When you look at all the places the Cowboy Artists of America has hung its hat—Phoenix, Oklahoma City, the Texas cities of Kerrville and Fort Worth—what you’re seeing is a fascinating cross-section of the American West, one that includes different kinds of Western culture, varied landscapes and even unique kinds of cowboys. And the CAA isn’t even done yet. Add to that list Denver, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.
“When it was announced that we were moving from Texas to Colorado, the response was tremendous, which is an understatement,” says Mikel Donahue, painter and CAA president. “People from Denver and Colorado are especially excited, but it’s not like we’re alienating anyone because we’ve also heard from collectors from New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and other places. They’re excited we have a new venue and a new home to come visit.”
Grant Redden, A Change of Seasons, oil, 40 x 30 in.
The CAA will celebrate its 60th annual exhibition and sale in Denver on October 2 and 3. The move to the Mile High City comes after seven successful years in Fort Worth, where they had partnered with the Fort Worth Stock Show. Receiving the group in Denver is the National Western Stock Show, which runs the Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale. Late in 2025, the Coors team unveiled the new Legacy Building, a state-of-the-art event space that wowed visitors during the January 2026 Coors show. Among the group of artists experiencing Legacy for the first time were CA members, who set the wheels in motion for the move. “The lighting is impressive, as is the exhibition space. The whole venue is just awesome. It’s going to treat our show very well,” Donahue says. “It’s a little intimidating how nice it is. We’ll have room to grow and show some big work.”
The 60th show kicks off on October 2 with an evening reception, a silent auction featuring a sketch from every active member and live music that will encourage audience participation—the schedule reads: “7:30 p.m. – Dancing Begins.” The following day, October 3, begins with artist demonstrations, a popular poster and catalog signing from CAA members, and also a discussion and Q-and-A session with members. Evening events include the by-draw sale, awards presentation and a celebration dinner. The ticketed event is expected to be very popular with collectors, so guests are encouraged to buy tickets early before the event sells out.
Clark Kelley Price, Be Ready, They’ll Come Through That Notch, oil, 24 x 30 in.
The CAA is also embracing something from its past for the 60th show. Many years ago, particularly when the show was in Phoenix, the group would release very few images while promoting and marketing the show to the public. For collectors to see more, they had to buy a ticket and attend the show. This added a level of mystique to the event since major and important work remained a mystery right up until it was unveiled. The group is bringing back a modified version of this promotional strategy this year. Only one work for each artist is being shared publicly prior to the Denver show. For collectors who want to see more, they have to pony up for a ticket and head to Colorado in early October.
Artwork in the show will include Donahue’s acrylic painting A Day in the Life, which shows a cowboy fixing a horseshoe as early-morning light rakes across the ground with long shadows. “I really enjoy going out to the Babbitt [Ranches] in Northern Arizona. One of the camps that I like visiting is the Redlands Camp on the northern end of the ranch. I know a lot of the [CA] guys like the roping scenes, but I tend to focus on the more mundane things, the everyday stuff that a cowboy has to go through. They have to be a vet, they have to be a farrier, a horseman, a leatherworker—they have to be all kinds of trades because they can’t have these different people come out once a week,” Donahue says. “So it’s part of their daily routine to do these things, including resetting a shoe or putting a new one on. It’s part of the unique way of living of these cowboys.”
Dave Santillanes, Still Waters, oil, 36 x 60 in.
Dave Santillanes, who says being voted into the CAA is “one of the greatest honors my career,” will be showing Still Waters, a large 60-inch-wide work with a rider engulfed in shadow as sundown approaches a mountain lake. “Still Waters grew from an experience I’ve had many times in the mountains—coming around a bend in the trail and finding a quiet alpine lake where everything seems to slow down. I wanted the painting to convey that sense of stillness and renewal, where the rider pauses not simply to admire the view, but to reconnect with it,” the artist says. “As the painting developed, I found myself simplifying as much as possible. I removed anything that distracted from the quiet conversation between the rider and the land. Much of my work is about light and atmosphere and what it does to the human spirit, and in Still Waters this becomes the real subject. I wanted viewers to feel as though they had stepped into that moment themselves—a place where the mind settles, the spirit is restored, and the landscape reminds us to slow down.”
Bill Nebeker, Made Mama Mad, bronze, 24 x 26 x 16 in.
