March 25-April 1, 2023 | Settlers West Galleries | Tucson, AZ

Tales from the West

Six artists bring their own view of the American West to Tucson, Arizona.

By Gina Teichert

Settlers West Galleries presents six views of the West in an ambitious group show opening March 25. Tales of the West brings together painters Mark Boedges, Don Oelze, Kenneth Peloke, Albin Veselka and Dustin Van Wechel, along with charcoal artist Rachel Brownlee.Albin Veselka, Plaid Rider, oil, 16 x 12"“When I invited the people to the show, I didn’t want six people doing the same subject matter,” says Settlers West owner Stuart Johnson. “Although it’s all Western related,
I didn’t want six people doing Native American paintings, for example, so I picked a category for each one.”

From gestural mark making to hyperrealist detail, each artist brings their own interpretation of Western subject matter to the Tucson gallery. “I’ve seen so many paintings and so many works of art and artists that it takes something for them to stand out in my eyes,” Johnson, who’s run the gallery for 52 years, says. “And all these people certainly do.”Dustin Van Wechel, The Introvert, oil, 30 x 24"

“I think he’s very good about getting the best work out there that he can gather up, and
I feel privileged to be invited to this to the show,” says Veselka. “This is going to be the biggest show I’ve done with them.” From a Utah-Idaho border town, Veselka’s work nods to the great storytellers of the frontier, while his lively use of color and broken brushwork more closely quote early 20th-century painters like Carl Rungius and William Herbert “Buck” Herbert Dunton.Don Oelze, Soldier Horse No More, oil, 38 x 50"

“I feel like my responsibility as an artist that’s depicting the American West is to share the parts about it that make us feel connected to our roots and give us a sense of belonging and a sense of purpose in where we are in history. Geographically as well,” says Veselka.

Tales of the West will be the fifth Settlers West exhibition for Brownlee, who won the Mountain Oyster Club Best of Show award in 2021. “It’s an honor to be included with the names who are on that list,” the Nebraska cattle rancher and new mom says. Following her career-launching Mountain Oyster Club win, which took place nearby in Tucson, the art world newcomer was told to go see Johnson at Settlers West. “I just walked in and I had never been to a gallery,” says Brownlee. “I was not even part of the art world. I didn’t know a thing about it.” Mark Boedges, Northern Rockies, oil, 36 x 48"

“Rachel Brownlee lives as a Westerner,” says Johnson, praising her knowledge of horses, tack and life on a working cattle ranch.
“I think a lot of people think that the Western lifestyle is almost over. They look back at it as historical, but it is very much alive for me every single day,” she says. “And that’s the occupation of everyone who lives within 300 miles of me. Every single person out here ranches.”Rachel Brownlee, A Cold Start, charcoal, 29 x 20"Colorado Springs artist Van Wechel brings his love for the outdoors to the table with his active, narrative-driven wildlife paintings. He’s a regular at Western Visions at the National Museum of Wildlife Art and received the Bob Kuhn Award for Wildlife at the Masters of the American West in 2022. One of eight paintings he’ll show at Settlers West, his large-scale bison and wolf scene freezes a moment that’s about to get interesting. “Western art gives a lot of opportunity to tell stories about the landscape and the wildlife in it,” he says. “That doesn’t necessarily involve the human aspect of it.” Rachel Brownlee, Hot Pursuit, charcoal, 19 x 34"March is a big month for Van Wechel, who will also be exhibiting at Briscoe Western Art Museum’s Night of Artists show. “These two shows fall on the exact same day. So I will be flying to San Antonio for the Briscoe, leaving early—leaving my wife there to represent me at the actual opening of the show—and then attending the Settlers West show that same night,” says Van Wechel. “She’s a much more interesting person to talk to than I am,” he laughs. Van Wechel calls the show a culmination of decades in the field observing and some of his best work yet.Mark Boedges, Late Summer, oil, 24 x 36"Tales of the West will also include work by historical painter Oelze, who took home the Sam Houston Award for Painting and the Patrons’ Choice Award from last year’s Night of Artists. Landscape painter Boedges will present a pastoral barn scene and a precipitous view of the Rockies, among other works. Graphic black-and-white paintings of horses and buffalo by Peloke round out the 50-piece show while complementing Brownlee’s charcoal work. Kenneth M. Peloke, Westward, oil, 36 x 36"“Each piece was really a monumental work of love, and it’s such a monumental show to be invited to at such a young age and so young in my career,” says Brownlee.