20th Annual "Cowgirl Up!" Catalog

M a r ch 28 — M ay 25, 2 02 5 Boot ill ustratio n © Tim

Zeltner /i2iart.c om

MUSE UM’S MISSIO N Share the diverse stories, cultures and experiences of the West.

Cowgirl Up! Goals

2025 COWG I R L U P ! CO M MITTE E

To continue to tell the saga of the West by showcasing the best in art — painting, drawing, and sculpture.

Lori Jaros, Chair

Daniel M. Finley, Exec Dir.

Maura Allen

Caesar Chaves

Arlein Anderson

Kathy Clark

Lynne Boyer

Emily Gordon

Holly Caniglia

Noah Gordon

To focus on art from the “other half of the West” — work created solely by women artists who are capturing the spirit of the West and its lifestyle.

Peggy Colley

Hillary Harnasch

Linda Fett

Dr. Tricia Loscher

Liz Mead

Tarah Reed

To contribute to the overall high quality of Western art by sponsoring and perpetuating an invitational exhibition and sale.

Peggy Means

Lisa Wallace

To serve as a resource for both sophisticated and emerging collectors of Western art.

Leslie Parran

To provide a museum setting for artists and audience to both share this ever-changing saga and to interact.

To inform and educate the public about the Western art genre and the women who are creating it. To support Arizona’s most Western museum as it reaches out to tell the stories of the West.

Karla Mortimer Tracy Newton Kathleen Parrish Maura Schuster Elaine Schweitzer Linda Waag Linda Woley

Our Distinguished Panel of Judges Adolfo Castillo, Co-publisher, Western Art Collector magazine Alexis Cosca, Art Appraiser, Hill Art Valuation Patsy Lowry, Arizona-based Artist

Joe Beeler (1931-2006), Thanks for the Rain, bronze, 1988

TA B LE OF CONTEN T S

Letter from Executive Director

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Daniel M. Finley

BOAR D O F T RU S TE E S

James Colley, Chairman Margie Brown, Vice Chair

Richard “Dick” and Virginia “Ginny” DeVore

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The beginnings of Cowgirl Up!

Ken Heineman, Secretary Theresa Dunn, Treasurer Maura Allen

Artists’ Statements and Artwork

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Artists’ Index and Headshots

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Charlee Brotherton Sam Crissman Allen Gasper Bruce Jackson, Jr. Jody McCoy

Cowgirl Up! Sponsors

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Gilbert Melendez Kathleen Parrish

Cowgirl Up! A Look Back

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Michael Parrish Becky Rovey Maura Schuster John “Jack” Sigler Coeta Thrasher Linda Waag Betty Watt

FR OM THE EX E C U T I V E DI RE C T OR

The American West has been a melting pot for more than 200 years. The story is one of a confluence of cultures, races and genders and is as rich and diverse as America itself. Its landscapes and legends are symbols of strength and courage. Regrettably the role of women in this narrative has long been minimized and obscured even though they were always there, side-by-side, with their male counterparts. Unless a woman was the schoolmarm, she had little stature in her community. As a leading Western art museum, it was incumbent upon us to find a way to bring the work of Western women artists to light after years in the shadows. Recognition they long deserved but rarely had gotten. When Cowgirl Up! was conceived in 2005, it was intended to do just that. Now 20 years later, it has been successful beyond anyone’s hopes and stands alone as the most important exhibition and sale for Western women artists. Cowgirl Up!, along with a $1 million gift by Dita and John Daub has enabled us to acquire many works by early (1880-1960) Western women artists. The construction of a new art museum building on our campus will firmly establish the Desert Caballeros Western Museum as the most renowned museum dedicated to Western women’s art In this special anniversary year, we give a tip of the Stetson to the show’s founding fathers and mothers, and we are honoring the contributions of the DeVore family for their support and creative endeavors during its earliest days. Western women artists are out of the shadows and we hope Cowgirl Up! helped to lead the way.

Daniel M. Finley Executive Director Desert Caballeros Western Museum

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COWGIRL UP! 20TH ANNIVERSARY

D ICK AND GINNY DE V ORE … Ginny coined the name Cowgirl Up! and thus a legacy began. In 2005, Richard “Dick” and Virginia “Ginny” DeVore played a pivotal role in launching Cowgirl Up! Art from the other Half of the West. Following an art show they attended that was dominated by male artists, they asked each other, “Where were all the women artists?” At the time, Dick, who served on the Museum’s board of trustees, shared the idea of creating an art show exclusively for women with the Chairman of the Board, Jim Ludke, the Executive Director, Royce Kardinal, and the other board members. As the board collaborated to bring this vision to life, Ginny coined the name Cowgirl Up!, and thus a legacy began. From the inaugural exhibition, Dick and Ginny provided financial support and acquired numerous artwork over the years. They truly loved hosting artists’ events at their home and would visit some of the women artists throughout the year. Even after their passing—Ginny in 2013 and Dick in 2016—The DeVore Foundation has continued to support Cowgirl Up! each year, establishing a 20-year agreement from 2017 to 2036 by Alta DeVore and the late William “Bill” DeVore. Each year this sentinel event continues to grow, shining a spotlight on Western women artists and supporting Museum programming for Wickenburg’s rural community and beyond. Today, the Cowgirl Up! exhibition and art sale have widespread acclaim, attracting visitors from across the nation and around the globe to experience the exhibition. Each year, the Museum’s acquisition committee selects and purchases a piece of art that is added to the permanent collection. Without Dick and Ginny’s championing for parity of women in a male-dominated field and the Board of Trustees vision, the women artists and the Museum would not have been as successful over the last 20 years. With heartfelt appreciation to the DeVore family, we extend our sincere thanks for your ongoing support.

Dick and Ginny DeVore

2005 Board of Trustees Jim Ludke, Chairman

John Griner

Myron Deibel, Vice Chairman

Elmer Johnson

Pat Ernst, Vice Chairman

Tony Melendez

Gary Turner, Treasurer Jan Currier, Secretary Mary Armour Ron Badowski Helena Chapin Carolyn Conklin Harrison Conrad

John Marzolf Christine Mollring David Moralez Herman Orcutt Bill Owen Carol Russell Charles Wilder

Dick DeVore Sophie Echeverria Roxie Glover

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M AURA ALLEN There are stories all around us—the best are closest to home. The American West — both real and romanticized — is the center of Maura Allen’s work. Starting on location at ranches and rodeos, she magically weaves past and present, Old West and new, to create original contemporary paintings, sculpture and fine art glass pieces. New collections by the artist include “Natural Order,” which celebrates strong women of the West, and “Love Notes: The American West,” featuring original postcard messages dating back to the late 1800s along with her modern-day imagery. Texas-based Double D Ranch, the premier lifestyle brand of the West, selected Maura as the featured artist for its 2025 Holiday Collection premiering this Fall. Maura studied Latin/Classical Studies at Stanford University, learning how iconic figures, myth and moments define a culture. Two-plus decades ago, she began chronicling the American West with ranchers and wranglers as her trusted guides and realized many of the same cultural forces were at play. Her work is included in museum, corporate and private collections and shown/sold in major galleries. Maura is passionate about the power of story and its role in shaping our view of the West today.

Maura Allen, You Belong Among the Wildflowers, acrylic on 36” round panel

HEAT HER JOHNSON BE ARY Heather Johnson Beary is an award-winning sculptor from Prescott, Arizona. She was raised in rural Central Florida where she explored the cypress swamps and palmetto forests finding a sense of wonder and peace in the natural world. Heather started creating notable works of art at a young age, selling her first drawing at 13. Upon earning her BA from the University of Toledo, she moved to Prescott, Arizona and fell in love with all things Southwest, from the flora and fauna to the Native American and pioneer influences of the people inhabiting the region. Her work is inspired by the rugged freedom and abundant nature this wild country still provides. Along with creating smaller works for private homes, Heather has been commissioned by Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, the Salvation Army, the City of Prescott, the United States Federal Government, and the Prime Minister of Bahrain to create public, monumental bronze sculptures. She was fortunate to have her work selected to grace both Zion National Park and Escalante National Monument in Utah. Her work is in collections all over the United States as well as Canada, Australia, England, France, Scotland, Bahrain, Singapore, Jakarta, and the British Virgin Islands. Heather Johnson Beary, Higher Ground (detail), mixed bronze, 29 x 15 x 8, ed. 7

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MARCIA BLAKEMAN “As an artist, I have the real ‘need’ or ‘desire’ to create. I have always felt this…but even more since surviving cancer. This has inspired my ‘Survivor Series.’ The paintings depict a life that has gone through stormy times but is still standing and surviving. Using a unique color palette that represents the types of cancer that I have lived through, like the structures in my series, I have a little more character but am still standing.” Marcia spent her summers as a child and now lives part-time in Colorado. She has always been drawn to the mountains, the wideopen spaces and all that lies within. After living several places across the United States, Marcia feels most at home in the West. There is something about being able to see vistas and distance that speaks to her. In Marcia’s words: “Painting is simply a pleasure. I don’t paint to make a statement but rather to bring the beauty of everyday scenes to light. We often overlook what we pass on a daily basis. I think my small-town childhood helped me to appreciate the beauty in the everyday. This quote sums it up: “In the right light, At the right time, Everything is extraordinary”. Aaron Rose Marcia Blakeman, High Meadow Marsh, pastel on paper, 27 x 23

S ARA BLOODWOLF “I read that Charles Russell used to frequent dusty saloons on the frontier looking for old timers. He would buy them drinks and asked to be regaled with the stories of the wild days of their youth—tales of a frontier life before a world in transition that spelled disaster for so many, and that fascinated me. The older days before the buffalo trails were covered by wagon tracks, before ancient hunting grounds were plowed into farmland. How amused he would be to know dusty painters are doing the same today, grasping for the past but looking for his own ghost—I assume his specter—surrounded by the companion souls of old cowhands and Comanche, among smells of sweet whiskey, ink drying on paper and turpentine. He shouldn’t be too hard to find.” Sara is a decendent of performers in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, and legends of the old frontier. Sara’s great-great grandfather Sequah performed in front of crowds with Buffalo Bill Cody and sold a patented cure-all “Prairie Flower” in blue glass bottles bearing his name. Her ancestry stretches to the Eastern Woodlands where her grandfathers were the literal inspiration for James Fenimore Cooper’s Last of the Mohicans tales, the very real exploits of her hunter family and their fearlessness far beyond what was ever penned in his books. Sara started painting as a child and has never stopped. Self-taught, she paints daily and often till dawn in her one hundred year old cabin in the woods surrounded by family heirlooms of flintlock rifles and aging tintype photos. She attests that the characters in her family tree, as well as an inherit passion for history are the reason for her subject matter. Sara Bloodwolf, Forever Within, oil on canvas, 28 x 40 MORE AT WESTERNMUSEUM.ORG

