Jackson Hole Art Blog

A huge benefit of Facebook is reconnecting with friends you thought you’d never see or hear from again.

I want to tell you about Elizabeth Galindo and her sister Pam.  Elizabeth was my earliest, best childhood friend.  I knew her as Beth Wright; she now goes by Elizabeth, or Liz.   We became friends in the ’60’s.  We went to elementary school together, up in the hills of Santa Monica, California.   She had long, dark, tendrils and olive skin; I was a squinty blond with blotchy pale skin and a bowl cut.  We both loved Barbie.  We loved the Mamas and the Papas, the Beatles, Nancy Sinatra, the Beach Boys, boys, swimming in the pool, riding, her mom’s hot dogs, granny gowns, 45’s, cool cars, lying on the beach, gym class, sleep overs, summer camp, Yardley lipsticks, Marco Polo.  We were inseparable.

That’s me on the far right, Beth next to me.  I and my brothers are hangin’ at the Wright’s pool.

I had two baby sisters, Sarah and Annie.  Beth had an older sister, Pam.  We idolized her, of course.   We never thought we’d grow up, but if we did it would be very hip to look and act like Pam.  She was a loving big sister.  She watched over us when she was asked to, she chuckled at our little girls games, she was very protective of Beth.  And, as you can see from the photo top left, she was gorgeous.

About a year ago, out of the blue and after decades of not having a clue what had become of my childhood friend, Liz found me through Facebook.  A miracle!   Liz–I will refer to her as Liz from here on–had very recently lost Pam to lung cancer.  If ever a broken heart jumped through a website it was Liz’s as she spoke of her loss and emotions.   Pam would have been just 61 a few weeks ago.  These sisters had a powerful connection; they were best friends,  continuously supporting one another.

People come together for a reason.  We are sent to one another to learn and exchange energies and passion and lessons.   And hopefully love.   When Liz contacted me, she had no idea that I too had lost a sister to cancer.  Annie, the baby in our family, had died five years earlier, a victim of metastatic colon cancer.  She was 35.

Pam’s birthday is February 15.  Annie’s is February 18.

Liz is a couture designer and researcher.   She designs remarkable period costumes and gowns for the film industry.  She has two sons she loves with fervor.   And Liz has created a remarkable way to commemorate Pam and to raise funds for cancer research.   Here is her story, a story that began in the Fall of 2008:

“While taking care of my best friend and sister Pamela during her battle with lung cancer,  I began doodling on my clothing.  I doodled on jeans, skirts and blouses—whatever I had on, as I waited outside Pam’s treatment rooms.  I doodled as I watched her sleep. Writing in a journal was not personal enough at that time;  I wanted to create something  I could physically feel as well as write down my thoughts and prayers.  Drawing was my way of keeping in touch with my passion for art, fabrics and my “couture sister.”

After more than a year of mourning I finally approached my dear friend, pattern-maker Colleen.  She helped me create garments I call  Journal Skirts. I wore them to various functions and my classes (Liz is pursuing a PhD).   I used the journals for taking class notes, doodling, autographs, recording memories…. all sorts of record-keeping!   After a while, people began asking me where they could purchase a skirt or journal;  and that is when I knew Pamela was guiding me towards an idea that would help raise funds for cancer research.

20% of every journal skirt purchase price will be donated to the American Cancer Society.   This link will bring you to my Journal Skirt Website: http://web.me.com/journalskirt/Journal_Skirts/Welcome.html .  These skirts are wearable art, they’re performance art, and they are art from my heart to yours.  Go forth and create.  And thank you.”

Sincerely,  Elizabeth P. Galindo

World crises bring opportunity.  In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Jackson’s Diehl Gallery is altering its philanthropic schedule in order to assist victims in that razed and impoverished country.

Diehl has already begun donating a percentage of art sales to various Jackson area non-profits.  Through February 12, the gallery says it will donate 10% of sales costs to either the International Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund or any other disaster relief charity benefiting the Haitian people.

After February 12, charitable donations made through the sale of art will benefit WomensTrust.

There are many relief organizations; do take time to research which charities you feel use their funds in an effective and ethical manner.  It’s difficult to know everything about organizations we donate to, but we do a disservice to ourselves and any relevant community when we take marketing efforts at face value.  In today’s world, vigilance and accountability are of the utmost importance.

