Every year, Mountain Trails Gallery in Sedona, Arizona, hosts an exhibit that celebrates artists who create paintings and sculpture inspired by encounters with wildlife in the American West. This year, Call of the Wildlife features roughly 30 works by sculptors Raymond Gibby, Jeremy Bradshaw and Dustin Payne; and painters Maria D’Angelo, Joe Garcia and Jennifer O’Cualain.
“The wildlife show at Mountain Trails Gallery is one of our most anticipated shows of the year for our collectors,” says gallery director Julie R. Williams. “For collectors, wildlife art represents many things to them including the beauty and grandeur of nature, their love of the outdoors, their own experiences and encounters with wildlife, as well as the outstanding traits that animals can represent. Bringing all these reminders to one’s space can also give a contemplative form of peace as well as an invitation to adventure.”
Maria D’Angelo, Frozen, oil, 20 x 16"
Collectors of wildlife art will find a wide range of mediums, subject matter and tone to match their tastes. Drawing from his personal experiences in the wild, Dustin Payne’s bronzes capture the majesty of big game like bear, moose, bison, mountain lions, elk and pronghorn antelope. Payne’s powerful wildlife pieces are complemented by Jeremy Bradshaw’s more contemporary, light-hearted bronzes; and Raymond Libby’s traditional sculptures of everything from the humble toad to a larger-than-life grizzly bear.
Also on display are paintings by oil and watercolor artist Joe Garcia, whose detailed renderings often depict prey and predators in their natural habitat; stylized wildlife portraits with a touch of humor by Jennifer O’Cualain, and startling works in colored pencil and oil by Maria D’Angelo.
Dustin Payne, King of the North, bronze, ed. of 12, 18½ x 15 x 13"
“We are proud to offer traditional as well as contemporary paintings and sculpture as each artist brings a moment of intrigue from their experiences in nature,” says Williams. “From Raymond Gibby’s insightful messages that often parallel family life, to the striking personalities of the red fox series by Jeremy Bradshaw, to Dustin Payne’s fascination with exploring the mountains of North America, to our painters who catch an animal in motion that takes your breath away, this time of year is delightful and the start of a new season of collecting.”
Call of the Wildlife opens Friday, September 1, with a reception from 4 to 7 p.m., and the show continues through September 30. —
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