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NAOM I BROWN Once You Let The Desert Into Your Heart It Changes You Forever Naomi Brown was born in Palm Springs, California in 1975. She grew up in Twentynine Palms, California. She now resides in Queen Creek, Arizona with her husband and children. Naomi is a self-taught artist and has been painting for the past 20 years. Her Southwest landscapes, Western scenes and inspirational/religious paintings range in size from 5 x 7 to 48 x 72. She paints on museum board and canvas. She will paint her gradient skies in with acrylic then paint her clouds and foreground over the top of the acrylic with oil. She loves the depth and vibrancy of color that it gives her paintings. I love to capture the delicate beauty and colors of the desert in my paintings. My desert calms me with its peace and beauty. I am fortunate to have grown up in Twentynine Palms, California and enjoy its beauty through its smallest desert animals to its vast, open, colorful landscapes. Naomi Brown, Winter Light, oil on panel, 23 ½ x 19 ½

S OP HY BR OWN

There is something ethereal looking into the blue eye of a pink skinned horse as if there is a whole other world in its depths. The painting became about creating a similar other-worldly feeling, swirling in air and space. Sophy Brown, Ghost Horse, acrylic on board, 24 ¼ x 48

“Much of my work is centered around horses. I was lucky enough to have an ex-racehorse for 20 years. He was hardwired to run and was prone to anxiety and agitation. Early on, when stressed, he’d sweat, his muscles would bunch and tremble, head held high, eyes wide and every fiber of him would be ready to move. I’d feel this with a tight and complicated knot of empathy that recognized his inner state. Watching horses, their responses to each other and their environment, and their nuanced relationships, I believe I can see all emotional life there. They are instinctive, physical and show without filter their inner state, something that in people is often hidden and complicated. Standing securely in their place in 6

COWGIRL UP! 20TH ANNIVERSARY

nature, they speak to us on a visceral level reminding us of our own animal skin. Painting for me is a way of responding to the world as I experience it. It is an attempt to give form to an internal life, materialize thoughts, questions, and emotions. It is a way to explore for meaning and understanding. The thing about making paintings as a way of life is that it evolves. It changes with you, with where you are, and with the times you live in.”

RACHEL BR OWNLEE Rachel Brownlee, born and raised in western Nebraska, brings an intense and genuine portrayal of the American West to life. A deceivingly heightened photorealistic approach to both her aesthetics and the representations of her subjects challenges the idealizations of the West. Rachel taught herself the skills of drawing by creating her own life studies on her family’s cattle ranch. Despite honing her artistic skills, she received a degree in Computer Science from the University of Nebraska in Omaha, even starting her own company creating cattle management software. But her undeniable talents led her to pursue her career as an artist. Rachel provides an authentic and equitable voice to those who often found their lives romanticized. Her work provides intimate glimpses into the thrills and excitement of the living West, but also depicts the hardships, the struggles, and the suffering that these individuals and animals endure. Today she lives on her cattle ranch with her family, allowing her daily life on the ranch to become seamlessly interwoven with her artistic practice. Rachel Brownlee, She Waits For No Man, charcoal on panel, 42 x 30

H EAT HER BU RTON Heather Burton is a traditional oil painter living in Northern Colorado with her husband and fellow painter Dave Santillanes and their two children Conner and Callie. “I paint the things that I love and inspire me. I have always been in awe of the beauty of the world and the people and animals in it. Connecting the viewer to the moments that inspire me is what I strive to share in my paintings. I want to express the emotional response that has been stirred in me, hopefully evoking a personal response in the viewer.

Heather Burton, Escaramuza, oil on panel, 36 x 30

I attended Syracuse University for design and after graduation I became a graphic artist, web designer and developer. In 2006 I decided to go back to school for my Master’s in Painting and Illustration, driven by a desire to show my son that he should pursue his passion. I attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Since graduating in 2010, I have been teaching art and painting full time. I have always loved and been drawn to horses and other animals. In graduate school, I combined my love of painting with my love of horses and started focusing on painting horses in motion. Having grown up in upstate NY, I began painting thoroughbreds at Saratoga and upon moving to Maui, transitioned to painting polo ponies. I met my husband, a fantastic Colorado artist, while he was in Maui for an art show. In late 2014, my son and I moved to Colorado. I am so excited to be living where beautiful landscapes, horses, the western lifestyle and wildlife are abundant sources of inspiration. My two amazing, unique, and beautiful children are also a constant source of inspiration.” MORE AT WESTERNMUSEUM.ORG

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S H AW N CAM ER ON Shawn’s ranching heritage began over 150 years ago in Arizona and continues into the sixth generation. Her subjects are real, their story is true. Her passion is to share this life that she has personally known and loved. Resource material is gathered on the family’s ranch that serves as inspiration for paintings. Although she drew and painted from childhood, the mentoring of friends such as Bill Owen, and other admired artists helped her grow professionally. Grateful for the gift God has given her, and opportunities provided, her goal is to continue to improve. Her work has been included in prominent publications as well as numerous museum shows including Prix de West, Night of Artists, “C.M. Russell Auction,” Cowgirl Up! Art From the Other Side of the West, Coors Western Art Show and more. Her recognitions and awards include being named a “Master Artist” for Art of the Cowgirl 2024. She was, also given the “Steel Dust Award” in 2022 for “Best of Show” from the American Quarter Horse Museum in America’s Horse in Art as well as the Cowgirl Up! “Museum Purchase” award in 2020 for her painting Dusty Haze. She enjoys working in a studio next to their house in Pine, Arizona, where she and her husband live. Shawn Cameron, The Hour Before Dawn, oil on linen, 25 x 21

S TE P HANIE CAMPOS Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Stephanie Campos showed an interest in drawing at a young age. Her kindergarten teacher was first to notice her natural talent for detail. At thirteen she began creating realistic portraits in pastel, oil, and acrylic. With photographic reference, I challenged myself to place features as correctly as I could. It was tedious yet intriguing, and consequently became a life-long passion. Over the course of time, charcoal became my tool of choice for its varied range in tonal values. My work is centered mainly on historical Native Americans and was initially inspired by the artwork of Cowboy Artists of America member, R. Brownell McGrew (1916-1994). I love studying faces. There is information in the eyes to interpret —an expression, emotion or mood to decipher. I begin each drawing using light lines, then shade in details, erase for highlights, and gradually build form and dimension. I enjoy the process of starting from scratch to a fully rendered portrait. Nellie Brown with her horse in the 1880’s. She used hand-braided reins called mecates (Spanish for horse hair rope) They were often a blend of black and white horse tail hair and a traditional part of vaquero culture in the 18th and 19th centuries. Mecates are tied into the headstall and serve as both a rein and a lead rope. Stephanie Campos, Nellie Brown, charcoal, 22 x 19

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S ONJA CAYWOOD Childhood summers on her family’s roundup wagon gave Sonja (Smith) Caywood ample time to study the animals that inspire much of her imagery. Ranching is in her blood and inspires not only an appreciation for her subject matter and agricultural lifestyles, but also her work ethic. Using oils, she renders animals in portrait situations, personifying them in a manner sometimes confrontational, but often as a simple glimpse into a candid, casual, relatable moment.

close up. I love it when viewers approach a painting that first appears life-like, but closer they see it’s an arrangement of shapes, colors, and values. I paint from my heart in joyful appreciation of God’s creation around me. For someone without a formal art education, I’m grateful to make a living doing what I love and thankful that my art hangs in collections across the U.S. and 12 foreign countries. A huge thanks to DCWM and everyone who works to make this show possible!”

“I constantly back up as I paint, so that painterly strokes of oil colors read realistically from a distance but are fun and surprising

Caywood paints from her studio in Dayton, Wyoming, where she and her husband Terry live with their small posse of pets. Sonja Caywood Ticker-Tape Parade, oil on canvas, 17 ½ x 41 ½ I took reference photos of quail during the 2024 Cowgirl Up! show, but the background was so plain. It took a long time to come up with “a place and a space” for them as well as color, a story and added interest beyond the photos. This was really a lot of fun to paint.

K ARE N CLAR KSON Karen Clarkson is a registered Choctaw artist that has been presenting her views on Native art for over 25 years. Although she did not go to art school, she started her journey into the world of portrait art when her children left home. During her career, her art has been shown through many venues. Some notable achievements include permanent museum installations, solo and group art exhibits, and several book publications on technique. A milestone in her career was when Karen’s art was the cover of Native Art Magazine for the 100th anniversary of the Santa Fe Indian Market in 2022. Karen is no stranger to Western art as well. For many years Karen has participated in the Phippen Museum Western Art Show in Prescott, Arizona where she calls home. Her first major award was in 2005, when she won first place for her drawing at the Bosque Conservatory Arts Classic. During her time in Prescott, Karen has been active in preserving Western history by serving on the board of the Western Heritage Foundation and was instrumental in putting together a permanent exhibition on the Rough Riders. Karen’s art has been covered extensively in Native News Online and has been featured in Southwest Art magazine’s “Ten Artists to Watch,” and “Celebrating Women Artists,” Cowboys and Indians photo review at the Autry Museum as well as many local and regional publications.

Karen Clarkson, Imagine, oil on panel, 20 x 16

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S H E RRY COBB-KEL L E H E R Sherry lives on a ranch surrounded by her subject matter – horses, cattle, and wildlife. She received a solid foundation of drawing, composition, anatomy, and the principles of watercolor and oils in her studies at Yavapai Community College, the Scottsdale Artists’ School, and the Cowboy Artists Association workshops. Sherry Cobb-Kelleher The Concrete Pond, oil on linen panel, 21 x 34

Sherry is an artist who sees no barriers between art and reality – both are vital functions of living. She is as intensely passionate about ranching and horses as she is about creating a painting. Much of Sherry’s expression and strength lies in her intimate knowledge of her subjects, as well as mastering the light on a wellbuilt foundation of drawing and composition.

When asked about how she got started in art, Sherry says, “My grandmother painted, my mom painted, and when I was small, mom would give me a piece of paper and a pencil and tell me to draw something to entertain myself.” Sherry began drawing horses and never quit. Growing up on a farm and ranch in southwest Colorado, she was riding horses and swinging ropes when she was just old enough to hold onto a saddle horn.

