WESTERN ART EAST of the Mississippi
While the West often brings to mind classic images of Yosemite National Park, Death Valley, the Grand Canyon, the Sonoran Desert and so much more, the region of the United States located east of the Mississippi River has brought abundant inspiration to those inspired by the sentiments of the American West. The Mississippi River itself is a sight to behold. The behemoth river runs the northern/southern length of the country, from its source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, down to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico. All along the way, the river passes through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.
Moving to the east, you’ll hit Western hotspots like Cartersville, Georgia, home of the Booth Western Art Museum. Hosting major shows and events throughout the year, including the cowboy-centric annual Southeastern Chuck Wagon Gathering, the Booth Museum is a 120,000-square-foot architectural wonder housing the works of such iconic names as Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, as well as contemporary masters like Howard Terpning. In Atlanta, collectors can explore the High Museum of Art, among other arts institutions.
In Charleston, South Carolina, the annual Southeastern Wildlife Exposition held every February, brings artists and art lovers from across the country in celebration of wildlife conservation and wildlife art. The 2021 event is scheduled to take place February 12 to 14.
Traveling up to North Carolina, the city of Asheville is an art hub. The River Arts District near downtown Asheville is home to nearly 200 artists’ studios, many of which collectors can visit and explore. And Downtown Asheville Arts District, near the French Broad River, is yet another lively spot where artists can rent out studio spaces and display their work publicly.
The James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art in St. Petersburg, Florida, showcases contemporary landscape and wildlife art of the
West, born out of the passion of the museum’s co-founders Tom and Mary James. Upcoming exhibitions hosted by the James Museum include Artists for Conservation’s annual juried exhibition and Away from Home: American Indian Boarding School Stories, adapted from the Phoenix, Arizona-based Heard Museum’s permanent exhibition.
Collectors and admirers of Western art can also explore the Western landscape and wildlife art of pastel artist Lisa Gleim. Based in her hometown of Atlanta, the artist also spends a great deal of time at her second home in Big Sky, Montana.
Fine Arts (PAFA), she now calls Georgia and Montana home.
A Signature Member of Artists for Conservation, Gleim thrives outdoors. In both plein air and studio paintings, she depicts the low country marshes of the mid-atlantic, Eastern coast lines and the wild animals and vastness of the Western terrain.
Her engagement with these varied genres aligns perfectly with her interests and skills of keen, unrushed observation and masterful composition. Add the vibrant, pure pigment of pastels and a realism style, Gleim shares the marvels of the outdoors, which often prompt the viewer to linger with a scene and contemplate each setting further. Landscape, animal and figurative elements are often combined in a single piece by this awardwinning and nationally recognized fine artist.
For years after graduating from PAFA, Gleim did primarily commissioned portraits, first in Philadelphia, then Atlanta. It was a patron’s unexpected request for Gleim to also paint a beloved pet dog in action swimming, which proved a very fortuitous turning point in her career.
“To the magnificent challenge of capturing light and atmospheric effects on a subject, along with painting reflective surfaces, such as water, adding motion completed the picture for me, so to speak,” Gleim recounts as she refers to pieces such as Diesel.
Gleim’s pastels are in the collections of many individuals, corporations and museums.