Settlers West Galleries | November 23-30, 2024 | Tucson, AZ

A Grand Display

By Alyssa M. Tidwell

Settlers West Galleries in Tucson, Arizona, is hosting its signature event of the fall season with the Great American Westexhibition, featuring some of the biggest names in Western art. Nearly 100 new works will be on view from a total of 48 artists, including Ross Buckland, John Fawcett, Colt Idol, D. Edward Kucera, Daniel K. Tennant, Oreland Joe and Val Paul Taylor. Collectors will also find a variety of mediums to explore, from oil and acrylic to watercolor and gouache.

Colt Idol, As Dusk Approaches, oil, 50 x 30 in.The show opens Saturday, November 23, with an opening reception at 5:30 p.m. A purchase draw will take place after the opening reception at 7 p.m.

Tennant brings to the show a gouache still life titled Art and Music, which took the artist four months to complete. “When I was in eighth grade my art teacher showed a slide of The Old Violinby William Harnett…I have been fascinated with Harnett’s work ever since. In my painting I have included paintings by Winslow Homer (seascape with fisherman), Frederic Church (landscape), William Harnett (still life) and Raphaelle Peale (also still life). Each of these artists was a master of their particular genre. Textures, shadows, highlights and design all played an important role in this still life,” Tennant explains. “Art has been my career as an art teacher and painter, and music helps me to paint better when I’m in the studio. The world would be quite empty without the two disciplines of art and music.”

John Fawcett, Paddling the North Fork, watercolor, 16 x 25 in.

Oreland Joe, Montana Cowgirl, acrylic, 46 x 36 in.

“I’m always thrilled to paint something new for the Great American West show,” says landscape artist Brooke Wetzel. “The crew at the Settlers West Gallery are assiduous in their efforts in selecting an impressive display of Western art. This inspires me to paint my best and favorite scenes.” Wetzel brings two new landscape paintings to the November show. “Breaking Forth is drawn from an early morning on the riverbank, sighting a bull elk beginning his journey across the water…The second painting I have in the show is a fly fishing scene I’ve titled Lines and Luster.I love capturing the art of fly fishing with the glorious display of sunshine and water…The most rewarding part of painting this subject is hearing the fishing tales that ensue and the memories they evoke.”Daniel K. Tennant, Art and Music, gouache, 38 x 28 in.An oil painting by Idol, titled As Dusk Approaches,captures a saturated scene of two Native American horseback riders underneath a dramatic sky, rendered in the artist’s signature vibrant style. “As an artist this was a challenging scale to work with,” says Idol. “I wanted to create a sky that fully utilized the vertical nature of the painting. In western Montana so often we experience these beautiful skies that have weight and feel as though they are right on top of you, yet when you get into a horizontal painting to recreate them that dominating sense is lost. My piece explores a central Montana color-filled moment in time.”