Opening at Medicine Man Gallery January 13, David Meikle’s Western Horizons is a grand tour of the American Southwest. From New Mexico’s Sandia Mountains to the Mojave’s Joshua trees, the artist’s work is a study of deserts and good design.
“I could probably distill my paintings down into three things that I look for—it’s design, depth and detail,” says Meikle, a landscape painter with a background in illustration and graphic art. Even if you aren’t familiar with Meikle by name, you’ve probably seen his work. The “Welcome to Utah” billboards he designed greet visitors at the state line. Flying into Salt Lake International Airport? His work can be seen there as well. 
Sandia Mountains, oil on canvas, 30 x 24"“Those images are designed to be read at a distance, at a faster speed,” says Meikle. “I think about that sensibility, I try and bring [it] over to my landscape paintings. When you’re doing a layout for a billboard or a poster, you have to look for strong design patterns,” he continues. “I think that translates really well into landscape painting. That’s why I tend to look at painters like Maynard Dixon—he has such a great sense of design.”
Last fall, Meikle was tapped to participate in an artist panel celebrating Maynard Dixon: Searching for a Home at Brigham Young University Museum of Art (on view through September 2023). Joined by fellow Utah painters including Abigale Palmer and G. Russell Case, Meikle discussed Dixon’s legacy and impact on his own practice. For the alum and current staffer at University of Utah—BYU’s rival school—the invitation speaks to Meikle’s respect among peers as a painter and Dixon disciple.
Former Utah Museum of Fine Arts curator and Western art scholar Donna Poulton also finds parallels between Meikle and Dixon. “The land is the narrative,” says Poulton. “He’s already started off with a really unique vision,’’ she says of Meikle’s illustration work. “Then turning to fine art, he did that in the tradition of the great artists.” 
Mojave Joshua Tree, oil on canvas, 30 x 30"“One of the most important kinds of things an artist can achieve in their practice and in their lifetime…is when you quit turning pages, when you quit scrolling,” Poulton says, praising Meikle’s showstopping personal style. “With David, it’s immediate. No doubt about who it is.”
Poulton first encountered Meikle’s work at the Springville Museum of Art Spring Salon, an annual survey of Utah artists. “It’s a calling card. If you do well at the Spring Salon, people pay attention to you, buyers pay attention, magazines pay attention,” says Poulton, who purchased a piece from one of Meikle’s early appearances at the salon. Meikle’s work is featured in her book Dictionary of Utah Fine Artists as well as the back cover of Painters of Utah’s Canyons and Deserts. 
Utah Desert, oil on board, 12 x 12"Part of Meikle’s Tucson show, a potent 12-by-12-inch painting Utah Desert, nods to the spirit and economical brushwork of his frontier forebearers while his larger, more developed pieces showcase the artist’s love of intricate detail. Unencumbered by the flat forms and constraints of commercial design, Meikle’s painting practice is all about diving deeper and seeking interesting relationships between earth and sky. “With painting I can be more photographic, add more detail, add more subtly to the shapes,” the artist says.
It seems Meikle—a full-time art director and father of six—is fueled by boundless energy. Even as the paint dries on his Medicine Man show, he’s adding more irons to the fire. While we can’t give away much, Meikle has a collaboration with filmmaker Wes Anderson in the works. We can’t wait to see what’s next. —
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