Oil Painters of America | October 12, 2024-January 5, 2025 | Prescott, AZ

Regional Representation

The OPA Western Regional Exhibition takes place in Prescott, Arizona, this October.

By Alyssa M. Tidwell

Oil Painters of America turns its attention to the West this fall for its annual Western Regional Exhibition. Hosted by the Phippen Museum in Prescott, Arizona, the juried event features nearly 125 works of representational art by esteemed OPA members capturing the western region of North America. All artwork has been completed within the last three years and will be available for purchase.

This year’s awards juror is OPA Signature member Steve Atkinson, who paints Western art and cowboy culture, as well as wildlife, cityscapes, portraits, figurative art and more.

Calvin Liang, A View from Canyon de Chelly, 2023, oil, 20 x 16 in.

“While the Phippen Museum is one of the major showcases of Western American art, located in the iconic Western town of Prescott, that doesn’t mean that this is an exhibition of [only] Western-themed painting,” says Kurt Anderson, OPA executive director. “There will be many of those, but there will also be paintings of every genre and subject matter. And collectors can expect to see paintings in a wide range of styles, from the extremely loose and impressionistic to highly finished trompe l’oeil.”

Deborah Tilby, The Audience, 2023, oil on panel, 12 x 24 in.

Thirty-seven OPA Signature and Master Signature artists will be included in the 2024 show, including Nikolo Balkanski, Albert Handell, Craig Tennant, Calvin Liang and Debra Tilby. In addition, dozens of Associate OPA members like Casey Childs, Wei Zhang, Karen Conduff and Lee MacLeod will be featured as well. Anderson adds that visitors can also look forward to several artist demonstrations, including demos by Atkinson and celebrated landscape artist Linda Glover Gooch, who captures the deserts, forests and expansive skies of the West and Southwest. “These should be especially informative and entertaining,” says Anderson.

Albert Handell, At the Kaaterskill Waterfalls, 2024, oil, 22 x 22”

The opening reception and award ceremony for the 2024 Western Regional Exhibition is set for Friday, October 18, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Phippen Museum. Awards will be announced at 7 p.m.

Artwork will be available to explore at the museum from October 12 to January 5, 2025. —