High Realism

By Chelsea Koressel

Artist Lew Brennan has remained steadfast in keeping his equestrian portraits, landscapes and narrative works in the hyperrealism style, despite the trend to go abstract. For his upcoming show at Blue Rain Gallery’s Santa Fe location, the Australian artist translates his realistic drawings and paintings from rural themes to the Western genre.

Sutter, oil on canvas, 35½ x 47 in.

“Rural, country and Western themes are all very closely tied but the intricacies within them are very important for me in my commitment to hyperrealism,” Brennan elaborates. “Like Blue Rain Gallery owner Leroy [Garcia] says, ‘Australian cowboys are a lot like American cowboys, but there are some important differences.’ I’m only too happy to bring [this] out in my art.”

We Were in the Wilderness, Charcoal on Fabriano paper, 48 x 65 in.

Brennan’s more Western-centric pieces include A Man’s Gotta Do, a nocturne narrative scene involving a cowboy on horseback, and One Way, referenced from a photo the artist took during a street parade in Fort Worth, Texas. “I think the outstanding piece that’s considered ‘fresh’ for this exhibition is Girl from The North Country, which is really focused on an honest representation of contemporary Western life,” Brennan adds.

Additional highlights that are equine focused, and gloriously high realism, are Sutter and We Were in the Wilderness.“The making of [these pieces] are a ‘per usual’ for me. I put mental pictures together of what I want to do, and then I hunt down references and images that I can use.”