2014 Western Art Collector-Wildlife Discovery Show Feature Article

INSIDE Walter Ufer • The Russell • Collecting Landscapes • State of the Art: Colorado MARCH 2014

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UPCOMING GROUP SHOW

S HOW LO C AT ION JAC K S ON, W Y

Up to 25 works March 17-30, 2014 Trailside Galleries 130 E. Broadway Jackson, WY 83001 (307) 733-3186

Wildlife discovery

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inter in Jackson is filled not only with ski-related activities and endless opportunities to enjoy the magnificent outdoors, but also with incredible fine Western art. To celebrate the season and showcase the beauty of the natural world and its inhabitants, Trailside Galleries hosts its annual Wildlife Discovery show. Held March 17 through March 30, this group exhibition showcases new works from the top wildlife painters and sculptors from around the country.

Works for the show include wildlife and natural subjects including big game animals

Kyle Sims, The Constant Sniffer, oil, 20 x 24”

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from the African savannah, North American mammals, as well as delicate birds and aquatic subjects. Artists participating in the show include Bonnie Marris, James Morgan, Renso Tamse, Ralph Oberg, Lori Forest, Sherry Sander, Lindsay Scott, Suzie and John SeereyLester, Kyle Sims, Tucker Smith, Lindsay Scott, Daniel Smith, Adam Smith, Sarah Woods, and Dustin Van Wechel, among others.

The initial attraction that ignited Sims’ new painting for the show, titled The Constant Sniffer, was the curve of the fox, beginning with the tail, leading up and around the rest of the body to the head.

“In my opinion, the key visual characteristic of a fox is its tail,” says Sims. “It’s what everyone thinks of when they think ‘fox.’ So, I wanted that featured prominently, but also to not be where your eye finishes moving around the piece. Another characteristic of a fox is how it behaves. They are constantly on the move and constantly sniffing about for food. It’s simply a necessity for them in order to survive. They really are busy creatures.

When you’re observing them, it can be a bit frustrating. But after you watch them many times, you can pick up on certain visual patterns that can be pleasing. That’s what I’ve attempted here.”

Scott says each fall she makes a highly anticipated trip to the Montana/Wyoming area, which is where the inspiration for her new work Edge of the Woods stems.

“That time of year the air is crisp and clear and the fall color is always so exciting,” she says. “The yin and yang of the darkness in the woods and brilliant light and color in the meadow…It is a time of year that deer need to be especially wary, particularly the buck.

That darkness can be a safe haven.”

Forest says that lately she has been inspired to paint the more quiet and secretive aspects of wildlife.

“I am very fortunate to live in a place where I see wildlife daily,” explains Forest.

“All my work is composed from these encounters.”

Her latest piece for the show, The Hunting Party, was inspired by a frequent visitor to her backyard—a mother bobcat that for the past several years has brought her half-grown kittens to teach them to hunt the cottontails that live around her house.

“The youngsters are very under-confident and awkward, while the mother patiently shows them where to hide,” says Forest. “She will then expertly stalk her prey and scare it their way. The mother is always regal and

Lindsay Scott, Edge of the Woods, oil, 28 x 42”

confident—very fitting to her name, for female bobcats are aptly called ‘queens.’”

Dutch artist Tamse says of his work titled Snowfall Pace he tried to make a setting where the moose walks away in falling snow paired with the subtle warm backlight of the sun trying to break through.

“It is something I wanted to capture for a long time,” he explains. “I find the silence of snowfall in slow motion the most beautiful—fairy tale-like.”

There will be an artists’ reception at the gallery on March 20, 5 to 7 p.m.

Fo r a d i re c t l i n k to t he e x h i b it i n g g a l l e r y g o to w w w. we ste r n a r tc o l l e c to r. c o m

Lori Forest, The Hunting Party, oil, 18 x 24”

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