Skeeter Leard is a regional New Mexico wildlife artist and illustrator, working primarily in acrylics and pastels.  She is highly respected locally for both her art and her long-standing involvement in conservation and community arts.  The Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is a major influence in her work and the subjects she paints — birds and native desert animals. 

Award winning, fine wildlife artist, Nancy Tome, depicts a variety of birds and other wildlife in everyday life. Combining distinct realism and composition in her paintings, Tome combines bold colors with intense detail to depict animals in their natural environment. Her acrylic paintings are designed to capture “a moment in time” of that animal’s daily life. She uses research obtained from travel, zoos and private collections to compile all of her knowledge and understanding of an animal and its environment into a realistic and emotional scene.

Gaylene Fortner creates artworks inspired by her cherished country life in her home state of Montana.  Wildlife, ranch life, antiques, and flowers grace her paintings created with oils or watercolors.  She explores new methods in her paintings in order to reveal the uniqueness of each subject, utilizing a variety of sizes from small to large formats. She especially enjoys painting miniatures, some of which are so small that a magnifying glass is needed to appreciate the details.

 I find inspiration for my sculpture in the wildlife and cultures of the high desert of Arizona and in ancient folklore and magic.  I never really know entirely what will happen when I begin a piece. It is something of a negotiation with ideas, materials, and chance. It grows into what it wants to be. The inspiration for an idea may come from any number of directions. It could come through reading, poetry, a dream, or simply stimulated by the dialogue presented by a previous work. It’s important to be present, open to any stimulus. 

Denise Tabari is an oil painter whose work blends elements of realism and abstraction.   Her paintings are characterized by emotionally expressive subject matter and thoughtful use of color.  She enjoys being outdoors and loves to paint and capture the realistic beauty of life.

Kim Shaklee is an American sculptor best known for her wildlife and marine sculptures.  Her work is a blend of representational realism with contemporary flair and subtle abstraction.   She strives to convey each animal’s spirit and movement through smooth, fluid shapes in bronze.  

Linda Harrison-Parsons is an award–winning artist whose work is inspired by the natural world. She creates her works from what she sees in nature and documents moments in time of those things that may be gone tomorrow.    All of her work is based on her strength in drawing while using her background in design and printmaking to create striking images.  She works in water-based oils, pencils, or in soft pastel with handmade papers to achieve her desired effects.  Her travels around the work influence her bodies of work, with each new adventure opening a new series.

Mary Ann Cherry, past president of Women Artists of the West (2019-2020), has received the Bronze Medal at the Western Regional Oil Painters of America show, and the Best of the Masters award from the Women Artists of the West. She has been included in the permanent collection of several art museums. She is a Master member/Emeritus of the Women Artists of the West and Signature member of the Pastel Society of America. Cherry’s work is in the permanent collection of several art museums, including the Phippen Western Art Museum in Arizona and the Eastern Idaho Art Museum. She has had a one woman show at the Clymer Art Museum in Washington.

Anne Peyton combines her skill as a painter with her deep knowledge of birds and active birding experience. Her work aims to foster appreciation and understanding of bird life and conservation issues, helping viewers connect emotionally and intellectually with the natural world.  She has two criteria for each of her finished pieces: One is that the final image shows respect for the subject; the second is that viewers can learn something after studying the art.  She typically works in acrylics, layering colors meticulously to portray accurate plumage, and the natural posture and attitude of her subjects.

Melody DeBenedictis is an American contemporary fine artist, painter, singer, songwriter, and advocate, best known for her expressive oil paintings that capture the rugged landscapes of the western United States and the wild mustangs that roam them.  She often travels across western rangelands to photograph and experience the wild firsthand, using these experiences as inspiration for her paintings.  DeBenedictis is an advocate for wild horses, using her art and music to bring awareness to their habitats and the challenges they face.

Christy Daniels is a respected bronze sculptor known for her depictions of real life western and wildlife experiences. Her exceptional understanding of animal body language and emotions, not only flow through her pieces but help her tell a story forever preserved in a three– dimensional snapshot.  As well as the body language and necessary conformation, Christy feels "the look in the eye" of her animals is key to drawing the viewer into the story.

Laara Cassells is a contemporary Canadian artist noted for her paintings of figurative and pet portraits, wildlife, western themes, and equine subjects executed primarily in acrylic. Her style is grounded in realism blended with storytelling, often highlighting the emotional and individual character in both people and animals.   She lives and works on a ranch in central Alberta.  This rustic setting especially inspires her paintings of wildlife and western scenes.   

The artist was born in a large stone mansion in Michigan, situated between Chicago and Detroit, and grew up in the Midwest surrounded by creativity from an early age. Her father painted, while her mother danced—fueled by strong coffee and a love of chocolate. Art was not a discovery later in life; it was woven into her beginnings.

From finding solitary sanctuary in the northern Wisconsin woods around Sandra’s childhood farm, to a career as a wildlife biologist, the natural progression after retirement has been to share the immense beauty and wonder of the natural world that she has experienced. “My hope is that others may come to understand it more deeply and be moved to protect it long after I am gone. In many ways, my art is a way of giving back—or perhaps giving forward—for all the gifts of seeing that I have been given.”

Explore a collection of wildlife paintings that reflect a lifelong connection to the natural world. Sandra creates art that honors the beauty, spirit, and individuality of wild animals. Each piece is a tribute to my deep reverence for wildlife and a commitment to artistic excellence.

Molly Sims is a classical realist oil painter who specializes in depicting wildlife and birds.  She wants her paintings to feel real and lifelike and to impart a view of the beauty and innocence that she sees.  She usually prefers to have a single focus in her works, so she sometimes keeps her backgrounds loose and amorphous.   

Jan McKay feels her paintings of wildlife, pets, and nature, are the perfect subjects to display the beauty of creation, and the love we have been given from above.  She was an interior designer for 26 years.  This experience developed her natural eye for beauty and design. This skill translates into her paintings.

Deana Goldsmith is an American pastel artist known for her richly detailed still life and bird pastel drawings that often evoke a sense of nostalgia and connection with nature. She is a self-taught artist.  Her carefully composed scenes feature birds, vintage objects, and flora, created with pan pastels, pastel pencils and sticks on sanded pastel paper.  She builds many delicate layers to achieve her soft, yet detailed, compositions.

Although I have been painting professionally since 2005, my excitement for art has spanned many more years. In particular I have enjoyed drawing and painting animals – wild and domestic, large or small since my college days. It is a joy for me to be able to depict wildlife in their natural surroundings.

Nearly all of my paintings are in oil or watercolor. Over the years, I have developed techniques that suit my style of realism. I try to portray each of the animals in as realistic a manner as possible…the details of their feathers, the colors of their coats, and the brilliance of their eyes. There is nothing so penetrating and expressive as an animal’s eyes which is why I concentrate on faithfully depicting that window into their world.

Susan Eyer-Anderson is a California artist known for her oil and acrylic paintings that depict horses, wildlife, landscapes, and evocative western subjects. A realist artist, she often works from photographic references.  She uses rich color and pays careful attention to light, form, and detail.  She desires to capture both likeness and the heart and energy of her subjects.

Laurie Riley is an American nature and wildlife artist known for highly detailed, realistic depictions of animals and the natural world. She specializes in capturing the spirit and beauty of wildlife, from small creatures like mice and dragonflies to large mammals like moose, aiming to show both their physical presence and their sentient essence.   She works in a variety of traditional media, including acrylics, scratchboard, colored pencils, and watercolor pencils.