Please call the Diehl Gallery at 307.733.0905 with questions.

I’ve sprinked this post with a few images of Haitian crafts. Despite hardships we cannot begin to imagine, their art is full of joy.  Sitting here in my Connecticut home, I am surrounded by paper mache butterflies, crafted in Haiti.   Images courtesy of Aid To Artisans, a non-profit organization working to help crafts people in impoverished countries around the globe bring their goods to the U.S. market.

Yo!  Been off-line for two weeks, give or take a sunset.   The J.H. Art Blog is being administrated three quarters of the country away from Jackson Hole. That’s the case all winter, but we’ll keep posting and inquiring and spreading the word.   Here are a few last minute postings, and….I know you know.  They’re up anyway.

Rossetti, McCandless and the Art Association join hands for this one; an opening reception takes place Friday, December 11, 5:30 - 7:30 pm at the Center for the Arts.

Miga Rossetti’s first show in a while, Where to Put it All,  mixes the chaos of Rosetti’s life with the efficiency she strives to inject.  In NYC, many artists and art lovers are converting their homes into galleries, holding mini-shows for artists whose work is not marketable in the current….market.  They find ways to stash their “personals,” and maybe Rossetti looks to pick up on that trend.

“Fitting it all in, stashing it, layering it, isolating certain things, giving over to many - all of this is considered,” says Rossetti.  Our efficient winged friends are considered–creatures who can keep a neat house in a tiny circle, frenetic as each day might be.  Materials include mixed media on board, including acrylic paint, natural materials and paper collage.

Martin Garhart & Valerie Seaberg: Falling Awake combines a contemporary painter and printmaker’s artistry with local artist Valerie Seaberg’s undulating vessels.  Garhart has served as Professor of Drawing, Painting and Printmaking at Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, for over 30 years. Valerie Seaberg describes herself as “an ocean child” destined for mountain life. Her mixed media vessels are like great, tumbled beachcombing finds, undulating clay forms encircled by pine needles or horsehair. They are high country marriages between an ancient ocean and raw land. Seaberg’s works are muscular, sensual and convey a deep sense of time, earth, and element.

Wow—Whoever wrote that is really good!  www.artassociation.org.

Item #2

Hot off the Facebook presses:

Lyndsay invited you to “Affordable Art Weekend with Oswald Gallery and LMC” on Friday, December 11 at 12:00pm.

Event: Affordable Art Weekend with Oswald Gallery and LMC.

What: Exhibit
Start Time: Friday, December 11 at 12:00pm
End Time: Saturday, December 12 at 8:00pm
Where: Oswald Gallery, 165 North Center Street

Join Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary and Oswald Gallery as we kick-off our Contemporary Art Collaboration in the Oswald Gallery space with an Affordable Art Weekend. Works by artists in both galleries will be on view and all artworks on view will be $3,000, or less, with many works under $1,000.

Please consider donating 10% of any purchase price to one of several arts non-profits.   A nice gesture from McCandless, recently forced to call it quits — it will really happen this time, I think — because of late-to-the-game town rulings on the state of her space.

Why now? Lyndsay has been in that space six years, TOJ.  Come on.  Give a hand, don’t slam her door.  If you had problems, or if anyone did, why didn’t you voice them?  Why didn’t you do something pro-active to keep LMC cooking?   I hope there is a bit of investigating on the part of the two newspapers.  If everything is on the up-and-up, so be it.  If this is a sudden, last-ditch effort on the part of LMC’s next door developers to beat back the common peeps, that stinks.  Fix it up, instead. You have the money.  And, it would do your complex (that nobody is living in) good stead.

The gallery will be open from noon until 8, with a cocktail reception each night from 6 to 8 pm.

Item #3:  It’s Bazaar.

This Christmas, please come for some good cheer and bargains — and to support the JHHS Rotary Interact teenagers who are selling great gifts to raise money to open a village library in Nepal.

Many new rug designs and selected imports have just arrived. Bring your neighbors!

Sat. & Sun. December 12 & 13 10 am to 4 pm.  Steer your sleigh to 1520 Fish Creek Road, in Wilson.  Look for the prayer flags.  For more information, contact hostess and Nepal benefactor Didi Thunder, at 307.733.4124.

