America’s Horse, September 18, 2009 — At a gathering of an elite group of Western artists, a couple of the younger members of the crowd began talking about using each others’ horses as subjects for some new pieces they were creating for the upcoming America’s Horse in Art: The Horse That Settled the West Art Show and Sale.
Now, stop and think about the reality of this plan: Not only would they eventually be using their artist’s “eye” to critique each other’s work, there’d also be a personal and somewhat emotional attachment to that critique – what kind of job did each of them do to represent the other’s horse?
“He looks OK, but you made him look a little parrot-mouthed,” one was heard saying to the other at the art show opening.
“I just paint ’em like I see ’em,” the other jabbed back, with a laugh.
Put 20 or so Western artists together in a room, and there’s bound to be some good-natured prodding going on, even if they are talking about each other’s work or their horses. It was just part of the relaxed atmosphere at the art show’s opening, August 14.
The exhibit, located in the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum in Amarillo, Texas, features paintings, sketches and sculptures from nearly 25 artists including Greg Kelsey, Mark Kohler, Mikel Donahue, Buck Taylor, Bruce Graham, Teal Blake and Mehl Lawson (see below for a complete list of artists). Each piece of art has a price tag and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis through November 14. Proceeds from the sale of the art will go to the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame. You can view the art at www.aqhhalloffame.com.
Telephone (806-376-5181) and e-mail (artshow@aqha.org) sales of the art are also available. The purchased artwork will remain on exhibit through November 14.
Featured Artists:
Wayne Baize
Teal Blake
Steve Devenyns
Mikel Donahue
Dyrk Godby
Bruce Graham
Don Hambrick
Harold T. Holden
Rick Jackson
Greg Kelsey
T.D. Kelsey
Mark Kohler
Earl Kuhn
Mehl Lawson
Jan Mapes
Lisa Perry
Tom Ryan III
Jason Scull
Jack Sorenson
Edgar Sotelo
Buck Taylor
K.W. Whitley
AQHA news and information is a service of AQHA publications. For more information on The American Quarter Horse Journal, The American Quarter Horse Racing Journal or America’s Horse, visit www.aqha.com/magazines.