L I SA DANIELLE From her studio in picturesque Sedona, Arizona, Lisa Danielle has been crafting luminous still life paintings for 40+ years, bringing to light centuries of cultures of the Western frontier she loves. Surrounded by historic ranches, Native lands, and world-class museums, Lisa favors object that are otherwise inaccessible to most, visually preserving moments in time. Cliff dwelling ruins are within hiking or horseback riding distance, and inspiration is virtually everywhere in her beloved red rock country. Lisa’s ramblings, however, have led to more distant historic venues, from Montana’s Virginia City, Fort Benton, Crow Agency and many battlefields, to the back country of Death Valley, looking for traces of long past events. The inspiration given her has allowed Lisa to continue sharing her vision through Leanin’ Tree Publishing and the four galleries representing her work throughout the West. Recently, Southwest Art magazine featured her ability to express history through exquisite focus on the detail of artifacts we leave behind in “The Patina of Age.” While Lisa’s paintings garner museum recognition, including “Patron’s Award,” and “Best Painting” award twice during her 17 years at the Desert Caballeros Museum’s Cowgirl Up! show, her greatest delight is not in awards. It is seeing individuals make a personal connection to a piece. When they take home that glowing bit of history preserved, and add it to their own timeline, they continue the tradition of storytelling she honors, from rock art and cave paintings, to the West of the present. Lisa Danielle, Southwest Textures (detail), acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 10

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LUCY DICKENS Before Lucy Dickens puts brush to canvas creating phenomenal scenes from nature, she personally experiences them. She is drawn to light and shadow and the interplay within. Her award-winning paintings are unique—because she’s also a storyteller of fine art. Her paintings focus on landscapes, botanicals and wildlife, and each piece comes to life as she shares her writings, seeking to bring you along on the journey with her. Not only are the sights, sounds, and experiences expressed through her work, her deep faith is also woven through her life and creativity. While her Southwest paintings are the most collected, she loves traveling on a wonderful vacation adventure and then returning to complete a new painting series like African Safari, Mediterranean Coastal, Italy and Spain, New England Fall, and Journey Through the Holy Lands. Lucy’s fine art paintings have been published many times in the media, including several interviews and news segments. Her award-winning paintings are highly collected nationally and internationally, both in personal and corporate collections. Lucy’s artistic talents emerged in her early years when her parents—one a photographer and the other a watercolorist— introduced her to how art can capture the beauty of nature. She soon developed a sharp eye and zeal for the outdoors. “From the first time I put brush to canvas I knew this is what I was supposed to be doing.

Lucy Dickens, Crimson Skies, oil on canvas, 38 x 44

“This is who I am,” she expresses. The more she paints, the more a deep passion and sense of purpose fulfills her. Lucy adds, “This is my calling.” Lucy began her journey in charcoal sketching and then acrylic painting before transitioning to oil painting in 2005.

M A RGAR ET DR AKE Margaret strives for accuracy as well as aesthetics when creating realistic figures of animals and humans. Originally from Northwestern Colorado ranching country, Margaret first learned she had a propensity for sculpting after she retired from working 30 years in research in the pharmaceutical industry. Margaret has taken several workshops from noted western art sculptors and patineurs. Most sculptors do not do their own patina work, as it means having to master the chemistry involved in oxidizing metal in conjunction with carefully applied heat. Margaret learned patination through working with a master patineur in the field. She does her own patinas, often quite colorful, thus making each piece unique. Margaret’s work has appeared in many prestigious juried shows throughout the United States. She has also taught sculpting at the prestigious Western Art Academy, at Schneider University, Kerrville, Texas. Margaret is also a Signature Member of the Women Artists’ of the West Juried Art group. Margaret Drake, El Leon, bronze, 15 x 17 x 9, ed., 2/35, 33 (2 cast)

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J U D I TH DURR Judith is a proud native of Arizona, a registered member of the Choctaw American Indian Tribe, and an internationally recognized Native American artist. Judith’s artwork tells a story by preserving American Indian legacies through her exquisite oil paintings that capture the emotions of the viewer. “Enduring Legacies” describes Judith’s oil paintings. Judith’s oil paintings reflect her mother’s inspirational beadwork and the family’s collection of Navajo rugs. Her Choctaw mother was a beadworker and taught Judith to bead. Because of this inspiration, Judith learned the history of how beadwork came to be used in North America and on Native regalia. This history inspired Judith to carry on the legacy when she pursued oil painting. Judith taught herself how to paint the beadwork in her paintings. Her oil paintings are inspired by the use of her extensive collection of pottery, baskets, rugs, and moccasins. “I want my painted beads to look like real beads and the rugs to look like real fabric.” Her exquisite style and dedication reflect her knowledge and attention to the history of her subjects. Her art captures a broad genre of still life, portraits, and Western and American Indian life.

J O NI FALK Joni Falk, a realist painter of still life and landscape, has lived in Phoenix, Arizona since 1960. She grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and is a graduate of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was the Southwest with its culture and history that provided the ingredients that compelled her to seek a full-time career in art. Joni is well known throughout the United States and Canada for her landscapes of American Indian life as well as her still lifes of Indian pottery. The diversity of her subjects ranges from traditional and Western still lifes, Pueblo or Plains Indian landscapes, and Indian figures. In 2023, Joni was recognized with the “Heart of the West” award presented by the Desert Caballeros Western Museum for her lifetime achievement as a Western artist. When people view my work, I hope the emotions I felt during the creation of the painting will be evident to the viewer and affect him or her with a lasting and positive impression. Joni Falk, Taos Snow Cover (detail), oil on board, 24½ x 34

20-Year Artist

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COWGIRL UP! 20TH ANNIVERSARY

D EB O RAH COPENHAV E R FE L L OW S Deborah is a horsewoman, raised on a cattle ranch in northern Idaho and brought up in a family of rodeo champions. She holds a BA degree with a Fine Arts major following study in Italy. In the post-Vietnam era, Deborah gained recognition creating veterans’ memorials across the country. Corporate commissions have included Boy Scouts of America, Coors, Kaiser Corporation, and the University of Texas. In 2008, the National Sculpture Society elected Deborah Fellows as a “Life-time Member,” and in 2009 she was inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas. In 2011, Deborah was chosen to create a statue of Barry M. Goldwater for the National Statuary Hall in Washington, DC. In 2017, she sculpted James Bowie for the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. For the last 20 years, Deborah and her husband Fred have lived on their horse ranch in Sonoita, Arizona where she depicts her Western heritage. Through her realistic art, she documents the Western world that she knows and loves. Pictured: from the DCWM Collection: Deborah Copenhaver Fellows, Chasing the Dream, 2015 Bronze on acrylic base, edition 8 of 35 Gift of Betsy and Myron Deibel

20-Year Artist

Deborah's Cowgirl Up! entry was not available when the catalogue was printed.

M A RL ESS FELLOWS Marless Fellows’ journey into art didn’t begin in childhood, but once she picked up a paintbrush in her mid-thirties, there was no turning back. Encouraged by her husband’s grandfather, she dove headfirst into drawing classes, which soon led to a love for oil painting. Over the years, she studied under admired artists at the Scottsdale Artist School, refining her skills while developing her own bold and expressive style. Inspired by the Western lifestyle, Marless’s work captures the heart and soul of the animals, landscapes and traditions that define the spirit of the West. Her paintings are known for their rich colors, dynamic compositions and the personality she brings to each subject—whether it’s a determined working horse, a dusty cowboy moment, or, yes, the occasional charismatic donkey. Her work has been featured in Phoenix Home & Garden magazine, and she has exhibited at prestigious shows such as the Arizona Fine Art Expo and the Phippen Western Art Show. She was also honored as the featured artist for the Arizona Cowboy Poet’s Gathering and spent five years running her own gallery in Cave Creek, Arizona.

Marless Fellows, Dreaming of Tomorrow, oil on linen panel, 40 x 38

Marless continues to push her artistic boundaries, always exploring new ideas, and refining and growing as an artist. Her goal is to create pieces that she loves and also that resonate with collectors and fellow Western art lovers.

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C ORE Y GARM AN Corey loves the West, and especially Arizona. More than anywhere else it feeds her senses and inspires her to share what she experiences. The West has been her muse for her whole life. She cannot remember a time when she didn’t draw and paint. While she did attend art school, her love of pretty, colored rocks started at the beginning of her professional career as a fine gemstone appraiser. Corey spent many years evaluating colored gemstones based on the rarity of their color. In her time away from her microscope, she taught herself to paint. It amazes her that she can make an infinite variety of colors with oil paint just as there are an infinite number of colored gemstones. The colors of the desert are the most gem-like, they are pure, clear, and crystalline and like gemstones they change along with the light. Corey’s paintings celebrate moments in the ever-changing Western landscape. She hopes to convey the feeling of those times and places to the viewer and perhaps evoke similar memories.

Corey Garman, Between Heaven and Earth, oil on canvas, 36 x 46

Corey never tires of the landscapes out West, the haunting petroglyphs, the shadows racing across the mountains and the clouds dancing in the sky. She lives in beautiful Wickenburg, Arizona with her soulmate, her pack of dogs and all of the many desert creatures that she calls her wild pets.

This past fall I had such a fun time watching the hawks go soaring through the canyon. It was unusual, because as I was painting from the rim, I got to look down on them as they flew by. I wanted to paint the hawk while she sat overlooking her perfect home, somewhere between heaven and earth.

J ESSICA GAR R ETT- L AW RE NC E Jessica Garrett-Lawrence has been an artist since she was a toddler. She started drawing around age three and never stopped. Drawing grew into painting, and in 2005 she was awarded a merit scholarship from Scottsdale Artists’ School and took a workshop with R.A. Heichberger, and another with Chris Saper. She has also taken some college art, and strives to continually grow, still taking workshops from artists such as Kevin Macpherson, Tim Deibler, Skip Whitcomb, and Jerry Salinas. Jessica has had numerous one-person shows at galleries representing her work. She has also participated in prestigious museum shows such as the Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale in Cody, Wyoming since 2010, and the esteemed Cowgirl Up! invitational in Wickenburg, Arizona since 2014. In 2018, she received the “Governor’s Choice Award” at Cowgirl Up! and she participated as an Artist in Residence at the Briton Museum in Big Horn, Wyoming. In 2020 at the Cowgirl Up! invitational, Jessica received the “Patron’s Choice Award.” Jessica Garrett-Lawrence, Hazy August Sunrise, oil on canvas, 32 x 32

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Jessica’s work is represented by the SmithKlein Gallery in Boulder, Colorado; Mountain Trails Fine Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico; The Big Horn Galleries in Cody, Wyoming, and Tubac, Arizona; and Nanette Richardson Fine Art, San Antonio, Texas.

