It’s easy to see why the Taos Founders settled in Taos, New Mexico, in the first years of the 20th century. Especially when visiting in summer, when the weather is gorgeous, summer storms sweep over the high desert in the afternoons and the Taos streets are filled with visitors. Chloe M. Burk, Hunting for Buffalo, oil on canvas, 16 x 20"

That long tradition of art, and the celebration of art, continues August 5 when Parsons Gallery of the West presents its Big Summer Show at the famous Taos gallery. “Continuing our tradition, Parsons Gallery of the West invites the public to its annual Big Summer Show at its historic Kit Carson Road location. On Friday, August 5, from 5 to 8 p.m., the gallery will host a summer celebration featuring new works from many of Taos’ most notable artists, many of whom will be in attendance and presenting some of their finest pieces,” says Ashley Rolshoven Loveless, the gallery’s director. “This event is much anticipated by many of our collectors and some guests travel from as far away as New England to attend. It’s always been a great chance to catch up with our artists and community, enjoying delightful company and great art. The building where Parsons Gallery of the West calls home is the perfect place for creative spirits to gather, as it was once Victor Higgins’ studio in the 1920s, and later became one of Taos’ first galleries, the Blue Door, in the 1950s.”Jerry Jordan, The Fragrance of Rain, oil on canvas, 30 x 30"

The show will feature work from nearly two dozen artists, including Aaron Garlick, Jerry Jordan, Jim Keffer, Melinda Littlejohn, Richard Alan Nichols, Nathanael Volckening, Spike Ress, Melwell Romancito, Barry Thomas, Don Ward, Mary Dolph Wood, Nicholas Coleman and many more. Richard Alan Nichols, Early Morning Chores, oil on panel, 24 x 30"

Painter Dan Stovall will be showing Amanecer, a grouping of five Native American figures underneath a beautiful sky. “In the forward to Larry McMurty’s second edition of Lonesome Dove, he offhandedly describes the Old West as America’s ‘phantom limb’; something that has been lost from us, but we still feel the itch and desire for it to be there,” Stovall says. “I feel like many Western artists, myself included, are scratching that itch as we call back to times before and honor the memory of the Old West in our work. The more history that is accessible in an area, the more overlap there is between our notion of the Old West and the true West of today. There are few places with as accessible a history as Taos. Parsons Gallery of the West is located in Victor Higgins’ old studio, next door to the Couse-Sharp [Historic Site], and across the street from Kit Carson’s house—all preserved in near original condition. The Taos Society founders set Taos on the map as a destination for the artist to access and be inspired by that history. Art shows like this keep Taos cemented as a refuge for the arts, and keep the overlap of the present and past accessible to lovers of the American West.”Roseta Santiago, A Taos Neighborhood, oil, 16 x 16"

Chloe M. Burke will be showing Hunting for Buffalo, showing a grouping of riders rendered in her loosely painted style. “I have had this piece in mind for a while without really knowing it. It was inspired by gathering all the single hunters I have been painting recently into a bigger, unique piece,” she says. “Kinda like a puzzle I would say that I finally had all the pieces. I was very grateful to be able to paint it in the house at Parsons Gallery as it was very special to be working in those walls, surrounded by the energy of the gallery and other artists and visitors.” Scott Yeager, Two Bucks, oil on canvas, 24 x 30"

Katelyn Betsill Del Vecchio will be showing a mixture of landscapes and Western lifestyle pieces in the show. “I am always inspired by calm and quiet scenes in my Western-themed work,” she says. “Moments of rest and in-between glimpses at life of the working cowhand. The landscapes, on the other hand, will feature bold scenes from West Texas up to Utah, depicting moments of fleeting light, desert moons and billowing clouds—all of the things that drew me in and inspired me on a four-month-long road trip last summer.”Ron Rencher, Through the Aspens, oil on panel, 

Roseta Santiago, a hugely popular artist in New Mexico, will be showing A Taos Neighborhood, showing a scene that could have easily been witnessed by the Taos Society of Artists members. “Taos is a special, inspirational place to paint. There is, in fact, a special light here in this Land of Enchantment, which I what makes it a mecca for artists like me,” she says. “My favorite subject matter has always been beautiful and exceptional artifacts, including this wearing blanket from around 1875. This intricate weaving in this series of paintings exemplifies the skill of the Navajo weaver. I honor them by painting them…and by following their lines and thinking of how it felt to weave, to harvest the wool and to think about who wore these works of art. In my imagination I become part of the story. I am so grateful for the experience.”Dan Stovall, Amanecer, oil on canvas, 16 x 20"

Nicholas Coleman, In for the Night, oil on linen, 9 x 12"

Ron Rencher will be showing Through the Aspen, a breathtakingly painted work that shows light spilling into a cluster of trees. “The painting is a plein air piece and was originally intended to be a purely landscape subject of a back-lit aspen grove,” Rencher says. “However, as often happens, a vision came to mind of Native Americans in Taos riding horses on a trail that wends its way through the trees. Having ridden horses through aspen trees with other riders, it was easy to envision. So, this painting evolved from purely landscape to a more engaging one where riders on horseback enliven the subject and therefore bring more interest. One might even wonder, where have these riders been, where are they going?I would also like to point out that I always try to portray Native Americans in an authentic and respectful way, to show their reverent relationship with nature.”Nathanael Volckening, Endymion, oil on canvas, 24 x 12" Finally, Scott Yeager will be showing Two Bucks, with a glowing horizon and hillside full of snow. “I love painting in winter,” the artist says. “I do a lot of little landscape studies outside on location, trying to capture the mood. Animals in the winter are usually out in the open and are easy to see. To me the landscape in Two Bucks, the light, hillside, rocks, game trails, grasses, everything that makes it would be empty without the deer. I have seen many deer feeding in the wrap around glow from the sun. If you don’t look directly in the sun’s direction you will see the warm glow reflected into the snow and sky.” —

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