Trailside Galleries, Wildlife Discovery 2016, Western Art Collector March 2016

INSIDE Cowgirl Up! • The Russell • State of the Art: Colorado • Western Landscapes MARCH 2016

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UPCOMING GROUP SHOW Up to 20 works March 1-31, 2017

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

Trailside Galleries 130 E. Broadway Jackson, WY 83001 (307) 733-3186

Wildlife discovery

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uring the annual Wildlife Discovery exhibition at Trailside Galleries in Jackson, Wyoming, art lovers will be treated to a diverse selection of paintings and sculpture by some of world’s leading artists in

the genre. The primary focus of the show will be North American mammals, but also featured are birds and smaller species. According to the gallery, “Given the heightened awareness of global warming and fragile ecosystems, the genre

Dustin Van Wechel, Woodland Royalty, oil, 40 x 35”

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has taken on a whole new dimension, as artists strive not only to create an aesthetically pleasing image, but to have it serve as an educational tool to bring more awareness to preservation.”

Participating in this year’s show are artists Julie Askew, John DeMott, Veryl Goodnight, Bruce Lawes, Jan Martin McGuire, Bonnie Maris, Ralph Oberg, Lindsay Scott, Kyle Sims, Tucker Smith, Linda St. Clair, Renso Tamse, Ezra Tucker, Dustin Van Wechel, Lynn Wade, Sarah Woods, and many more.

In Van Wechel’s painting Woodland Royalty, he paints a narrative of two elk walking through forest terrain. Of the piece, the artist says, “I’ve always enjoyed painting summer elk. Their rich, red coats, crown of antlers in velvet and their plum bodies combined with the warm tones of summer are an inspiring mix to tell the story of this pair of bachelors making their way through a woodland stream. They are true kings of their environment.”

Also telling a story in his work is Tucker, whose painting A Lazy Afternoon shows two adult foxes taking a break from a morning of hunting prey. Elaborating, Tucker says, “The sight of two adult foxes lying down together after a busy afternoon of hunting reminds me of my parents resting on a Sunday afternoon after a busy weekend. The caring for its pups can be a major effort when prey is scarce. The tod usually does the hunting for the family unit when pups are born. I find the intelligence in their eyes to be remarkable. The beauty of the infinite color change in the fur on the body of the red fox and its tail is very fascinating to me and a fun challenge to capture in paint.”

Tamse’s painting for the show, the aptly titled Northern Hawk Owl, spotlights one of the artist’s favorite owls. “It has excellent hearing and eyes and hunts mostly during the day,” says Tamse. “Looking or listening down in search for something to eat, a vertical composition was an interesting choice…The dark background, which contains many layers of watercolor,

Lindsay Scott, Two Cute, colored pencil, 10 x 19”

Ezra Tucker, A Lazy Afternoon, acrylic on board, 15 x 40”

Renso Tamse, Northern Hawk Owl, watercolor, 31 x 9”

should give an idea of a boreal forest where these birds live. I paint mostly what I have seen or what I would like to see.”

For 30 years, Scott and her husband, Brian, have taken small groups on photograph safaris in Africa, primarily to the Okavango Delta in Botswana, which is their favorite locale. These visits allow Scott to observe lions “living their lives in the wild unaffected by human interference” and many of these sights find their way to her canvases, such as the lion cubs in Two Cute. She adds, “It is here we frequently get this opportunity, watching the young ones play; lions are such social animals that their interaction is always fascinating.”

Wildlife Discovery will also feature cow, horse and bear paintings by St. Clair, as well as works with American white pelicans by Wade, to describe a few. The show runs March 1 to 31, with an open house on March 17 from 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

Bonnie Maris, Companions, oil

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