L I SA G LEIM Lisa Gleim is an Atlanta native and part-time Montana resident, which helped instigate her love of animals to become the primary subject matter of her work. She is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and is the Audubon Artists 2012 and 2016 “Gold Medal of Honour for Pastel;” Audubon Artists 2013 Art Spirit Foundation’s “Gold Medal Award for Pastels;” and the Audubon Artists 2019 Art Spirit Foundation’s Silver Medal Award for Pastel recipient. In 2016, she was named the Atlanta Branch of the National League of Pen Women’s Artist of the Year. Her pastel, The Secret Keepers was acquired by the Booth Western Art Museum in 2020 for their permanent collection. Working in pastel, Lisa is particularly interested in capturing the beauty of light and how it affects her subjects. Becoming a part-time Montana resident in 2016 helped make her lifelong love of animals her primary subject matter. Seeking a way to distinguish her wildlife work, old maps and various ephemera became her unique painting surface. She chooses materials that represent her subjects such as old fishing licenses and national park maps sometimes adding touches of gold leaf, an actual fishing fly or a sliver of stone to the story. Such elements are intended to invite a viewer to linger and contemplate the story before and after the captured moment.

Lisa Gleim, Beary Colorful, pastel on decorative paper, 30 x 36

Lisa has exhibited her work in numerous juried and invitational exhibitions, including the C.M. Russell Museum; Booth Western Art Museum; Briscoe Western Art Museum; Haggin Museum of Art; Customs House Museum; Harbor History Museum and the Gibbes Museum of Art. Her works are held in many public and private collections including the office of U.S. Congresswoman Nikema Williams, and many more.

L INDA GLOVER GOOC H A westerner her whole life, Linda Glover Gooch grew up in the Southwest and currently resides in Mesa, Arizona. As a child, Linda visited southern Arizona and recalls long walks across the desert landscape, smelling the newly refreshed earth as thunderstorms in the distance created unforgettable memories. The study of clouds has become a main focus in recent years, as many of the Arizona monsoon scenes come to life on her easel. Spending countless hours outside has generated an unending pursuit to capture the beauty and magnitude of the incredible sky. Being able to share her love of the land with collectors and viewers through her paintings is truly a blessing and a privilege. My intentions are to get the feeling of what I see, not an exact copy of it, but an impression of the big picture, capturing a moment in time. Linda Glover Gooch, City Limits, oil on linen, 22 x 18

20-Year Artist

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VE RY L G O O DNIG HT Veryl’s career began as a wildlife painter in the early 1970’s. Sculpture was initially a means to educate herself about anatomy. The three-dimensional challenge ended up dominating her work throughout the late 1990’s while living in Santa Fe. A Colorado native, Veryl and her husband returned to Colorado in 2006, where the dramatic landscape inspired her return to oil painting. Veryl completed over 200 sculptures and 20 life-size or larger monuments. In 1986, Paint Mare and Filly was installed at the National Cowboy and Heritage Museum. Veryl’s love of horses inspired other equine monuments. The most notable is The Day the Wall Came Down, a seven-ton bronze sculpture consisting of five larger than life-size bronze horses jumping over the fallen Berlin Wall. The two sister monuments are located in Berlin, Germany and the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library. Among the many honors received during her more than fiftyyear career, Veryl was inducted into The National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 2016 for a lifetime of representing the American West in Art. More recent honors include having No Bed of Roses chosen as the purchase award during the 2022 Cowgirl Up exhibit. Cowboys and Indians magazine featured her work in November 2023.

Veryl Goodnight, Under A Mantel of Gold, oil on linen, 32 x 44

Veryl still works almost daily in her barn studio, surrounded by her horses, burro, and dogs. The past twelve years, she has explored the roles sled dogs played in America’s history. Sixteen of these paintings are included in the recently published book, The History of Sled Dogs in North America. Five paintings and one bronze will begin a museum tour in 2024 to bring these untold stories to audiences throughout the country.

L I SA G OR DON Lisa M. Gordon grew up in southern California where progress was measured by the continuous advancement of the suburbs. With one stable after another closing like dominoes, it was very difficult for her to keep her beloved horses. This encroachment became the early catalyst for her first bronze sculptures. Experience has given me the opportunity to take each piece through the entire process, with the exception of metal pouring. I believe it is an essential part of my work. It was only natural that the horse’s image would become my focus. As I continued my education, I began developing an understanding of my place in the art world. I constantly questioned how I related to the vast history of equine art … while simultaneously keeping in mind what my very first sculpture instructor said, ‘There is no question you have talent and that you can sculpt, but what you do with that talent becomes the real question.’ In 1992, Lisa received an MFA in Sculpture from California State University in Fullerton. She worked for numerous foundries throughout the Southwest and began to experiment, pushing technical boundaries while exploring elements of motion, relationships to the landscape, and personal metaphors. Lisa Gordon, Lightness, bronze and steel, unique, 20 x 22 x 4

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A NN HANSON Ann Hanson has been painting the West – as she sees it – for more than 30 years. From cowboys and cowgirls to Native Americans, she has a deep love for the Western way of life. She attended two years at a community college as an art major where she focused on graphics and technical illustration. Her painting skills are selftaught and are a never-ending research project. Ann has been featured in art magazines, and she has participated in several western art shows in which she has often received awards for her work. Ann tries to challenge herself with each new painting and to learn new techniques that she can incorporate into her unique style. I love to paint and I’m having a great time doing what I love. I feel truly blessed. Ann Hanson, Warrior’s Spirit, oil on panel, 16 x 12

20-Year Artist

E R IN HANSON Erin Hanson began painting as a young girl she was hired for commissioned work at age ten, and by age twelve she was employed after school by a mural studio, learning the techniques of acrylics on the grand scale of 40-foot canvases. Two years later, a high school scholarship took her to Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, where she immersed herself in figure drawing. Graduating from high school at age 16, Erin attended UC Berkeley, excelling further in her studies and creative development and attaining a degree in Bioengineering. After graduating from college, Erin entered the art trade as a professional, inspired by landscapes and vantage points only beheld by the most adventurous. Rock climbing and hiking among the brilliantly colored cliffs of Nevada and Utah provided endless inspiration for her work. She decided firmly to dedicate herself to creating one painting every week for the rest of her life. She has stuck to that decision ever since, and has for the past decade, been developing a unique, minimalist technique of placing impasto paint strokes without layering, which she describes as “Open Impressionism.” Erin Hanson, Arizona Road (detail), oil on canvas, 20 x 24

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KAT H Y H A RDER For years, California artist Kathy Harder has honored a dream of combining her artistry with the stewardship of her beloved mountain ranch. Surrounded by old oak forests, her creativity springs from a “return to source” and a connected journey along side the animals she documents with such creative power. As someone whose life embodies her art, both literally and figuratively, her expression is deeply intertwined with her daily life. This integration serves as a narrative, as do the more than 20 years of art study. Her disciplines have run the gamut, from painting, drawing, photography, to printmaking and ceramics. Her work has been shown nationally, including at the Phippen Museum and the Coors Western Art Exhibition. Kathy was also one of thirty-seven artists to premier in the Western Women’s show at the Woolaroc Musuem, Oklahoma. Kathy's current medium of watercolors allow her a layering of light and movement in her work, and an ability to capture the environment around her. Her technique of palette knife and brushwork encourages the natural evolution of the paintings, allowing them to develop and bring out the dimension of the prints. Kathy’s distinctive vision will continue to reflect her purpose, creating work that stimulates the mind while speaking to the soul.

Kathy Harder, Sent Airmail, watercolor on paper, 26 x 31

HARP ER HENRY Harper Henry is an award-winning contemporary western artist. After receiving a BFA in Illustration, she enjoyed a successful 30-year career as a designer and art director in sports apparel and commercial advertising. Harper began painting professionally in 2016. Her work focuses mainly on Western and Indigenous figures, horses, and animals. She explores an unexpected fusion of two opposing art styles: abstract and realism. With her art she aspires to depict the realistic beauty of the subject matter while simultaneously presenting the viewer with abstracted fractal imagery, movement and emotion. I really enjoy when collectors remark that my paintings change all the time. Each time they look closely, they see something they haven’t seen before, or they notice how their painting changes daily with the lighting. I believe this is the magic of combining abstract with realism Harper Henry, Over The Edge (detail), oil on panel, 36 x 18

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DYANA HESSON Botanical artist Dyana Hesson loves a good adventure. “I simply can’t get enough of Arizona; its sun on my face, its dirt under my feet, its colors on my pallet. The Grand Canyon state has been generous with inspiration for my 34 years as an artist, and I’m just getting started. There’s always more to explore around the next bend.” A hard worker but a struggling student, Hesson found her gift of painting in an art class in college. She changed her major and studied art at Arizona State University where she developed her style of applying thin layers of oil paint with very little texture. After graduating with honors, Dyana combined her newly found skills with the work ethic of her childhood, and soon art collectors eagerly invested in her radiant paintings. Her work is collected worldwide and her series, True Blue Arizona was featured in Arizona Highways magazine in March 2020. Dyana is a Master of the Southwest award winner, Master Signature member of American Women Artists, and a founding member of the "Art on the Wild Side" art exhibit program at the Phoenix Zoo. Dyana’s latest book The Art of Wildflowers was recently published by Arizona Highways. She is currently working on a series she calls “Wild Arizona” for the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum which opens in the fall of 2025. Dyana Hesson, Sedona Windsock Soap Tree Yucca, Sedona Airport, oil on canvas, 28 x 22

M ICQA ELA JONES An enrolled member of the Temoak Tribe of Western Shoshone, Micqaela Jones was raised on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation of the Shoshone and Paiute Nations, 100 miles northeast of Elko, Nevada. Childhood was filled with rich visual experiences— hunting, fishing, and exploring Nevada’s outdoors alongside siblings. With a father who was also a painter and a hardworking mother, creativity and diligence were instilled early. When she was 13, the family moved to Elko, Nevada, where school and work in the family’s construction business became central. An art career seemed unlikely at the time. At 18, a chance meeting with Alex, her future husband, led to marriage two years later and a move to Santa Cruz, California. Life and work took them to Mexico, Nevada, and Utah, where painting became a serious pursuit. A gallery owner, Rod Erwin, provided an opportunity, selling several pieces and setting her artistic career in motion.

Micqaela Jones, Gentle Giant, acrylic on canvas, 37 ½ x 49 ½

Since 2002, her work has been showcased at prestigious events, including the Santa Fe Indian Market, Eiteljorg Museum Indian Art Market, Autry Museum, Cherokee Art Market, and Red Earth Market, among others. Her paintings merge Shoshone culture with contemporary expression, resulting in vivid, colorful works. Continually evolving, she explores new ideas, techniques, and artistic directions, sharing a deep connection to her heritage through her art.

