Mountain Trails Gallery in Sedona, Arizona, is widely known for artworks that capture the complexities of the American West. In the gallery’s June sale, Doing What They Do Best, the gallery presents a mix of contemporary and traditional pieces, many by esteemed female artists committed to “telling their truth.” Through a varied selection of paintings and sculptures depicting still lifes, landscapes, portraits and wildlife works, the show upholds the telling of the female perspective of the West.
Tamara Rymer, They Had Cloud Signs, oil, 14 x 18"
“More than half our artists have always been women who bring their own experiences with various cultures of the American West to their work,” explains gallery director Julie R. Williams. "[This] highlights the nature of fierce determination, doing what they do best, making it all look unsentimental and, at the same time, realistic, poignant and memorable.”
Artist Shawn Cameron, who lives and works out of Pine, Arizona, will feature paintings of horses from real life, recording the nuances of ranch life. “My family has raised horses for many generations and I’ve watched the babies stay very close to their mama…wherever they go in the fields,” explains Cameron, indicating her show piece Mama’s Boy. A mare and her colt are grazing together in a field, expertly painted in Cameron’s distinct, realistic style, and showcasing her skill in creating seemingly effortless displays of natural light. 
Marcia Molnar, Summer, oil, 20 x 20"
“This mare was very proud of her boy! She continues. “The subject and title came to me long before I painted this piece, but I knew I wanted to portray that special relationship. The colt was out of our stallion and became a very good saddle horse.”
Phoenix artist Sue Krzyston, will feature several stand-out still lifes for the show. “I am always searching for new subjects to paint and I have recently added some wonderful new artifacts and pottery to my collection,” she explains. “This always inspires me to see how best I can compose a painting to show off its beauty and design and complement its qualities.” 
Shawn Cameron, Mama’s Boy, oil, 9 x 12"
Kryzston remarks that her show piece Alive with History, depicting an Acoma “parrot” pot as the main focus, was a favorite of hers to paint. “The vibrant colors, flowing designs and interesting detail make it so interesting to capture on canvas. To focus on its beauty,
I surrounded it with the soft tones of the blanket and the shadowed woven basket and then added the glistening moccasins, which pick up the colors of the pottery.”
Sue Kryzston, Alive with History, oil, 24 x 30"
Santa Fe artist, Tamara Rymer, will be featuring paintings of “things I’ve seen, places I’ve been—in a sense a journal,” she remarks. “I’m inspired by my own family history and stories, so I’m drawn to the places and things I come across and what their stories may be.”
For her vibrant show piece, They Had Cloud Signs, featuring a tipi among a vast landscape and fading sky, the viewer is drawn to the perfectly lit clouds floating above the scene. “I wanted to share a moment where clouds were passing by like they were signals,” she says. “‘They’ in the title, could be the people in the lodge or the artist that was there, and I’m inviting the viewer to escape for a while.”
The show, which runs June 3 through June 30, will feature many other inspiring Western works, enticing the viewer to not only enjoy the scene at hand, but to share in the journey and experience of the female perspective. —
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