Parsons Gallery of the West | December 13-31, 2024 | Taos, NM

Taos Ties

Parsons Gallery of the West presents new works by 20 top Western artists in its annual holiday show

By Sarah Gianelli

Jerry Jordan, The Edge of My World, oil on board, 8 x 10 in.

Located on historic Kit Carson Road, in what was once the Taos home and studio of artist Victor Higgins, Parsons Gallery of the West’s ties to the past run as deep as its commitment to showcasing the work of the finest Western artists working in the genre today.

In that spirit, Parsons Gallery of the West presents its annual Small Works Holiday Show,which opens on Friday, December 13, with a seasonal celebration from 5 to 8 p.m. The exhibition will feature multiple works by 20 participating artists, many of whom will be at the reception. Renowned artists John Moyers, Jerry Jordan, Roseta Santiago, Nicholas Coleman and Melinda Littlejohn will have works in the show, as well rising stars Chloé Marie Burk, Nathanael Volckening, Amery Bohling, Katelyn Betsill Del Vecchio, Dan Stovall and Drew Macias.

Drew Macias, It was a Cloudy Day, oil on panel, 18 x 24 in.

Macias’ show pieces include It was a Cloudy Day, an oil of a mounted rider taking a moment to survey his surroundings. “I spend so much time looking for reference material that when I find a gem like this I have to paint it,” says Macias, whose signature tendril of smoke mirrors the sole cloud in the sky. “I originally was going to make it a cloudy day but this little cloud popped up and I liked the way it looked. Little lonely clouds always catch my eye when I’m out so I left one in this painting.” Macias, who was an art collector before he started painting, has always been fond of small works. “Besides being more affordable, they just feel more connected to the artist.” he says. Although the artist sometimes creates portraits as small as 3 by 3 inches, It was a Cloudy Day measures 18 by 24 inches.

Nathanael Volckening, A Way Skyward II, oil on linen, 36 x 36 in.

Spike Ress will be showing the similarly sized Long Shadows of Marble Canyon, an expansive canyon scene he has witnessed many times during his travels between his home base in Southern Utah and Taos. Ress says, “Throughout my years as a landscape painter, I’ve always been drawn to the canyon and mesa formations of the Four Corners region. I am constantly inspired by the color and texture contrast between the earth tones, long deep shadows and bright blue skies.”

Spike Ress, Long Shadows of Marble Canyon, oil, 12 x 24 in.

The 36-by-36-inch painting A Way Skyward II, is an example of how Volckening will create smaller pieces to explore broad visual ideas that later evolve into larger, more complex compositions. “The original version was a smaller painting from a few years ago, which I revisited and expanded into a larger composition this year,” says the artist. “The piece is meant to evoke the unique evening light on the Sangre de Cristo Mountains after a rainstorm. Like much of my recent work, A Way Skyward II blends elements of naturalism and abstraction, influenced by the historic artists I admired growing up in Taos.”

Scott Yeager, American Icons, oil, 48 x 72 in.

All of Scott Yeager’s paintings start as small works because they typically originate as plein air studies. “Some of these get developed into same size small works and others like American Icons are created into larger pieces,” says Yeager. “Buffalo have always been a favorite subject for me. The power they express in their body language and the great majestic landscapes that they inhabit are just a few of the inspirations for [this work].”

John Moyers, The Peyote Fan, oil on board, 12 x 10 in.

Among the works Burk will be showing is South Bound, a stylized, highly contemporary rendering of a cowboy atop a rearing horse in a sandy, cacti-studded landscape. “[With this piece I’m] just trying to push through my original style, lots of action, details and colors that creates the dynamic I am aiming for,” says Burk. “Most of the time I’m inspired by real situations I have been in, souvenirs of good times in my head, especially cowboy action scenes!”

Amery Bohling, Born of Mud and Lightening, oil on linen, 24 x 18 in.

John Moyers paints in a wide range of sizes, from very small to very large. His painting The Peyote Fan, spanning 12 by 10 inches is an example of the former. “Every painting whether it is large or small is a challenge,” says Moyers. “It’s an opportunity to make a simple statement with my art. I find a lot of my best work are simple concepts.” This show piece is a portrait of a Native American in profile holding a ceremonial peyote fan, whose popularity spread from the tribes of the Southern Plains to other tribes throughout North America.