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LAU R I KET CHUM Oklahoma-based Lauri Ketchum has always been creative. As a child, she would spend hours lining up her collection of horse figures and drawing each one. As she got older, she helped paint murals for her elementary school. Older still, she happily drew bugs in Biology class for her friends. With a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Accounting) degree from Oklahoma State University, Ketchum pursued careers in government and public education, while raising two children with her husband Roger. After retiring in 2016, that creative nudge became more of a push, and Ketchum began painting, first in watercolor, then acrylics, and ultimately oils, which is her medium of choice. Ketchum attends many workshops by artists she admires. Ketchum still helps her family with a small cow and calf operation. Ketchum’s agricultural roots and life-long love affair with the American cowboy have fueled her concentration in Western art. Ketchum and her siblings showed Black Angus heifers for many years, and helped with feeding, working calves, moving cattle, and all that comes with a cattle ranch. Those days spent around her family’s Black Angus cattle figure prominently in both Ketchum’s memories and her paintings.

Twofer combines two of my loves — cattle and Oklahoma sunsets. My family raises Black Angus and Hereford cattle, but I have always loved the Longhorn. I came across these two beauties while traveling between Oklahoma and Texas, and decided to combine them with one of the beautiful sunsets at our Oklahoma ranch. Lauri Ketchum, Twofer, oil on canvas, 24 x 48

SU SAN KLIEWER Susan Kliewer is a native of Southern California who has made Arizona her home for 40 years. She spent five of those years at Marble Canyon Trading Post in a remote area of northern Arizona adjacent to the Navajo Reservation. A painter since the age of ten, Susan turned to sculpting in 1987, after working in an art-casting foundry for ten years. In 1993, Susan won a competition to create a monument of Sedona Schnebly for the City of Sedona, Arizona. Since then, she has had many more monuments commissioned and installed in the United States and Europe. Susan often uses her Native American friends and relatives as models to capture that special intimacy that is a hallmark of her work. My work aims to show the common thread that underlies all human experience and which I hope brings us to a greater understanding between all people. If you do what you know and love, the feeling will shine through, giving your art a life of its own. Susan Kliewer, Cowgirl in the Sand, bronze, ed. 5, 28 x 8 x 8

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MICHELLE KONDOS “The American West – what is it and why has it so defined our collective imagination? An ideal? A shared dream of freedom, space, and of infinite possibility? But the West is also smack-your-senses real – as real as the sight of a pronghorn disappearing into the haze of a perfect sunset, as real as the unexpected rattle of a startled diamondback three feet off the trail on which I am walking. In my work, I try to capture the ineffable magic of the place, while still honoring its ‘can’t-take-your-eyes-off-it’ reality. The process captures my attention just as surely as that rattlesnake does. I paint realistically in an age of much abstraction. There is room for us all – but to me just trying to unravel what lies before my eyes out here in this sacred landscape is discipline enough. I’ve been staring at it all, as perhaps only an artist can, for a very long time, and I still always feel that the West is trying to tell me something, something I can’t quite grasp – but maybe, just maybe, I can get it onto a canvas.” Michelle Kondos, Sun Salute (detail), oil on linen, 24 x 30

L AURIE J. LEE Laurie J. Lee’s interest in art began when she was very young. Having an artistic mother provided her with more opportunities to explore that interest and continue to develop what would become her passion and future career. Her subjects usually involve Western themes that are, in part, obtained by helping with local cattle drives, attending brandings, and generally, just living life out West. Laurie’s work has been featured in many publications and she has shown her work in several national art shows. Her awards include: *2019- Peter Fillerup Award at Buffalo Bill Art Show *2016- Honored Artist for Buffalo Bill Art Show * 2013- work chosen for Limited Edition Print at Cheyenne Frontier Days Art Show *2012- Award for Excellence at Cowgirl Up! *2010- work chosen for Cheyenne Frontier Days poster * 2008- work chosen for Limited Edition print Cheyenne Frontier Days *2007- 1st place 2-dimensional work at Cowgirl Up! Laurie J. Lee, Braids and Beads (detail), oil on canvas, 20 x 16

20-Year Artist MORE AT WESTERNMUSEUM.ORG

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M A RY L ES L I E From the rolling hills of North Georgia to the heartlands of the Midwest and finally settling amidst the Majestic Sangre de Cristo mountains in picturesque Westcliffe, Colorado, Mary Leslie’s artistic journey is a tale of rediscovery and passion. Alongside her husband Richard and a lively bunch of donkeys, horses, and dogs, Mary’s charming ranch serves as both her abode and her inspiration. Mary’s art paints a vivid picture of her deep-rooted affection for the untamed beauty of the West and its inhabitants. Her larger-than-life paintings are a heartfelt tribute to the animals and landscapes that have captured her heart and guided her life’s course. Having embarked on her artistic voyage with a modest mural for a family member, Mary’s talents soon flourished over two decades, as her murals adorn walls across the South and beyond. Yet, the yearning for greater artistic expression led her to the world of fine art, where she now finds her creative haven. Mary’s connection with animals and wildlife emanates from a lifelong love and reverence for the creatures that share our world. With every brushstroke, she skillfully captures the unspoken emotions of animals, encouraging viewers to ponder the stories that unfold within a horse’s gaze, a fox’s demeanor, or a bear’s contemplative pause. Sharon Markwardt Don’t Cross the Boss! oil on wood panel 80 x 28

S H ARON MARKWA R D T Since she was a toddler, Sharon Markwardt has loved nature, critters, and creativity. Raised in a family of outdoorsy artists, engineers, and scientists, she grew to embrace accuracy and detail as well as creativity. When she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, she minored in Biology.

Mary Leslie’s artistic journey is a testament to the power of passion and the beauty of nature’s wonders, encapsulating the essence of the West and the creatures that inhabit it. Mary Leslie, Tourist Trap, oil on canvas, 40 x 30

Decades later, the two disciplines are reflected in her signature style — anatomically accurate animals with bright, lively, and often humorous personalities. This style emerged when, as a beginning rider, Sharon took a high-speed fall from her mare, breaking a tailbone and hitting her head. She got back on. The boldness required for horsemanship seeped into her art, resulting in daring close-focus compositions and a bright color palette. Breaking rules in art requires a certain degree of fearlessness. She uses the colors she sees in her photos and “cranks them up a notch” as she paints. Many of her subjects are personal friends, including her own horses and donkey, a friend’s bison, and the neighbor’s longhorns. Markwardt’s primary goal with her art is to induce emotions in her viewers — to leave them with a sense of strength or a laugh. She’s happiest when hearing from collectors that her work brings smiles to their days.

D EANNE MCKEOWN Arizona-based artist Deanne McKeown in her own words, Much of the inspiration for my work comes from my surroundings - the high desert and the wild creatures, especially ravens, who share this amazing space with me. This is the basis from which the idea grows, but then that idea can be transformed through the lens of history, folklore, humor, and political/social satire. I often incorporate found objects in my work. Sometimes they are the beginning of an idea, sometimes they find their way into a work during the process. I am drawn to interesting associations. The impetus for an idea may come from any number of directions. It could be a dream, observation of a living subject, social comment or simply stimulated by the process of a previous work. Deanne McKeown, Tree Songs, bronze, 34 x 17 x 5 ed., 1 of 1

V I CKIE MCMILLAN-H AYE S Vickie McMillan-Hayes, a native Texan, creates breathtaking wildlife, landscape, and nature paintings as well as large public installations that advance global conservation causes. Her installations have included public buildings, museums, hospitals, libraries, schools, and other government organizations. As a wildlife conservation artist, McMillan-Hayes is driven to paint accurate wildlife, landscapes, flora and fauna to gain a better understanding of our responsibility to protect endangered wildlife and their habitats. Drawing upon her extensive field study and award-winning photography, Vickie’s paintings have a distinct style to accommodate her disability, Essential Tremors. To create detail, she holds her breath while embracing her painting hand in order to achieve the desired stroke. McMillan-Hayes’s award-winning paintings have been exhibited in both art museums and fine art galleries throughout this country and abroad. Her paintings are included in museum collections, corporate and private collections, including the U.S. Department of State/Art in Embassies collection, and have been published in well-known magazines both locally and internationally. Vickie McMillan-Hayes, Courage in the Storm (detail) acrylic on board, 34 x 46

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BA RBA R A M EIKL E My painting style is ‘expressive impressionism.’ It’s impressionistic, but the color heightens that expression. It’s not natural color but emotional color. It’s how I feel about a subject or a place. Barbara Meikle, a New Mexico native, has lived and painted in Tesuque, New Mexico for almost 30 years, a hop, skip and a jump from Santa Fe. “I’ve been an artist my whole life, driven by my fascination for horses and other animals. I never thought of doing anything else.” Barbara loves to capture the shades and textures of rocky mesas and clay outcroppings with fuchsia, salmon, and amber. In her landscapes and animal paintings, sapphire skies contrast with champagne clouds over piñon-covered hills; bright pink donkeys collide with sage green mustangs. Barbara earned a degree in painting and printmaking at the University of Denver, working in galleries in New York, Chicago, and Denver before returning to Santa Fe to devote herself to creating her own art. Barbara’s success allows her to give back to the animals she loves so much – she donates to animal shelters and equine rescues in New Mexico and nationally. Barbara Meikle, Sunset Challenge on the River, oil on canvas, 37 ½ x 37 ½

J ULIE NIGHSWONG E R It is my hope to stir a memory or evoke an emotional response. Julie Nighswonger’s art exemplifies life in the West in a way that captures the beauty of her surroundings. In a style that she describes as impressionistic realism, Nighswonger captures moments that are all too often taken for granted.

Her work explores nature, animals, and the West. “Certain things catch my eye,” Nighswonger says. “It’s the crisp early morning light, the warm glow of the evening, or the way the light dances off of a horse’s mane.” In her work she strives to document and share the uniqueness of the Western landscape and its cowboy lifestyle. Julie Nighswonger, The Gathering, oil on panel, 19 x 39

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MEJ O OKON Mejo has been invited Cowgirl Up! since 2018. In 2022 she won Best of Show and in 2023 she was awarded Artists Choice Award. She hails from New Mexico and paints the dramatic colors of the West. Nationally recognized, her painting Glow graced the cover of Art of the West magazine in December 2022 along with a six-page article.