Wildlife photographer Tom Mangelsen’s October presentation at the National Museum of Wildlife Art was so packed, they had to send people away.  So, Mangelsen is generously presenting his program again–at NMWA–on Thursday, November 19th, at 7:00 p.m.  Mangelsen will talk about his nature photography, specifically the work now on view at the Museum.  That exhibition, “The Natural World: Photographs by Thomas D. Mangelsen,” is on display through April 25th, 2009.

I can make this one, yay!   By the way, the last post on Mangelsen’s show was Twittered about, out in the enviromental-creative universe….proof we’re all connected.  Proof that Wyoming’s artists are among the best in the world when it comes to representing this powerful place.

For information, give NMWA a call at 307.733.5771 or log on to www.wildlifeart.org.

Item #2:  Repeat Arts Grant Opportunities

A second deadline has been added to receive grant money from Art Works of Wyoming (AWW), a Wyoming Arts Council program.  Funding comes from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Timeline is as follows:

• December 11, 2009 2nd deadline to apply for AWW funds.

• February 11-12, 2010 WAC Board meeting and 2nd Art Works for Wyoming Panel.

• February 19, 2010 Award letters for second funding deadline issued.

For full details and guidelines, log onto the Wyoming Arts website here.

Item #3:

Colorado landscape painter David W. Mayer’s paintings “Autumn at String Lake” and “Spring Runoff” are to be included in the C.M. Russell Art Auction, in Great Falls, Montana next Spring.  The auction takes place March 17-20.

Mayer, a colleague of painters Scott Christensen, T. Allen Lawson and other painters; he is an acolyte of such writers and artists as Richard Schmid, Edgar Payne, Joaquin Sorolla and the California Impressionists.

The C.M. Russell Art Auction is juried.

Man, I am so old.  I go lookin’ for images to post up for Teton Art Lab’s call to artists, for its upcoming “Wallpaper” exhibition, and I think I will find oodles of gorgeous decorator wall papers.  Grass paper, Ralph Lauren patterns, accents, borders, stenciling, flocks; and themes like “The Hunt,” “Jungle,”  “Rose Garden,” “Zen,” “Star Wars,”….

But no.  It’s all about “Anime” and desktop and video games and such.

Teton Artlab is seeking entries for its second annual “Wallpaper” exhibition, to be held from December 4th - 23rd, 2009.

All works on paper are eligible, provided they are UNFRAMED and under 48″ on the longest side. Submissions must be dropped off at Teton Art Lab (up on the third floor of the Center for the Arts) by November 27th. This is a juried show, and works that are not destined to be part of the show will be returned by December 3rd.

Entries should have the artist’s name, phone number, and email, either on the back of the work or included with a portfolio.

For information, send a note…not written, but emailed…to :info@tetonartlab.com.

Item #2

Lyndsay McCandless has announced she is “pushing the pause button”  on SLAM, Jackson’s grass roots artist market modeled on the town’s Saturday Farmer’s Market.  She will also cease producing First Fridays, music events and all parties for now.

McCandless says the Town of Jackson has deemed her gallery space “not up to code,” and has notified her that the gallery may not hold gatherings with more than 45 people.

Well, that’s huge, because McCandless has transitioned the gallery space into the local contemporary art community’s primary gathering place.  She has been the heart, the Energizer Bunny, for young visual artists here.   The ceasing of McCandless events leaves a big black hole in our arts scene.  I don’t know the extent of SLAM’s effect on our local arts economy, but any slice taken out of our artistic family’s financial pie is a painful loss.

I call again on commercial property owners to offer up empty store front space to local artists!   This is ridiculous!

McCandless says the shut down forces her to reevaluate LMC’s future.  Stay tuned.

I’ve asked McCandless why, after occupying the space on Jackson Street for as long as she has, the space is suddenly deemed not up to code; if it’s printable, I’ll give you the answer when I receive it.

Yikes, I hope there’s still time to check out Jarrod Eastman’s artwork over at Full Circle Frameworks--A party happened this past Friday evening, and judging from what Rocky Vertone posted on Facebook, Eastman’s works look pretty alive and fun.   I’m so not a smarty when it comes to the lingo of the 20 and 30-something Jackson art crowd, but I do know that Rocky’s venue is one-of-a-kind and that he is providing a much needed service for up-and-coming Jackson Hole artists.