Albin Veselka’s work has an interesting backstory, especially for fans of classic Western novels. “My largest and most important painting in this year’s CAA show came about as a bit of a surprise to me. Beau L’Amour, the son of the late, great American author Louis L’Amour, reached out to me last year requesting me to illustrate the cover for the re-printing of How the West was Won, one of Louis L’Amour’s most iconic novels. My schedule didn’t have an opening for it, but because I have been a fan of L’Amour’s work for most of my life, I really didn’t want to miss this opportunity. After some consideration I figured out that I could afford to do the illustration if it could double as a painting for the CAA show,” Veselka says. “I designed the cover in a way that not only would make a good cover, but that could be developed into a fine art painting after the illustration requirements were met. In order to serve both purposes, I had to make the painting pretty big, but I’m really pleased with how it turned out. I hope there will be a lot of Louis L’Amour fans that will appreciate it as an illustration for a story that has been loved for decades. Just as importantly, I hope people will appreciate it as a narrative painting that will become a treasured centerpiece of someone’s collection who appreciates L’Amour’s work as much as I do.”
Phil Epp, Open Sky, acrylic, 30 x 40 in.
Sculptor Dustin Payne, who credits the comradery of the members as a vital component of the CAA, will be showing Trail Dust, which features an iconic Texas subject. “The Texas Longhorn has always been one of my favorite subject matter to sculpt,” he says. “Not only are they nostalgic but they also have a look about them that gives an artists a lot of design opportunities.”
Bill Nebeker, the longest-serving active member of the group (he was inducted in 1978), presents his bronze Made Mama Mad. “I had been helping gather calves during a branding on a local ranch near Prescott, when one of the cowboys roped a calf, to drag it to the branding fire, when the mother cow charged the horse working her way between the horse and her calf. This mama cow would have pretty good horns and the horse would not be happy either. My concept was to have the viewer decide what the outcome would be,” he says. “When I am sculpting a cowboy and horse piece I always start with what kind of horse I want to portray. This would have to be a strong, smart, ‘cow savvy’ ranch horse hunched up in his hind quarters where the mama cow will be located. When I have the horse pretty much done, I create a saddle with all the accurate gear and then I began shaping the cowboy with his arms in the right position to have the calf roped, him seated correctly in the saddle and looking to find out where the mama cow would be located. The calf would be made next, set aside till I got the big mama cow made. It took me some thinking and rearranging to get the large mother cow situated behind the horse getting between the horse and her calf. The cowboy would already have a rope around the calf’s neck that is tangled up with mama, horse and calf. He is trying to stay on the horse, who could be ready to kick at the mama cow, and still not get them more tangled up in the rope in a more disastrous situation.”
Albin Veselka, How the West Was Won, oil, 55 x 76 in.
In Open Sky, Phil Epp shows a pair of horses under a brilliant sky with a single cloud. “I have had a long-time obsession with the distant horizon, open space and visual depth. Open Sky is an example of the type of scene that best illustrates those elements on a flat surface,” he says. “The landscape is empty and the sky is looming with gradient tones to enhance the distance. The figures anchor the sky and single cloud to the landscape. I don’t understand and can’t explain the symbolism, but I think it exists.”
Mikel Donahue, A Day in the Life, acrylic, 32 x 20 in.
Also turning to the sky is Brandon Bailey, who paints a more allegorical work featuring ghostly riders in the clouds as they battle and then fall into a Native American camp. The work is titled Sitting Bull’s Vision. “I was fortunate to participate in a sweat ceremony with the Crow Tribe along the banks of the Little Bighorn River. As thunder rolled across the valley, the experience left a lasting impression on me,” Bailey says. “Later, while reading about Sitting Bull’s Sun Dance vision of soldiers falling from the sky upside down like grasshoppers, I was inspired to explore this deeply spiritual aspect of Native life and bring that powerful vision to the canvas.”
Brandon Bailey, Sitting Bull’s Vision, oil, 36 x 72 in.
Most of the active CA members will have up to seven works available at the show. Several emeritus members are also likely to attend and bring artwork that will be for sale. —
Cowboy Artists of America’s 60th Exhibition & Sale
October 2-3, 2026
The Legacy
4800 National Western Drive, Denver, CO 80216
www.cowboyartistsofamerica.com
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