She also works as a courtroom sketch artist covering murder trials for ABC's 20/20 and NBC. Mejo Okon, Flower Girls, oil on canvas, 30 x 41

C RYSTAL OR LANDO Crystal Orlando is mostly a self-taught artist, developing her drawing style of “painting” on canvas and other surfaces with charcoal and graphite to produce beautiful realistic results. Her main focus is wildlife, horses, and cattle. Crystal grew up in Central Texas on an 80-acre homestead. Being homeschooled allowed her to spend extra time at the local stable as she worked there in exchange for English riding lessons, eventually helping with teaching the classes. She went on to get her AAS in Equine Science from North Central Texas College. While in college she was training Polo horses full time. A few other opportunities came up to train horses for world champion cutting horse trainer Leroy Ashcraft and several other big ranches with different disciplines in the area. In 2012, Crystal became a full-time artist and has participated in multiple museum, group, and solo shows in the United States. In 2018 her work was sold at auction at Kensington Palace in London. She has won multiple top awards and museum acquisitions including the 2024 “Artist of the Year” for Cowgirl Artists of America. In 2019, she began her fight with stage 3 breast cancer. She is now full steam ahead with drawing once more after some time off to win the battle. Crystal is now back at the old homestead in Central Texas with her 11 year old daughter. Crystal Orlando, Brute Force, charcoal and graphite on canvas, 50 x 38

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SARA H PHIPPEN Colorado artist Sarah Phippen portrays the West with an understanding that comes from a deep love of the land, people and animals of the region in which she was born and raised. “There is a rich heritage in our relationships with the landscape, and the plants and animals that live side by side with us. The moments that reveal a relationship of harmony between people, animals and their surroundings delight me. For me, every person and animal is an individual worth knowing, and every landscape someone’s home.” Sarah’s formal training began with private lessons when she was 14. Since then she has studied with prominent artists John Coleman for sculpting, and painters Jay Moore, Jim Norton, Daniel Sprick, Sandra Kaplan, and Anthony J. Ryder, each of whom deepened her understanding of oil painting, color and composition. “Communicating emotions in a visual language requires a fluency in light, color and form, as well as patient observation: I am thankful for the teaching and wisdom of so many artists along this path and across disciplines. Everything I have learned is due to their patience and generosity.” “Horses have always attracted me. As a child they were beautiful, mysterious and powerful. As a young person a particular American Paint Horse mare became my honest companion who helped me make sense of the world. She

D O L O RES PU R DY Dolores lives and works in northern New Mexico enjoying the beauty of the region. She is a trained watercolorist and began her part-time art career over 35 years ago. Over two decades ago, Dolores discovered ledger art while researching a member of her same tribe of the Caddo Nation and that began a love affair using the same mediums of antique paper and colored pencils. She researched and found mentors who helped her understand the significance of historical ledger art to the Native people of the plains. In 2001, retiring from the private sector, she tried her hand from a contemporary female ledger artist perspective with her influences of pop-art, art deco, and Asian textiles and has won many awards for her work. Dolores’s art can be found in many private and public collections, numerous publications, and several books. She is often asked by institutions and universities to present the history of ledger art. Happy Art Makes a Happy Home Dolores Purdy, Horse Power, colored pencils on antique paper, 16 x 20

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Sarah Phippen, When a Team Works Right (detail), oil on linen, 10 x 20

gave me a sense of freedom as well as plenty of opportunities to grow, fail, ask forgiveness and try again. Now I see how they always require the best from me. Not only the horses, but the whole multitude of creatures in this good green world pull me toward the God who made us all. I hope to include more landscape in my future work, and to work on a larger scale. Though it’s hard to beat the pull of a great photo or the immediacy of a spontaneous still life.”

KIM RANDLEAS Kim Randleas’ early childhood days were often spent drawing with found charcoal pieces or painting landscapes with watercolors. Family outings were regularly in the mountains surrounding her hometown, where stories of early Native Peoples were told. Lazy Sunday afternoons consisted of picnics and slow hikes; taking in the high desert views, but always keeping a lookout for obsidian chips indicating the location of an early Native’s flint knapping work. Her childhood home offered further inspiration from a now well-worn coffee table book Techniques of the Artists of the American West, which featured 21 classic paintings of the American West. It included paintings by Frederic Remington, Joseph Henry Sharp, N.C. Wyeth, William Robinson Leigh, and Grace Hudson, among others, offering her first artistic influences. After a successful entrepreneurial career, Kim started oil painting in 2015 and began her artistic career in 2016, when on a whim, she entered a museum exhibition, was accepted, and took home the “People’s Choice” Award. She lives and creates in her home studio outside Canyon City, Oregon enjoying the wildlife, extensive views, and solitude of her home nestled at the base of Canyon Mountain. Kim Randleas, Sense of Wonder, oil on panel, 27 ¾ x 21 ¾

S T E P HANIE R EV EN NAU G H Stephanie Revennaugh, Magnetic, cast glass and steel, opal, ed. 35, 7 x 36 x 8

Stephanie Revennaugh’s art journey is shaped by adventure and nature. Drawing inspiration from Montana’s rugged landscapes, where she currently resides, to the varying experience of growing up in the MidWest, Central, and South America. Her childhood curiosity in nature and exposure to diverse cultures ignited her passion for exploration, evident in her sculptures today. Renowned for capturing the grace of horses and wildlife in bronze, her works exude movement and soulfulness, reflecting her deep connection

to the natural world. As an elected member of the National Sculpture Society and represented by Altamira Fine Art-Jackson, WY & Scottsdale, AZ; Gallery MAR, Carmel, CA, and Old Main Gallery, Bozeman, MT, Stephanie’s talent is widely recognized. Currently exploring mixed media, including glass and steel, she pushes the boundaries of her craft. Through her sculptures, she invites viewers to reconnect with their inner wilderness, celebrating nature’s beauty and vitality, one piece at a time. MORE AT WESTERNMUSEUM.ORG

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GE ORG IA ROWS WELL Georgia Rowswell received her formal art training with a concentration in painting and drawing from the University of Buffalo in New York. Her informal training began at a much earlier age under the influence of her mother, Dorothy Stiefler. “Mom was particularly drawn to traditional, fiber-based art work. There was always a project or two in the works. All my life I watched and learned from her. Today I would describe my work as rooted in fiber, with a painterly execution that owes its success to the intersection of these two important influences.” Georgia’s curiosity as much as her creative nature are the driving force behind her daily artistic practice. Left brain research and right brain creativity are her pathways to creating conceptually and emotionally engaging work. Curiosity and concern also led Georgia to develop the ecologically friendly technique she coined, compressed fabric. “Using thrift store clothing and household textiles as my palette, I cut, layer and adhere strips together, creating rich surfaces that pulsate with movement, color, and texture.” Using textiles also adds layers of stories both known and unknown to each piece she creates. When working with clients on a commission, she encourages them to include personal textiles from their family life — making their piece uniquely personal.

S H A RO N STANDR ID G E Sharon Standridge, a nationally acclaimed oil painter, expertly captures the essence of the American West. Sharon’s paintings are highly regarded in many private and corporate collections throughout the United States and in Africa. This will be Sharon’s 15th year to participate in the Cowgirl Up! Exhibition & Sale, having received the prestigious Western Art Collector Editor’s Choice Award for What in Blue Blazes is that Greenhorn Doing Now in last year’s Cowgirl Up!. People are my preferred subjects. The figure in motion or engaged in everyday tasks, which inspire me to paint stories of the West. What excites me to paint is the drama of spectacular light and shadows on the figure. Using dramatic lights against the darks, along with expressive brushwork. My aim is to grow artistically and learn with each new piece of artwork, evoking emotions and memories through my artwork. Sharon Standridge, Round Two, oil on linen, 34 x 26

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Georgia Rowswell, Campsite View Bufalo Bill St Park, discarded clothing and household textiles, 16 x 31 ½

“Curiosity and creativity help us live our best life.” Georgia spreads this belief through mentoring other artists, welcoming people into her studio, presenting workshops and developing collaborative community projects. Georgia can be found doing what she likes best at her studio and gallery, in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Professionally, Georgia has been working as a studio artist for over 35 years. Her work can be found in many private and corporate collections across the United States and Canada. She has won numerous awards including the Wyoming Arts Council’s prestigious Visual Arts Fellowship.

GAIL J ONES SU NDEL L Gail Jones Sundell takes a roughly shaped stone from the earth and brings it to life. Carving figures from stone that is hewn out the earth is a very challenging and rewarding experience. Although this career is physically demanding, she has found a very special advantage to be a woman sculptor. The hours that she spends caring for and nurturing family and friends have enabled her to relay a depth of feeling to her work that speaks to those who view her creations and leads them to share in the wonder of life created from stone. Stone has been Gail’s favorite medium since she was a child, and she has had an abundance of experience working with alabaster from her family’s quarry near Fort Collins, Colorado. While primarily self-directed, early in her career she benefited from the influence of artists who taught at her family’s art center and from the sculptors who frequented her family’s business. Her main subject matter: the legends, spiritual life and family relationships of Native Americans, was inspired by her father’s stories and his own paintings of his early life, growing up among the Cheyenne/Arapaho Peoples in Oklahoma. Since she moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1981, Gail has continued to associate with and study various cultures of Native Americans to give authenticity to her work. Gail Jones Sundell, Red Mountain Dancer, Colorado alabaster 22 x 13 x 6 ¼

DAW N SU THER LAND Dawn Sutherland is a painter of Southwest landscapes. A teacher in her first life, a counselor in her second, Dawn began her third life as a painter in 2001. A move from Wisconsin to Arizona in 2004 brought the challenge of painting broad blue skies, distant horizons, canyon mazes, and crazy quilts of wildflowers blanketing the earth. “Painting outdoors uniquely captures the depth, definition, and feeling of the landscape before me. I feel there is almost always a

near-perfect composition provided by nature. Sometimes a scene announces itself; sometimes I hear only a whisper. Those are the images that find their way to my heart and my canvas.” Dawn lives in Flagstaff, Arizona. A founding member of Arizona Plein Air Painters, Dawn is also a member of The Nature Conservancy, Grand Canyon Conservancy, Best Friends Animal Society, and the Morris Animal Foundation.

A landmark in the high desert of the Southwest, the Three Sisters stand resilient through countless centuries of wind and weather. Dawn Sutherland, Three Sisters of the Desert, oil on canvas, 35 x 41

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TE RI SWEEN EY Teri Sweeney paints the textures of nature in oils and watercolors. Living in the Carson Valley, on the Eastern Slope of the Sierra near Lake Tahoe, she is able to find a variety of subject matter to use as references for her paintings within a few minutes’ drive from her home. Mountains, waterfalls, lakes, and local ranches are all easily accessible year-round. Although mountain scenery is a major source for her work, frequent visits to family in Arizona also supply her with desert scenes which become another common subject matter in her paintings; as well as the wildlife, livestock and cowboys/cowgirls that seem to wander in and out of her reference photos. Originally from Arizona, Teri worked as an interior designer, owning and operating her own design studio while perfecting techniques in watercolor in her spare time that would define her style. After moving to Gardnerville, Nevada, she began painting full time and expanded her choice of mediums from exclusively watercolors to also working in oils. Having the ability to work in both mediums, she is now able to choose the one best suited for her vision of each prospective painting.