Available Eastman art includes original works and limited edition prints.  Vertone also says some “one off” pieces are up for sale at very affordable prices.   So check it out, give Vertone a buzz for an update.   733-0770 at the shop.

Item #2: Art Association Offers Fall Classes

The Art Association of Jackson Hole has a full and diverse fall arts class schedule.  Painting, drawing, ceramics, mixed media, metals, fiber, glass, photography, printmaking and sculpture are all on the roster.   Classes are taught by an impressive group of artists, including but not limited to:  Valerie Seaberg, Alissa Davies, Sam Dowd, Sharon Thomas, Kathy Turner, Amy Larkin, Georgia Mayer, Abbie Miller, Greg Epstein, Aaron Mitchell….

Visiting artists for adult classes include: Lian Quan Zhen (Class: Spirit of Life: Watercolor and Chinese Painting), Charles Reid (Figure in Watercolor), Donna Rozman (Ceramics, Color and Design), Danielle Corriea, Daniella Woolf, Rebecca Stern & Bronwyn Minton (Encaustic & Photographic Processes), Dan Haga (Advanced Silver Workshop), Bob Smith (Wildlife Photography), Elizabeth Opalenik (The Figure in Motion) and Johan Hagaman (Sculpting in Concrete: From High Art to Yard Art).

There are plenty of art classes for kids, too!  Check out The Avery Mathieu Youth Scholarship Fund page to learn about a meaningful way to contribute to the Art Association’s ongoing commitment to youth.

For information, log onto the Art Association’s website here, or email signup@artassociation.org. You can download a pdf describing all courses and special programs.    Phone:  307.733.6379.

PS: Rumor has it that the position of Art Association E.D. has been offered to someone from the field of applicants interested in that job.

Item #3:  New Casting at Galleries West

Jackson hole sculptor R. Scott Nickell has a new bronze in the works - an Arapaho Dancer. The figure depicts a warrior relating his story of valor through ceremonial dance.  If you’ve ever attended a pow wow, you know how gorgeous and mesmerizing these dances are.

Says Nickell, “Gripping a war shield in one hand and a gunstock war club in the other, (the dancer’s) performance illustrates the act of counting coup during battle.  In Native tradition, counting coup (touching an adversary with the tip of the war club) was a braver feat than killing an enemy, since it involved more danger to the warrior himself.  Feathers were given as rewards for these acts of bravery and were displayed like medals of honor by the warriors.”

I haven’t told you about the deal: Nickell is offering a pre-cast discount for those ordering before November 15th.   Pre-cast price is currently $5500, but if ordered by November 15th, a 5% discount is applied.  Time to start thinking about those holidays…..For full details on the piece and special payment arrangements, contact Galleries West at 307.733.4412 or email info@gallerieswestjacksonhole.com.

A few months back–a few warmer, sunnier months back– toy photographer Brian McCarty came to town and introduced his neat-o, media activating work.   He is the step son of local philanthropist and producer Mickey Babcock; McCarty’s opening took place at Babcock’s new home.   The Jackson Hole Art Blog posted a story on his work, and McCarty keeps in touch.

Here’s one of his latest, “Moon Wanderers,” shot in the Tetons.  McCarty says the little guys are resin figures.  The toys are created by Russian Sergey Safonov, who, says McCarty, has “… hand-built a mysterious cast of characters that exist only at night. The Moon Wanders float along, sleeping and waiting.”

McCarty openly discusses his process, and in this case the process began with an imagined image of small figures afloat under a paper moon.  The toys were mounted on metal rods placed in soft mud, at Two Oceans Lake, in Grand Teton National Park.  ( Is this legal?  Not sure.  But I didn’t do it! )  A long exposure taken by a camera atop a semi-submerged tripod “…made the water seem glassy, except for the rippled reflection of strobe light off a paper moon suspended in the background.”

The Tetons can provide a lot of interference if they want to.   McCarty was challenged by nature a few times.

