Dennis Ziemienski’s upcoming show at Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery is testament to the artist’s need to be painting a variety of subject matter at any given time. “I can’t seem to stay in one little cubby all the time,” says Ziemienski. “When I showed Mark [Sublette] a smattering of different ideas I had for the show, he said to do them all.”
Sunset Travelers, oil on canvas, 60 x 48”
Southwest Recollections will contain the traditional Southwest imagery Ziemienski is best known for, as well as new pieces that draw inspiration from other iconic eras in American history. “It’s trains, planes and automobiles; bathing beauties, cowboys, cacti, neon signs—all of it.”
A longtime illustrator whose heroes include J.C. Leyendecker, N.C. Wyeth, Maynard Dixon, Ludwig Hohlwein and Tom Purvis, Ziemienski’s process of curating a composition is an extensive one that relies heavily on his fondness—and talent—for drawing. The brainstorming process begins with looking through countless photographs until an idea begins to take shape into a scene of collaged elements from multiple images. From there he makes numerous thumbnail sketches until developing one into a workable image using photoshop. He will then transfer it to the canvas, making alterations, ultimately drawing the composition several more times before laying paint. 
Iron Horse Race, oil on canvas, 20 x 24”
When he doesn’t have the imagery he wants, sometimes he will stage it himself. For one piece in progress, he wanted a cowboy and horse in the foreground of a stunning photograph he had taken of California’s Mount Whitney. He had a friend model for him and, using a photograph for reference, painted the image into the composition before the mountain range.
A stickler for detail, he often ends up going down a rabbit hole of research to learn more about his subject and sometimes comes across a tidbit that inspires a painting.
Motel Entrance, oil on canvas, 30 x 24”
For example, an account of the first time a plane was seen flying over the Navajo Reservation, led to Sunset Trails, in which a Native American man on horseback looks up at an airplane flying dangerously low overhead. In the background are Ziemienski’s signature billowing clouds, one of his favorite subjects to paint.
For another piece depicting Navajo women weaving, he set out to learn as much as he could about the process and looked at countless pictures to help him portray the scene as true-to-life as possible. 
Trail Through the Valley, oil on canvas, 40 x 40”If there is a theme that ties Southwest Recollections it is that they all reference changing times in the American West. Of Sunset Trails, Ziemiensk says, “Two disparate cultures are meeting there—people on horseback and a brand new 1930s airplane. Maybe it’s landing for the first time in Shonto. A lot of these pieces have that kind of feeling.
“The glue is recalling the Southwest from a time long ago, he adds. “Neon signs are out these days and cars like the old 1947 Pontiac don’t exist. Neither do those drive-in diners or the steam-powered train. All of these scenes are a recollection either by me or someone else. Even through there may be disparate subject matter, some of these scenes might have been happening at the same time, only 90 miles away.” —
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