Kicking off the exciting summer season in Wyoming is the Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show & Sale opening July 17 at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum. This year’s show will include more than 200 works from 56 talented Western artists. The annual event, now in its 43rd year, is timed with Cheyenne Frontier Days, one of the most popular rodeos in North America.
Jack Olson, Autumn Solitude, oil on canvas, 30 x 20 in.
“I’m really excited about this year’s show,” says Amanda Marshall, the art show’s organizer. “I am fortunate to see the art as it comes in and it’s all been so beautiful. It’s going to be a good year.”
Artists include Susie Hyer, Jennifer Johnson, Dan Knepper, Ann Hanson, Chris Navarro, Marlin Rotach and many others. Marshall notes that the show will have both traditional Western art and more contemporary work that speaks to some of the exciting movements emerging from Western studios.
Cody Kuehl, Portals, acrylics on plexi and panel, 30 x 30 in.
One work that shows how contemporary the show can get is Cody Kuehl’s Portals, which presents wildlife subjects in a distorted, loosely painted landscapes that merges drawing and painting with Plexiglass layers to create a three-dimensional look.
A more traditional artist in the show is Rachel Brownlee, whose drawings are incredibly realistic and tell stories of ranch life. “The invisible, unwanted hours of the day, those before dawn usually, provide the foundation upon which much visible success is built,” says Brownlee about her piece First in the Saddle.“Hard-working people, in agriculture and otherwise, exert their efforts in the dark, using hours that many people don’t even know exist or ever have intention to use.”
Rachel Brownlee, First in the Saddle, charcoal on paper, 36 x 23 in
Another artist in the show is Jack Olson, who will be showing Autumn Solitude, a landscape of a mountain stream as the seasons are in full swing. “My inspiration came from many fishing trips into the back country of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, among the solitude of the aspen trees. Catching brook trout in small streams is a joy to behold,” Olson says. “I have been a professional artist for over 40 years and I love it as much today as I did when I started many years ago.”
Ann Hanson, Sweet Nothings, oil, 18 x 24 in.
The show will open on July 17 with an opening reception that starts at 3 p.m. at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum. The opening also includes a visit to the governor’s mansion. The sale portion of the opening night begins at 6 p.m. with an opportunity to purchase the art early. A more traditional box draw starts at 6:30 p.m. For more information about the show, visit the website, www.cfdartshow.com. —
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