“Things started getting a little edgy with the growing army of leeches seen attaching themselves to my waders. A too-close-for-comfort moose followed in close succession, at first looking confused at the humans walking around his lake at midnight, then a bit annoyed. I’d like to think that we scared him off with our flashlights and noisemaking, but it may have been what followed next. Through the mist, something that sounded much larger than the moose was splashing around. Unable to see, I’m going to wager it was a grizzly bear or perhaps a sasquatch. Hard to say,” says McCarty.

I saw McCarty’s show with my (dear) artist friend Ricki Arno--who I haven’t heard from in like, two months.  Ricki, where are you?   Please call.   Have you gone back to Planet New York?

From Planet Laramie: Nationally known, Colorado-based artist James Surls will give a talk at the University of Wyoming’s Coe Library on Saturday, Oct. 24, beginning at 1:00 pm.  The University’s Art Museum blog says a reception will follow; all will celebrate the installation of Surls’ new work, “Rolling Flowers.”

What a great title!

UW’s blog says Surls is noted for his work with emerging artists–he’s a mentor.  He also works quite a bit with non-profits and he and his wife, Charmaine Locke, (Her website cover page shows a gorgeous shot of her large scale bronze, “Open Book.”  Please look.)  have large-scale pieces in that wonderful venue, “Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational.” Check the above U.W. Art Museum link for more information.

From the Wyoming Arts Council:  Art Aid

Wyoming Entrepreneur, at the University of Wyoming, offers free web marketing counseling for small businesses, and the Wyoming Arts Council has an Individual Artists Professional Development (IAPD) grant program.   Grants provide funds for artists to hire web designers ( wow!!!! artists lose lots of precious creativity time working on websites.), pay for hosting and other needs.  A one-to-one match is required, and up to $500 can be awarded.

For info: Email mshay@state.wy.us.

2009 Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival Schedule of Events

(Note: This calendar reflects ongoing and slated events beginning Wednesday, Sept. 16.  For a complete calendar of events,  visit www.jacksonholechamber.com)

SPECIAL NOTE:  R. Tom Gilleon, 2009’s Fall Arts Festival Poster Artist, will sign posters of his painting “Yellow Leaves Moon” (50″x50″ oil), above, at ALTAMIRA FINE ART, a change from original venue plans.  Prior to the Fall Arts Festival, the painting is on display at the historic Wort Hotel, in Jackson.  See details below for Wednesday, September 16. Galleries West Fine Art

7th Fall Round Up
This annual Fall Arts Festival group show features new works by all of Galleries West artists. Please note:  Artists’ reception takes place during the Wednesday (September 16) night ART walk.

Galleries West Fine Art, 307-733-4412 www.gallerieswestjacksonhole.com

The Best of Astoria, September 11-20th
Includes the 2nd Annual Greg Beecham Wildlife Showcase. Astoria Fine Art, 307-733-4016, www.astoriafineart.com

J.H. Art Association: Members Only Exhibition
View  an eclectic and extensive body of work by hundreds of talented Art Association members.   On display through November 30.    Check it out at the Artspace Lobby Gallery, Center for the Arts.

Mountain Trails’ “American Visions Group Show”

Running Sept.  1-20.  The show features all Mountain Trails artists, with several being on hand and demonstrating throughout the Festival.  These artists are:  Carrie Fell (Grand Opening), Ken Rowe, Buckeye Blake, Jeff Ham and Vic Payne. Call Lisa Shannon for details!  Her phone:  307.734.8150.

A Horse of a Different Color Gallery:
Toland Sand
Celebrate Toland Sand, an internationally known glass artist. His medium is cold-worked glass, the creation of glass sculpture by constructing three-dimensional forms. On display through September 30.  307-734-9603

Wednesday, September 16

Jewelry and Artisan Luncheon at Teton Pines

In conjunction with the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s Western Visions Show & Sale, enjoy an elegant luncheon at Teton Pines Resort & Country Club. Artisans (jewelry, fiber and leather) preview and sell their handmade goods. Ladies only! Register by September 10, 2009 by calling 307-732-5412.

11:00am - 4:00pm.
$100 per person or $500 per person for a package including Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday plus other Western Visions events.
www.WesternVisions.org

Gallery ARTWalk   5:00-8:00 pm
Join more than 30 Jackson art galleries for the special Wednesday ARTWalk. Enjoy fine art and experience the vibrant Jackson art scene. Look for the ART walk banners!  Various locations, see gallery map, 5:00-8:00pm, open to the public.

