The world of women in Western art takes center stage during Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West. The annual event, held at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg, Arizona, is returning March 24. The 2022 invitational exhibition and sale will bring together some of the best women artists working in the genre, shining a bright spotlight on the wholly unique voices and perspectives of these artists.
Barbara Meikle, A Desert’s Bounty, oil on canvas, 36 x 36”
“All the folks who plan and execute the show every year make each of us artists feel like stars,” says participating artist Barbara Meikle. This will be the 10th year Meikle has been invited to participate in Cowgirl Up! “I’ve no doubt we will be celebrated once again. I’m sure it will be one of the best exhibits in the art world this year!”
Indeed, some of the most talented names in Western art will be in attendance at this year’s show. Sharon Markwardt’s colorful wildlife art captures the plucky personalities of her animal subjects. She’ll be attending her 10th show this year as well. “The colorful, personable animals I paint are a good match for the vibrant Old West feel of Wickenburg and the fun people who live there,” she says. 
Sharon Markwardt, Garden Help, oil on canvas, 9 x 12”
Sharon Markwardt, Spirit Watch, oil on canvas, 36 x 18”
Barbara Meikle, Sunset Hijinks, bronze with unique color patina, ed. of 10, 24½ x 12 x 20”
The whimsical sculptures of Rebecca Tobey, created in both ceramics and bronze, will also be appearing in this year’s event. The first year Tobey participated in the show, she won the first place award for three-dimensional art. “With the encouragement of the museum, I’ve gone on to push myself to explore new approaches to the work, particularly with my ceramics,” she says. “I have been awarded for those efforts with another first in three-dimensional art and a museum purchase award for two of my ceramic sculptures. Cowgirl Up! has been one of the high points in my career.”
Naomi Brown’s Ocotillo Sunrise and Splendid Evening in Joshua Tree bring to life the warm, vibrant hues of the Southwestern desert at both daybreak and sunset. “[I’m] so appreciative to the collectors who have embraced my Joshua tree and desert paintings,” says Brown. “This show has changed the direction of my art career in such a great way.”
Naomi Brown, Ocotillo Sunrise, oil and acrylic on canvas, 24 x 36”
Naomi Brown, Splendid Evening in Joshua Tree, oil on canvas, 9 x 12”
Rebecca Tobey, Settled Down for a Long Winter’s Nap, unique ceramic, 15 x 7 x 5”
Rebecca Tobey, Into the Wind, unique ceramic, 22 x 22 x 8”
An ever-present symbol of the West, horses are inspiring subjects for many artists in Cowgirl Up! including Samantha Sherry, Michelle Kondos and Sheila Cottrell. Sherry says, “Horses have always been my point of entry into the world, a way of framing, questioning, understanding [and] connecting. Within my work, the horse is symbolic and provides the distance and vocabulary necessary for me to explore deeply personal issues and motifs. Drawing upon my equestrian past (and present), horse forms and fragments become the language through which these ideas are explored and articulated.”
Because the Sky is Blue, an oil painting by Kondos, transports viewers to a simple moment in which a horse and her foal slow down for a drink of water in a stream. “A drink of water—what could be simpler, unless you are a foal on the wide open plains, where water means life but also danger,” Kondos says of the piece. “What can you do except to follow your mother’s lead, as she followed hers, and so on back into the forgotten mists of time.”
Rebecca Tobey, A Friendly Game of Tag, unique ceramic, 31 x 25½ x 8½”
Laurie J. Lee, Just One More Cup, oil on board, 16 x 20”
Michelle Kondos, Because the Sky Is Blue, oil, 30 x 24”
Cottrell comments on her oil painting, See how Gentle: “[This piece] was inspired by my childhood on the ranch when my dad was showing how gentle his once-wild horse, Chamaca, was. Growing up, he and his best friend caught wild horses in the Chiricahua Mountains, tamed them and sold them to ranches. But this horse he kept and was especially proud of how well-behaved he was around children.”
Laurie J. Lee has taken her fair share of cattle drives high in the mountains east of Yellowstone National Park and knows how wonderful a cup of coffee can be before starting the day. “These cowboys are enjoying ‘just one more cup,’” she says of the inspiration behind her oil Just One More Cup. “The Cowgirl Up! art show is one of my favorite shows I’m a part of. There are only five or six of us who have been in the show all 17 years…I look forward to seeing everyone again.”
Samantha Sherry, Onward, oil on wood, 40 x 30”
Sherry Cobb-Kelleher, Trusting, oil on linen panel, 16 x 20”
Sheila Cottrell, See How Gentle, oil, 9 x 12”
Southwestern painter Sally Delap-John lives and works in the Sangre de Cristo mountain village of Truchas, New Mexico. One village north of Truchas is Ojo Sarco, depicted in her oil Ojo Sarco Church, Fall. She says, “On a short detour off the High Road to Taos, the traveler will find this chapel in a small valley. Fall yields the brilliant colors of the area surrounding these historic adobe buildings and churches.”
Lisa Danielle comments on her acrylic, Jeddito Red, White and Blue: “Studying Chief American Horse...I learned that he and his offspring were true patriots, not in name only, but in a lifetime of deeds. An ear of Indian corn in the colors of our flag caught my eye, and found itself in a lovely creamy white bowl from the prehistoric Hopi village of Jeddito—truly early America!”
Sally Delap-John, Ojo Sarco Church, Fall, oil on canvas, 24 x 36”
Lisa Danielle, Jeddito Red, White and Blue, acrylic, 8 x 8”
Also included in the 2022 show and sale is the artwork of Sherry Cobb-Kelleher, including her oil Trusting, in which two cowboys demonstrate a moment of tender companionship with their horses.
Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West will be on view March 25 to September 4. —
Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West
March 25-September 4, 2022
Desert Caballeros Western Museum
21 N. Frontier Street, Wickenburg, AZ 85390
www.westernmuseum.org
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