On February 11, Settlers West of Tucson, Arizona, will present the annual show known as American Miniatures. With more than 270 works by 158 artists, the show provides a fine sampling of small and miniature Western-themed paintings and sculptures that are all 120 square inches or smaller.
Kenneth Yarus, Walking the Waterline, oil and oleogel on aluminum panel, 9 x 13”“American Miniatures always brings forward a unique combination of styles and subject matter by some of America’s greatest artists,” explains Settlers West gallery owner Stuart Johnson. “Their task is to create a large painting in a small frame, which is not easily accomplished. This will be Settlers West’s 41st annual American Miniatures, and we look forward to seeing all the wonderful works gathered for this stellar event.”
Many renowned Western artists will have works displayed and up for purchase, including Dustin Van Wechel, John Fawcett, Stephanie Campos, Kenneth Yarus, Ross Buckland, Brent Cotton, Don Oelze, R.S. Riddick, Mark Boedges, Daniel Smith, Brooke Wetzel, Daniel K. Tennant, Oreland Joe and Harley Brown. 
John Fawcett, Sacred Stream, oil, 12 x 9”
For artists like Yarus, “small works are very important to my overall artistic process in that they allow for some experimentation—being able to test ideas and new ways of working,” he says. “They feel fun! Small paintings have that mini-muffin, bite-size joy about them. Large paintings are more like tackling one of those monstrous Costco muffins—you need to be prepared. The small work aids in that preparation and sometimes you get lucky and they turn out well enough for a show.”
Stephanie Campos, Medicine Owl, charcoal, 12 x 10”
Yarus, inspired by nature, adventure and the mountains of Glacier National Park, presents pieces like Walking the Waterline. “The scene depicts a beautiful early spring day in Glacier Park, with the brilliant sun beaming down on the winter’s snowpack,” Yarus shares. “The lakes are actually low at first in the spring, as the warmth hasn’t melted the deeper snow to raise the water. So we walk the shore while we can before the waters rise. I painted this piece using the Grisaille technique. Which is basically French for a grey painting. I then glazed the soft blues over that structure. It is a very old way of painting and something I enjoy experimenting with.”
Brooke Wetzel, Runnin’ Free, oil, 10 x 10”
Campos, a charcoal artist, also appreciates getting to work small, “as progress moves along quicker than my months-long larger pieces,” she says. “Miniature work can allow some scaling back on intricate details but also can be a little frustrating to portray extremely small features.”
For her show piece Medicine Owl, she enjoyed drawing the variety of textures between horse, rider, clothing and grassland. “Medicine Owl was a member of the Blackfoot Crow Carriers and Crazy Dogs Societies and lived in the area of Glacier National Park, Montana,” Campos explains. “He led five war parties on his blue horse, one of the fastest in the tribe. He also served as captain of the Blackfoot Tribal Police.”
Daniel K. Tennant, Winter Bales, gouache, 9 x 13”
Fawcett, known for his realistic oil and watercolor paintings of Western subject matter, including Native American figures, will be showing Sacred Stream, depicting a Native American woman gathering water. “Water was as important to the Plains Indians as it is to us in the present day,” Fawcett explains. “It determined where they could set up their villages and water their horses, where they would find buffalo to hunt, and it had a spiritual quality which was part of three realms of existence—the earth, the sky and the water. This Lakota woman believed in the phrase ‘Min wichoni,’ or ‘water is life.’”
Ross Buckland, Urgent Cargo, oil on hardboard, 9 x 12”
Another highlight at the show is Buckland’s Urgent Cargo, an oil painting featuring the artist’s favored subject matter: planes. “[The work] depicts a meeting somewhere in the Canadian northwest, of bush plane and dog sled circa 1950s,” Buckland notes. “This piece is typical of my efforts that are inspired by my romantic and nostalgic impression of the bygone days of early aviation in the wilderness. I think the image and title open a door to a story that the viewer’s own imagination can complete.”
Daniel Smith, Summer Rut, acrylic, 8 x 15”Buckland notes that miniature paintings are an important part of what he does to “provide a solution for beginning or downsizing collectors’ wall space issues, gifting and other considerations that larger works can’t always satisfy.”
Join in on the excitement at Settlers West, with a cocktail reception beginning at 5:30 p.m. on the opening day, February 11. The purchase drawing—where names are drawn from a pool of prospective buyers for each piece—will be announced at 7 p.m. Available works will remain on view through the end of February. —
Powered by Froala Editor