Teri Sweeney Loner, oil on canvas, 18 x 24

Teri’s art has been accepted into the Western Masters’ Show and Sale and the Russell Auction in Great Falls, MO; The San Dimas Festival of the Arts in San Dimas, CA; The Phippen Show in Prescott, AZ; and the Settlers West Miniature and

the Mountain Oyster Club Shows in Tucson, AZ. Her work has been in galleries in South Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes, CA; Tucson, AZ; Kauai, HI; and Genoa, NV.

JAMI T OBEY Jami Tobey, born in 1974 in Corvallis, Oregon, is a celebrated American contemporary painter known for her vibrant and dynamic landscapes and tree paintings. Growing up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Jami was deeply influenced by her father, Gene Tobey, an acclaimed Southwest sculptor. Her early exposure to various artistic styles and techniques in her father’s studio laid the foundation for her unique artistic journey. Jami’s work is characterized by its vivid colors, intricate details, and the use of acrylics and metallic inks to create a stained-glass effect. Her paintings often depict the natural world with a sense of movement and energy, capturing the shifting light and big skies of the Southwest. Jami has been recognized for her ability to evoke emotion and energy through her art, making her a standout in the contemporary art scene. After studying art and English at Western State College in Colorado, Jami moved to California, where she balanced her early career as a third-grade teacher with her passion for painting. Motherhood brought a new focus to her work, especially after her oldest child was diagnosed with autism. This personal journey influenced her art, providing a deeper emotional resonance. Jami’s work has been featured in numerous galleries, including Exposures International Gallery in Sedona, AZ, Tierra Mar Gallery in Santa Fe, NM, Gallery Sausalito, in Sausalito, California; and Gallery at Marina Square in Morro Bay, California. She was named Southwest Art magazine’s 30

COWGIRL UP! 20TH ANNIVERSARY

Jami Tobey, Sedona, mixed media on canvas, 36 x 36

“Artist to Watch” in 2006 and has continued to gain acclaim for her radiant impressionistic paintings. Today, Jami lives and works in California, where she continues to create art that inspires and captivates audiences worldwide.

REB ECCA TOBEY In a recent interview, Rebecca Tobey was asked what her favorite room is in her house. She answered, “The studio, of course!” Rebecca, the daughter of a scientist father and artist mother, was raised in Oak Ridge, TN. An extraordinarily artistic child she was the one who organized the neighborhood plays and arts and crafts projects. She was discouraged from majoring in art in college by her high school art teacher, and as a result she received both a Bachelors and Master’s degree in Theatre Arts, focusing on scene design, stagecraft and props, creating art on a large scale. These days Rebecca and her rescued Springer Spaniel, Dexter, take long walks in the vast open space around her home in the country outside Santa Fe, NM, where they often see mule deer, coyotes, rabbits and all kind of birds. Nature inspires her work. After 38 years in the studio, she has a passion for exploring new images in both bronze and ceramic and loves the moment a ceramic sculpture comes out of the kiln because, as she says, “It’s like Christmas morning every time.” Rebecca’s sculptures are in numerous public and private collections including the John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL; The University of NM Cancer Center, Albuquerque, NM; The Booth Museum, Cartersville, GA; the Hockaday Museum of Art, Kalispell, MT, the Desert Caballeros Western Museum, Wickenburg, AZ; and the Lincoln Center of the Performing Arts, Fort Collins, CO.

Rebecca Tobey, Lazy Ballets in the Air, ceramic, 22 x 19 x 8

C ARI UPDIKE “I grew up spending summers in that most iconic of all Western landscapes, the Grand Canyon, where my father was a ranger. I drew relentlessly from the time I could hold a pencil. Inevitably, I found my way to painting the western landscape as an adult. But the path was not direct. I also loved to read, and went to college on an academic scholarship, where I wanted to major in art but ended up majoring in English to keep that scholarship and finish my college education. Some years later, the impulse to paint the landscape became overwhelming despite my best efforts to fight it for practical reasons. (Art is never practical but always life-altering.) Perhaps it was my life-long immersion in the iconic and less well-known landscapes of the West. My grandparents lived in southern Utah right in the middle of Zion, Bryce, and the North Rim and I fell in love with those majestic landscapes. My family of origin traveled and camped in National Parks throughout the West – from the Redwoods to the Petrified Forest and from the Grand Tetons to Death Valley. I hiked every chance I got. My first date with my husband was an 18-mile, 12-hour, hike up Mount Timpanogos and back down again. My husband and I (and later kids) drove the 89 between Utah and Arizona to visit family many, many times – past Big Rock Candy Mountain, the Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Johnson Canyon, the Kaibab Plateau, Lake Powell, and the Vermillion Cliffs. Still later I discovered Joshua Tree, Capitol Reef, Valley of the Gods, Canyon de Chelly, Monument Valley,

Cari Updike, Legend of the Superstitions, oil on linen, 31 x 43

Blue Canyon, Coal Mine Canyon, Dead Horse Point, Arches, and Canyonlands to name a few. And there are still more magnificent Western landscapes to discover. The beauty and stillness of these places have changed me forever. Put me in a car, and I want to leave the city behind and go where the ponderosas blow in the breeze, the Kaibab squirrels chitter, the stars shine bright and all is well with the world again.”

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V… . VAU G HA N A lifelong Texan, V…. was the Cowgirl Up! 2016 Artist’s Choice Award winner. V…. got her start in advertising design, spending years as art director, illustrator, designer and cartoonist. Raising three children on the family farm with her husband, she created art and shared her passion as part-time high school art teacher for over 25 years. She is also a workshop instructor. “I’ve always loved working out my art thoughts with projects. These include a six-year concentration on Texas, humorously mapping out the history, geography and tall tales. I became a serious painter studying our family rodeo cowgirls and cowboys. Our farm had several arenas and I was best at sketching the riding and roping! Then I painted our family’s Last Year on the Farm, 365 small daily paintings. The collection and stories traveled for several years to museums and venues such as the University of Nebraska’s Great Plains Art Museum. I followed up with a two year study, painting other people’s farms from a moving vehicle. A car or bus or train, was my studio as I painted Passing America. The exhibit premiered at the Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art in Nebraska.… These days, my current passion is leading artists and travelers In a rural area of south France, where we live with a famous host, and a chef in their 12th century castle! We sketch, paint and explore small villages, markets and farms. Their rodeos are different than ours! Come along!” V….Vaughan, Concepción (detail), oil on canvas, 48 x 24

Y U N W EI Yun Wei is a representational painter who uses traditional oil painting techniques in all of her work. Yun was born in TianJin, China. After graduated from TianJin Academy of Fine Arts with a concentration in oil painting, she began teaching at the Fine Art High School of TianJin. From 2003 to 2008, she worked as a professional artist for several galleries in New Zealand and Australia. In the spring of 2008, she moved to the United States and then traveled with her family around the world for a few years. She currently has a studio in Eastvale, California. Yun has been inspired by the Dutch Golden Age still life artists such as Willem Kalf and Willem Claeszoon Heda since high school. Throughout Yun’s art career she has always been so obsessed with the traditional painting technique. Every time she stands in front of a master’s painting she always trys to see and think deeply through the layers of the painting. Yun believes that the beauty of art is emotional so she strives to paint elegance and calmness into her work using objects such as antique china, musical instruments, and arranged flowers. As time passes, Yun hopes that the message and effect of her work will be Yun Wei, After a Rough Day, oil on board, 30 x 24

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COWGIRL UP! 20TH ANNIVERSARY

KWA NI POV I WINDE R Kwani Povi Winder is a young artist with a passion for learning and creating. Her paintings are characterized by vibrant colors and impressionistic brushstrokes that work to infuse each piece with life. Her subjects primarily include landscapes and native figures. Kwani calls herself a stay-at-home artist as she does almost all her creating with her daughters at her side, including painting en plein air. She loves the outdoors and takes every opportunity she can to paint and learn under nature’s canopy. Kwani’s work is heavily influenced by being an enrolled member of the Santa Clara Pueblo Tribe. Through her paintings she seeks to preserve, share, and educate about her unique heritage. She seeks to portray each figure with authenticity and capture the spirit of every individual she paints. Kwani’s work has spiritual and reverent undertones as she creates to further deepen her understanding of Mother Earth and her relationship with her creator. Kwani received her BFA in Oil Painting from Brigham Young University-Idaho and recently built and designed a house in Southeast Idaho. Kwani loves the outdoors and is always hiking or camping. When she is not creating, she spends time with family, watching movies, reading, and playing piano or viola. Kwani Povi Winder, Together (detail), oil on linen board, 30 x 19

L IZ W OLF “I received my MFA in sculpture at Northern Illinois University. As far back as I can remember my artistic mind intertwined with everyday life. I spent thirty years in Chicago as a working artist before moving to my beloved Santa Fe in 1997. If I had to choose one word to describe my artwork it would be “animism,” one of man’s oldest beliefs that in every object a spirit or soul exists. I want to infuse my sculptures with a quietness about them and

a spirit within them so they create their own energy and have the ability to communicate. My life as an artist is fulfilling and I will continue to create sculptures in bronze, clay and wood as long as I can, for every day is a new day with new beginnings. I am represented by Manitou Galleries, Santa Fe, NM; Mockingbird Gallery, Bend, OR; Marshall Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ; and Davis and Blevins Gallery Saint Jo, TX.”

Liz Wolf Raven’s Cache bronze, ed. 25 11-1/2 x 11 x 11

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T H E 2 0 25 COWGIR L U P ! ART I S T S

Maura Allen Pg. 4

Heather Johnson Beary Pg. 4

Marcia Blakeman Pg. 5

Sara Bloodwolf Pg. 5

Naomi Brown Pg. 6

Sophy Brown Pg. 6

Rachel Brownlee Pg. 7

Heather Burton Pg. 7

Shawn Cameron Pg. 8

Stephanie Campos Pg. 8

Sonja Caywood Pg. 9

Karen Clarkson Pg. 9

Sherry Cobb-Kelleher Pg. 10

Lisa Danielle Pg. 10

Lucy Dickens Pg. 11

Margaret Drake Pg. 11

Judith Durr Pg. 12

Joni Falk+ Pg. 12

Deborah Copenhaver Fellows+ Pg. 13

Marless Fellows Pg. 13

Corey Garman Pg. 14

Jessica Garrett-Lawrence Pg. 14

Lisa Gleim Pg. 15

Linda Glover Gooch+ Pg. 15

Veryl Goodnight Pg. 16

Lisa Gordon Pg. 16

Ann Hanson+ Pg. 17

Erin Hanson Pg. 17

Kathy Harder Pg. 18

Harper Henry Pg. 18

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COWGIRL UP! 20TH ANNIVERSARY

Dyana Hesson Pg. 19

Micqaela Jones Pg. 19

Lauri Ketchum Pg. 20

Susan Kliewer+ Pg. 20

Michelle Kondos Pg. 21

Laurie J. Lee+ Pg. 21

Mary Leslie Pg. 22

Sharon Markwardt Pg. 22

Deanne McKeown Pg. 23

Vickie McMillan-Hayes Pg. 23

Barbara Meikle Pg. 24

Julie Nighswonger Pg. 24

Mejo Okon Pg. 25

Crystal Orlando Pg. 25

Sarah Phippen Pg. 26

Dolores Purdy Pg. 26

Kim Randleas Pg. 27

Stephanie Revennaugh Pg. 27

Georgia Rowswell Pg. 28

Sharon Standridge Pg. 28

Gail Jones Sundell Pg. 29

Dawn Sutherland Pg. 29

Teri Sweeney Pg. 30

Jami Tobey Pg. 30

Rebecca Tobey Pg. 31

Cari Updike Pg. 31

V…. Vaughan Pg. 32

Yun Wei Pg. 32

Kwani Povi Winder Pg. 33

Liz Wolf Pg. 33 +

20-year participants

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COW G IR L U P! SPON S ORS Recognizing the critical importance of private and corporate donations in the success of Cowgirl Up!, we extend our gratitude to these generous supporters. Their contributions have ensured the success of this 20th anniversary Museum exhibition and sale as well as supported the West’s talented women artists.