Poster Signing with Tom Gilleon at Altamira Fine Art
3:00-5:00 pm
Meet Fall Arts Festival poster artist Tom Gilleon and receive a personally signed poster of his featured painting, “Yellow Leaves Moon.” Altamira Fine Art, 3:00-5:00pm, open to the public.  An artist’s reception follows immediately after.   307-734-8150.

Galleries West Fine Art, 5:00-8:00pm
Reception for the 7th Fall Round Up. Meet and visit with many Galleries West artists.
307-733-4142, www.gallerieswestjacksonhole.com.

Thursday, September 17

Wild West Preview Party 6:30-10:30 pm
As part of the 22nd Annual Western Visions, artists and patrons have an opportunity to view the art, place their ballots, and mingle. The Jewelry and Artisan Show & Sale, Photography Show & Sale and Sketch Show & Sale are also open to the public during this event and the artisans are in residence. The evening includes delicious fare, a full bar and entertainment. Register by September 10, 2009 by calling 307-732-5412.

Location: National Museum of Wildlife Art
$100 per person or $500 per person for a package including Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, plus other events.
www.WesternVisions.org

Center Street Gallery, 5:00-8:00pm
Marshall Noice and Robert Deurloo Show
Marshall Noice is a contemporary landscape oil painter from Kalispell, MT. Robert Deurloo is a wildlife sculptor working in bronze and exotic patinas from Salmon, ID.
307-733-1155, www.centerstreetgallery.com

Friday, September 18

22nd Annual Miniatures and More Show & Sale,  5:30-9:30pm
This is the final opportunity to place bids prior to the evening’s drawing and auction. The evening features hors d’oeuvres and beverage, and most importantly, the names of the winning bidders are drawn. The Jewelry and Artisan Show & Sale, the Photography Show & Sale and the Sketch Show & Sale will be on display and guests are invited to make purchases. Call 307-732-5412. Register by September 10, 2009. Call 307-732-5412.

Location: National Museum of Wildlife Art, 5:30-9:30pm.
$100 per person or $500 per person for a package including Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, plus other events.
www.WesternVisions.org

Legacy of Nature Group Show, 1:00-4:00pm
The Legacy of Nature Group Show featuring wildlife and sporting art. Artists include paintings by Ken Carlson, Luke Frazier, Michael Coleman, Brian Grimm, Chad Poppleton, Julie T. Chapman, Trevor Swanson, Jan Martin McGuire, and sculptures by Ken Bunn and Tim Shinabarger.

Legacy Gallery.  307-733-2353, www.legacygallery.com

E.I. Couse, (1866-1936), "Moonlight"

Jackson Hole Art Auction Preview 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
The Jackson Hole Art Auction is a premier Western Art Auction featuring art from Past and Present Masters of the American West. Historically recognized Western American Art is the focus, including works by the Taos Society of Artists, Deceased American Masters and Top Contemporary Western and Wildlife Artists. The Jackson Hole Art Auction is presented in association with Trailside Galleries and Gerald Peters Gallery.

Location: Center for the Arts
866-549-9278; www.jacksonholeartauction.com

Saturday, September 19

14th Annual Jackson Hole QuickDraw Art Sale & Auction
9:30 a.m.
Nationally, regionally and locally recognized artists paint and sculpt while spectators look on. Each new artwork will be auctioned off following an hour-long “draw.”  “Yellow Leaves Moon,” 2009’s featured poster artwork by R. Tom Gilleon, will also be auctioned.

Location: Jackson Town Square, 9:30am, open to the public.
Please note 2009’s earlier time slot for this event.

Jackson Hole Art Auction Start: 1:00 p.m.
The Jackson Hole Art Auction is a premier Western Art Auction featuring art from Past and Present Masters of the American West. Historically recognized Western American Art is the focus, including works by the Taos Society of Artists, Deceased American Masters and Top Contemporary Western and Wildlife Artists. The Jackson Hole Art Auction is presented in association with Trailside Galleries and Gerald Peters Gallery.

Location: Jackson Hole Center for the Arts
866-549-9278; www.jacksonholeartauction.com

Galleries West Open House, All Day
Visit the gallery any time throughout the day for hors d’oeuvres and beverages. Many Fall Round-Up artists will be on hand during the day.

