Beginning at the tail end of October, the Plainsmen Gallery in Dunedin, Florida, will host its Small Works & More Group Show, including 75 works by nearly 20 artists. Like most small-works shows, this exhibition provides more casual collecting opportunities but also includes some larger paintings and sculptures as well.
Featured artists include some of the top artists working in the Western genre today: John Coleman, David Yorke, Lee Alban, Harley Brown, Grant Redden, Bonnie Marris, Ed Natiya, Hyrum C. Joe, Jim Eppler, Raymond Gibby, Grant Hacking, John Nieto, Dustin Payne, Geoffrey Smith and more.
Lee Alban, Sanctum Naturae, oil on board, 30 x 30 in.
For Alban’s Western paintings, the artist relies on the many visits he makes to scenic sites when traveling, especially national and state parks. The inspiration for his recent painting, Sanctum Naturae—depicting a cowboy and his horse stopping to rest at a creek—started with a 30-by-30-inch canvas that Alban had sitting in his studio. “Because of its size, I thought a landscape would be a good idea. I enjoy painting landscapes, but I also like to combine them with figures from Western photoshoots to provide a center of interest. I believe the landscape inspiration was a photo I took in Glacier National Park, but the figure was chosen after searching my files from a photoshoot in South Dakota. I did not have a title for the painting, but I did want to convey a feeling of solitude, faith and nature. I decided to use a Latin phrase to add a feeling of majesty.”
David Yorke, Lone Star, oil on board, 19 x 12 in.
Yorke brings to the show a 19-by-12-inch nocturne of a cowboy on horseback titled Lone Star. “I’ve always been fascinated with moonlit scenes for a painting. It’s harder than it looks, to simulate the limited color palette,” he says. “To me, the light needs to be subtle, yet moody. Remington tried his many examples of color variations and edge sharpness to simulate the effects, but with little uniformity! I’ve concluded that moonlight is one of the most difficult light sources to interpret effectively. Lone Star is an evening portrait of a cowboy on the range, as he takes in the view of a full moon and Venus rising. All thought and focus is absorbed by the serenity and silence of the moment.”
Grant Redden, Winter Cottonwoods, oil on board, 12 x 12 in.
Other works to explore include Redden’s 12-by-12-inch snow scene Winter Cottonwoods, as well as Coleman’s bronze A Mother’s Journey, depicting a mother with her child.
Small Works & More Group Show hangs October 30 to November 28. A reception will be held on Saturday, November 14. —
The Plainsmen Gallery 2141 Main Street » Dunedin, FL 34698 » (727) 734-8200 » plainsmengallery.com
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