Platinum Spur $25,000

Jennie and Bruce Jackson

In-Kind Gifts

Carey and Jack Sigler

Craig and Peggy Means

Elevate Salon

Ellie Nolan

Nana’s Sandwich Shoppe

Serape Bleu

Wickenburg Country Club

Diamond Spur $20,000 Sally and Sandy Cutler

Joe and Linda Stevens

The DeVore Foundation, Alta DeVore Trustee

Wickenburg Ranch

Lori and Rich Jaros Jackye and Leon Powell

Nickel Spur $1,000

Media Sponsors Western Art Collector Western Art and Architecture

Judi and Ken Besse

Gold Spur $10,000

Jeff Deming

John and Lynne Boyer

Margaret L. Nyberg

Christine and Paul Branstad

Paloma Ready Mix

Dita and John Daub

Phoenix Philanthropy Group

Arthur H. Ditto Family Foundation

Becky and Jason Rovey

J. Landis and Sharon Martin Family Foundation

Studio Ma

Rancho de los Caballeros Ranch and Golf Club

Todd and Amanda Unger

Betsey and Bob Unger

June White

Silver Spur $5,000

Turquoise Spur $500

Peggy and Jim Colley

Julie and Art Brooks

Drs. Thomas and Virginia Collier

Holly Caniglia

Mary Ann Igna

In honor of all the Cowgirl Up! artists

Pat and Roberta Jacobs

Jenifer and Dan Finley

Rea and Jim Ludke

Double “H” Custom Hat Company

National Bank of Arizona

UMB Bank

Sarah Goulard and Hiram F. Moody, Jr.

Wickenburg Adventure Rentals

Linda Waag and Martin Schlumberger Elaine and Peter Schweitzer

Community Sponsors $400

Kathleen Parrish and Douglas S. Spencer

McGuire Robb Attorneys at Law

Nancy and Terry Theken Betty and Tom Watt

Copper Spur $2,500

Eileen M. McGuire Stacie B. Robb Sage Gallery

APS

Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center

Margie and Allen Brown

Rusty Rooster

Bob and Theresa Dunn John and Sharon Griner

Community Sponsors $200

Gust Rosenfeld P.L.C.

Edward Jones - Sam Buchert

Mary Jo and George Hellick

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COWGIRL UP! 20TH ANNIVERSARY

Grant supporters

COW G IR L U P! A LO OK BAC K Best of Show Award Chosen by the panel of Cowgirl Up! judges: 2006: Sherry Salari Sander; 2007: Jan Mapes; 2008: Sherry Blanchard Stuart; 2009: Sandy Scott; 2010: Louisa McElwain; 2011: Veryl Goodnight; 2012: Martha Pettigrew; 2013: Gail Jones Sundell; 2014: Donna Howell-Sickles; 2015: Laura Koller; 2016: Laura Koller; 2017: Jill Soukup; 2018: Susan Kliewer; 2019: Erin Hanson; 2020: Stephanie Revennaugh; 2021: Linda Glover Gooch; 2022: Mejo Okon; 2023: Rachel Brownlee; 2024: Georgia Rowswell

First Place Award – Two Dimensional Chosen by the panel of Cowgirl Up! judges: 2006: Linda Lillegraven; 2007: Laurie J. Lee; 2008: Harriet “Rox” Corbett; 2009: Krystii Melaine; 2010: Linda Carter Holman; 2011: Harriet “Rox” Corbett; 2012: Krystii Melaine (canvas); Harriet “Rox” Corbett (paper); 2013: Lisa Danielle (canvas); Karen Cooper (paper); 2014: Darcie Peet (canvas); Rox Corbett (paper); 2015: Stephanie Hartshorn (canvas); Rox Corbett (paper); 2016: Dinah Worman (canvas); Rox Corbett (paper); 2017: Nancy Boren (canvas); Rox Corbett (paper); 2018: Erin Hanson (canvas); Rox Corbett (paper); 2019: Sonja Caywood (canvas); Stephanie Campos (paper); 2020: Nancy Michaelson (canvas); Sam Woolcott (paper); 2021: Harper Henry (canvas); Rox Corbett (paper); 2022: Lisa Danielle (canvas); Stephanie Campos (paper); 2023: Julie Nighswonger (canvas); Stephanie Campos (paper); 2024: Crystal Orlando (canvas); Dolores Purdy (paper)

First Place Award – Three Dimensional Chosen by the panel of Cowgirl Up! judges: 2006: Deborah Copenhaver Fellows; 2007: Cynthia Rigden; 2008: Susan Kliewer; 2009: Liz Wolf; 2010: Sherry Salari Sander; 2011: Sherry Salari Sander; 2012: Sherry Salari Sander; 2013: Rebecca Tobey; 2014: Deborah Copenhaver Fellows; 2015: Jan Mapes; 2016: Lisa Gordon; 2017: Martha Pettigrew; 2018: Rebecca Tobey; 2019: Stephanie Revennaugh; 2020: Deanne McKeown; 2021: Susan Kliewer; 2022: Rebecca Tobey; 2023: Rosetta; 2024: Rosetta

Governor’s Choice Award Chosen by the Office of the Governor of the State of Arizona: 2006: Elaine Manning Crook; 2007: Susan Kliewer; 2008: Sheila Cottrell; 2009: Sue Krzyston; 2010: Carol Swinney; 2011: Marcia Molnar; 2012: Susan Kliewer; 2013: Joni Falk; 2014: Sheila Cottrell; 2015: Shawn Cameron; 2016: Shawn Cameron; 2017: Cynthia Rigden; 2018: Jessica Garrett; 2019: Linda Glover Gooch; 2020 and 2021: not awarded due to COVID-19; 2022: Judith Durr; 2023-2024: not awarded

2015: Sherry Salari Sander; 2016: Gladys Roldan-de-Moras; 2017: Deborah Copenhaver Fellows; 2018: Stephanie Revennaugh; 2019: Rebecca Tobey; 2020: Shawn Cameron; 2021: Linda Glover Gooch; 2022: Veryl Goodnight; 2023: Stephanie Campos; 2024: Liz Wolf

Patrons’ Choice Award Chosen by the Cowgirl Up! patrons in attendance: 2006: Mary Cooper Hamill; 2007: Liz Wolf; 2008: Moni Heil; 2009: Jenny Forge-Schmalstieg; 2010: Harriet “Rox” Corbett; 2011: Amy Ringholz; 2012: Susan Kliewer; 2013: Sheila Cottrell; 2014: Rox Corbett; 2015: K. L. McKenna; 2016: Sheila Cottrell; 2017: Jessica Gilbert; 2018: renamed Patrons’ Choice Award: Marcia Molnar; 2019: Sherry Cobb; 2020: Jessica Garrett; 2021: Naomi Brown; 2022: Sherry Cobb-Kelleher; 2023: Lisa Danielle; 2024: Crystal Orlando

Artists’ Choice Award Chosen by the Cowgirl Up! artists in attendance: 2007: Shawn Cameron; 2008: Teresa Elliott; 2009: Jenny ForgeSchmalstieg; 2010: Linda Loeschen; 2011: Kathryn Stats; 2012: Krystii Melaine; 2013: Maura Allen; 2014: Terry Cooke Hall; 2015: Stephanie Hartshorn; 2016: V…. Vaughan; 2017: Ann Hanson; 2018: Sheri Farabaugh; 2019: Linda Glover Gooch; 2020: Harper Henry; 2021: Harper Henry; 2022: Julie Nighswonger; 2023: Mejo Okon; 2024: Harper Henry

Director’s Choice/New Artist 2014: Barbara Zaring; 2015: Stephanie Revennaugh; 2016: Gladys Roldan-de-Moras; 2017: Heide Presse; 2018: Ann Huston; 2019: Sherry Cobb; 2020: Diana Madaras; 2021: Lisa McLoughlin; 2022: Kwani Povi Winder; 2023: Yun Wei; 2024: Karen Clarkson

People’s Choice Award Chosen by Museum visitors throughout the run of the exhibition: 2018: Krystii Melaine; 2019: Stephanie Campos; 2020: Deborah Copenhaver Fellows; 2021: Julie Nighswonger; 2022: Ann Hanson; 2023: Michelle Kondos; 2024: Georgia Rowswell

Western Art Collector Award of Excellence For body of work, selected by Western Art Collector magazine: 2012: Laurie J. Lee; 2013: Harriet “Rox” Corbett; 2014: Liz Wolf; 2015: Terry Cooke Hall; 2016: Stephanie Hartshorn; 2017: Deborah Copenhaver Fellows; 2018: Suzanne Baker 2019: Shelby Keefe; 2020: Sheila Cottrell; 2021: Samantha Sherry; 2022: Kwani Povi Winder; 2023: Michelle Kondos; 2024: Sharon Standridge

Museum Purchase Award Chosen by the Desert Caballeros Western Museum: 2006: Brenda Murphy; 2007: Jan Mapes; 2008: Joni Falk; 2009: Liz Wolf; 2010: Lisa Gordon; 2011: Louisa McElwain; 2012: Martha Pettigrew; 2013: Star Liana York; 2014: Maura Allen;

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Cowgirl Up! 2009 (Britta photo)

Cowgirl Up! 2016 (Craig Cutler)

Cowgirl Up! 2024 (DCWM photo)

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COWGIRL UP! 20TH ANNIVERSARY

See you at the next Cowgirl Up! March 27 through May 31, 2026 (Boot illustration © Tim Zeltner/i2iart.com)

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2025 Best Western Museum Readers’ Choice Award

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