Galleries West Gallery
307-733-4412, www.gallerieswestjacksonhole.com

Trailside Galleries Fall Gold Show, 3:00-6:00pm
This annual event will show new works by all of their gallery artists with special showcases for Kyle Sims (wildlife painter), Lindsay Scott (wildlife artist), Bonnie Marris (wildlife painter), a small grouping by Mian Situ (Chinese figural painter) as well as a small grouping by wildlife painters Adam and Dan Smith.
307-733-3186, www.trailsidegalleries.com.

SPECIAL EVENT:  JACKSON HOLE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE CELEBRATES 30 YEARS WITH “THE ART OF CONSERVATION: 30 ARTISTS, 30 YEARS.”

This event coincides with Jackson’s Fall Arts Festival.   The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance’s 30th Anniversary gala takes place at the Jackson Lake Lodge this evening, beginning at 5:30 p.m.   A live and silent auction featuring works by renowned artists follows, and benefits the Alliance’s across-the-board conservation efforts.   Participating artists want to make a difference, and you can, too.

A highlight of the auction is Robert Bateman’s “Bison,” a limited edition print not commercially available.  A great American icon, the bison remains under stress, a symbol of conservation controversy.  Two works by Bateman, including “Bison,” will be auctioned at 7:15 p.m. The  auction includes oil paintings, watercolors, photography,  bronzes, hand blown glass, ilfochrome, pastels, and more.  Participating artists include:

Huntley Baldwin, Robert Bateman, Elke Bieber, Tina Close, Luke
Frazier, Natalie Goss, Eliot Goss, Jeff Hogan, Henry Holdsworth, Kal
Kallaugher, Fred Kingwill, Thomas Mangelsen, Mimi Matsuda, Pamela
McCool, Greg McHuron, Dee Parker, Mary Rasmussen, Audrey Roll-
Preissler, William Sawczuk, Kay Stratman, Lee Stroncek, Laurie Thal,
Shannon Troxler, Amy Unfried, September Vhay, Mary O. Waid, and
Andrew Weller.

Bidders may register for absentee bidding.  Post-dinner admission is also available.  For information, contact the Jackson Hole Conservation
Alliance office at (307) 733-9417.

• Sunday, September 20

Art Brunch Gallery Walk,  11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Join Jackson’s 30-plus art galleries for brunch and festive beverages at this Fall Arts Festival closing-day celebration!  Brunch, Bloody Marys, and spectacular art.

Various gallery locations, see gallery map, 11:00am-3:00pm, open to the public.

West Lives On Gallery Open House, 10:00am-4:00pm
Featuring over 12 of West Lives On Gallery artists.
307-734-2888, www.westliveson.com.

Monday, September 21

Sleep…………….(All Day)

It’s here!  Can you believe it?   I can’t.   Here we go…Fall Arts Festival starts NOW.

Trailside Galleries’ September line-up is remarkable.   September 1-20th, its annual “Fall Gold” spectacular will showcase an almost impossibly extensive selection of wildlife, cowboy, landscape and other manner of Western art.   The show will be up most of the month; “Fall Gold’s” opening reception happens Saturday, September 19, 3-6:00 p.m. Many Trailside artists will be in attendance, and the list of artists represented in this year’s show is:

Cyrus Afsary, Bill Anton, Wayne Baize, Gerald Balciar, Bruce Cheever, Brent Cotton, Pino Dangelico, Stan Davis, John DeMott, Andrew Denman, Michael Desatnick, Robert Duncan, Nancy Glazier, Michael Godfrey, Veryl Goodnight, Lanny Grant, George Hallmark, Matthew Hillier, Terry Isaac, Joffa Kerr, Francois Koch, Calvin Liang, Z.S. Liang, Mike Malm, Dan McCaw, Danny McCaw, Greg McHuron, Dan Mieduch, Jim Morgan, Brenda Murphy, Scott Myers, George Northup, Ralph Oberg, Dino Paravano, Andrew Peters, Howard Rogers, Sherry Sander, Bill Sawczuk, Lindsay Scott, John Seerey-Lester, Suzie Seerey-Lester, Mian Situ, Ryan Skidmore, Adam Smith, Dan Smith, Tucker Smith, Gordon Snidow, George Strickland, Richard D. Thomas, Kent Ullberg, Curt Walters, Morgan Weistling, Kathy Wipfler, Sarah Woods, David Yorke and Jie Wei Zhou.

