museum. This year, because there will be no large-scale indoor events, the sketches will be hung at the museum alongside the larger works. Traditionally they are exhibited in another area for the sketch sale. “I’m excited about that,” Goicoechea explains. “If artists give us two pieces, visitors to the museum will see them adjacent to one another, which is exciting for those artists that did the sketch piece as a true preliminary work to the larger piece.” Artwork will be available to purchase through October 18—one week longer than normal.
Western Visions features artwork by 100 of
the leading wildlife and landscape artists, with many being repeat exhibitors that collectors have come to recognize over the years. There also are newcomers to the event each year, bringing fresh voices into the fold. Among the participants for 2020 are Andrew Denman, John Potter, Tamara Ruiz, Tim Shinabarger, Adam Smith, Jim Wilcox, Mary Roberson, Lindsay Scott and Bregelle Whitworth Davis.
Mark Eberhard, last year’s recipient of the trustee’s purchase award, will partake in the show once again. Since his painting was purchased by the museum in 2019, he was invited to have his work for this year’s show included on the event invitations. His painting Autumn Majesty highlights his signature contemporary style as well as being an image that evokes Jackson Hole.
“When I was asked to create a painting to be used for the publicity of Western Visions, I wanted to do something that communicated the fall in Jackson Hole,” he elaborates. “I chose the iconic Aspen trees in their fall foliage combined with an overall autumn feel to the background color; elk, since they are getting ready to make their way back down into the elk refuge in Jackson; and the resident Steller’s jays for the way their wonderful color worked with the rest of the painting.”
Living in Colorado, Dustin Van Wechel has the Rocky Mountains within reach, and his time outdoors exploring that terrain has served as inspiration for his newest painting Elevenses. “It’s a bit of a paradox that when I’m working in the studio, I find I’m yearning to be back out in the wilds of North America. And when I’m outdoors hiking, photographing and painting, I can’t wait to return to the studio to record my experiences on canvas,” he says. “Elevenses is no exception. As I developed this painting, I couldn’t help but be reminded of how much I enjoy observing Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in the sublime vistas of their high-altitude environment.”
Having just moved to the Sonoran desert, Guy Combes, who was born in East Africa, has noticed many reminders of his birthplace that have begun to influence his paintings. “It is the influence of the environment that initially drew me to Arizona, and while I intend to continue to explore the wildlife and landscapes of East Africa, I am equally fueled by my immediate surroundings. Tucson is not only inspiring, but very welcoming too, and I find myself in a place that is rich with the tradition of wildlife and landscape art,” he says.
In the show, collectors will find Combes’ portrait Desert Survivor of a desert bighorn ram. “The turquoise and iron oxide reddish-brown create a powerful contrast and allude to the rich geology of the desert landscape,” he shares. “There are landscapes within the muscles, fur and horns of these animals that interest me as much as the landscapes they inhabit, and this is my focus in this painting.”
James Morgan believes keen observational skills are an important aspect of being an artist and the excitement of painting comes from finding new ways to interpret the natural world. Leaving Flat Lake is a wintery scene by the artist that will be available in this year’s exhibition. Explaining the painting, he says, “On a bright late February day on
Flat Creek Marsh, a pair of stately trumpeter swans depart into the thawing south wind. The thick winter ice is breaking up and red winged blackbirds begin serenading an early spring. The abstract shapes, patterns and colors of a vibrant marshscape are always a favorite theme.”
In his artwork, Steve Devenyns, who has been a past award winner at Western Visions, portrays American cowboys “as good stewards of the land and the animals in their care.” His painting In Every Cloud…a Silver Lining, depicting a cowboy out in a thunderstorm, brings to the artist’s mind the old adage, “In every cloud there is a silver lining.” Devenyns says, “Some might consider being caught in a thunderstorm a threatening situation or, at the very least, an inconvenience. For others, it just might present an opportunity to be in the right place at the right time. This painting depicts one of those special moments. Seeing the small herd of elk is a bonus to riding through a rainstorm.”
Other highlights of Western Visions will include the ticketed Jewelry & Artisan Sale on September 9, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. In lieu of the luncheon, this year anyone can purchase a ticket and walk the museum’s outdoor sculpture trail to view and purchase jewelry and goods. “Instead of a seated lunch, it will be an open program. Come any time and have hors d’oeuvres and great beverages,” Goicoechea elaborates. “Most of the artists will be there in-person and in tents long the sculpture trail and they’ll be spread out in a good, safe manner.”
This year’s program will take place virtually instead of at the museum, with artists Amy Lay, Amy Ringholz, Kathryn Mapes Turner, September Vhay and Kathy Wipfler sharing their artistic insights in the discussion “The Jackson Hole Five: Important Painters from the West.” The Farewell to Fall Arts Brunch is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Keep checking the museum’s website as event details may change.