Trailside shines a special light on new works by wildlife artists Kyle Sims, Bonnie Marris (she has a gift for portraying grizzlies–check out the work over Emma’s desk, upstairs at J.H. Auction headquarters), Lindsay Scott, Dan Smith and Adam Smith. Each artist will have their own showcase; an artists’ reception will be held for these artists at Trailside on Saturday, September 19th.

If that isn’t enough, Western art legends Mian Situ and Richard D. Thomas will have their own showcases too.

How does Trailside pull all this off?  With a remarkably energetic, devoted staff and two floors of gallery space, which, if you haven’t seen it, is impressive.

Trailside Galleries partners with the Gerald Peters Gallery for the 2009 Jackson Hole Art Auction, taking place September 19 at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts.

For information, email Cara Kelly at cara@trailsidegalleries.com.

Jeff Ham and Malcolm Furlow open a new show, “The West – Expressions in Color,” August 1 - 15, at Mountain Trails Gallery. An artists’ reception takes place  Thursday,  August 6,  5-8 p.m.  Mountain Trails is ensconced in its new space, on the northeast corner of Jackson Town Square.  Haven’t been in?  Now’s your chance–both artists will be on hand.

Is it me, or does this gentleman look angry? Ham portraits have conveyed pride, spirituality…check his earlier  big, brightly painted, delineated portraits.  They’re thinking, “I’m huge.  I’m beautiful.  I’m iconic.”   Now, paint is thrown in the face of confidence, a bloodied history is realized, and Ham’s “Blue Indian” is tear tracked, a devastating accusation in his eyes.

This evolved perspective is a good reason to check out Ham’s new works.    His color and composition spring from a background in illustration — Ham is a Disney veteran.

“I do my best to translate emotion and feelings into color and communicate my individual interpretation of each subject,” he explained. ”My goal is to capture spontaneity. As an artist I am learning to express myself in an honest and straightforward manner.”

Malcolm Furlow wears a coat of many painting colors; his vivid canvases reflect a love of the outdoors, landscape, Western history, cowboys and wildlife.

Furlow lives and works primarily at his northern New Mexico ranch. Sitting under the pinion trees provides  peace and solitude that feed his creative soul.   I remember a story about a bull, Ferdinand, who sat under a cork tree smelling flowers, away from all the other sparring, fighting bulls.   It’s a story of peace.  307.734.8150.

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Lyndsay McCandless plans on pulling out another First Friday this month.  She’s got rocker Charlotte Potter and Friends set to play at Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary on Friday, August 7.

That’s great music.   Drove by the gallery the other day, and McCandless still has works up; she’s not done.   Perhaps she should just turn it all into a nightclub?   A coffee house?   We don’t have a coffee house. The kind with beatnik poets and red checked table cloths.  Maybe Mike Bressler would show up and do a reading.  Pay for his food.  We don’t have a university town bookstore/bistro kind of place, where ensembles play cellos in the corner, and there are shelves and shelves of things to read, book-related items to buy, newspapers from around the world, AND art on the wall…ALL IN ONE PLACE.   Breakfast would be nice, too.

Give 10% to the Art Blog, please.   (nod, nod, wink, wink!)

PS:  Lyndsay McCandless is promoting her new venture, SLAM, a farmer’s market for artists taking place on Saturdays, at 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, at the gallery.  Finish up at the Town Square Farmer’s Market, then head on over to Jackson Street.   734.0649.

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CIAO Gallery’s deadline for entry to Nocturnes: Art Inspired by the Night was July 31, but give gallery director Michelle Walters a call if you missed it.  Walters tells me that anyone applying for CIAO exhibitions can do so online, via the gallery’s website.  “Nocturnes” opening reception is scheduled for Saturday, August 22.

CIAO’s next deadline, for its 2nd Annual Call of the Wild is August 7th.  The show will run during Fall Arts Festival week.  Check the website’s “Call to Artists” tab.   For more information contact Walters, or visit www.ciaogallery.com.