Jeanne Hyland earned her BFA degree from University of New Hampshire in figurative sculpture and drawing followed by studies at École des Beaux Arts, France. After years in commercial design, she returned to her Fine Art sculpture roots in Colorado, participating in Loveland Sculpture Invitationals and Sedona Sculpture Walks. Hyland adopted watercolor as her medium after moving to California where she taught at Brand Library Studios, the LA Academy of Figurative Art, and the Learning & Product Expo at Pasadena.  Hyland now teaches locally in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, Artisan’s Art Spot and other locales nationally and internationally.

Deborah Day is an accomplished horsewoman, nature enthusiast, passionate painter and registered nurse. She has combined these interests to create a multifaceted career. Artistically, much of her inspiration comes from outside her back door where the Rockin’ D Ranch is home to about 20 horses and various other animals. She has a deep, lifelong love for horses and they are frequently depicted in her work. Other animals, mostly of the domestic sort, find place in sharing her life in and out of the studio as well.

Becky Hicks’ love affair with painting cattle started with the summers and holidays spent on her great grandmother’s ranch.  She spent hours with scissors and stacks of The Cattleman magazines cutting pictures of cows, barns and fences.  Little did she know then that her painting, Gold in the Morning Son, would be featured on the cover someday.  In addition to cattle, Hicks also paints and draws the western and ranch lifestyles, Native Americans, animals and wildlife in oils, watercolors and charcoal. 

Toni James is an award-winning Arizona artist who was born and raised in the valley of the sun. She is the middle child of seven siblings.  James used her artistic talent as her escape from all of the chaos that large families have, all the while developing her drawing skills on her own.  She began to pursue her art seriously in 1995, showing her graphite and colored pencil work in local shows.  She later expanded her mediums and works to include acrylic and oil paintings as well.

Betsy Johnson Welty is a contemporary American oil painter best known for her vibrant, expressive landscapes, cityscapes, and floral compositions featuring bold colors and loose brushwork that blend realism, impressionist elements and graphic design sensibilities.  She regards the act of creating art as a process of continued discovery that brings with it challenges, surprises, obstacles, insight and epiphanies. Each new painting presents a new set of adventures and a quest for interpreting the world she sees in a unique way.

Shirley Hove is a contemporary visual artist working in oils, watercolor and pastel.  She works primarily from life, whether the subject is landscape, portrait, or still life, to express the subtleties of color and shape created by light.  She strives for a direct response to her subject with the object of capturing selective beauty and emotion through expressive, soft simplification that builds conceptual depth to her subjects.

Sasha Phillips integrates three fields of professional endeavor.  She is a high–level corporate lawyer, a professional artist, and developer of mental health through art wellness programs.  Phillips is an oil painter.  Her art focuses on visual storytelling, often tied to mental or emotional processing of trauma and social issues.

Cathy Toot is an oil painter whose work captures the Western way of life and the animals of the American West with authenticity.  She works in the realist tradition, depicting people engaged in ranch life, cowboy culture, wildlife and ranch animals.  She began her artistic journey painting on gourds.  She developed her work into a full-time professional fine art painting career. 

Judy Buckner paints her deep connection to the Southwest, fueled by family time spent in New Mexico, Arizona, California and Colorado, where she draws inspiration for her oil paintings from the people and landscapes. She is also a mural painter, whose work is displayed at Dallas Fort Worth and Love Field airports in Texas, in addition to several restaurants in the area.

 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. 

Carol Devereaux is a landscape and figurative artist working in Dallas, Texas.  Devereaux’s loose, painterly artworks reflect her interest in natural light and the visual patterns that define form. She enjoys working en plein air to create her landscape scenes; or from life when doing figurative work.  Her work is also informed by her travel experiences that she explores in her studio work.  Oil and pastel are her primary mediums.

I have always loved the creative process, currently including painting in oils, pastels and watercolor.  In my artwork, I try to convey my deep appreciation of the natural world. I hope my paintings share the excitement I feel outdoors and the exuberance of creative activity.

On my best painting days, I lose track of time and get into the flow of what I am doing, then look up and discover that I have been painting all day.  My favorite subjects are landscapes, often small paintings painted plein air or larger paintings painted from my plein air studies. I love the richness and depth of oil on canvas and I also love the fluidity and delicacy of watercolor on paper. I have recently added pastels to my repertoire and I'm becoming comfortable with them.

If I can give the viewer a magical view of a special place and time of day, my art has fulfilled its purpose. Joy Gonzalez

Patricia Ridge Bradley is a representational fine artist known for her work in charcoal, pastel, oil, and acrylic.  She produces portraits, figures, still life, landscapes, streetscapes, and Western-themed subjects that range from loose, spontaneous expression to meticulously detailed renderings.

Destiny Bowman creates representational oil paintings featuring still life, portraits, and narrative studies.  Her emphasis is creating beauty within the play of light and shadow, blending traditional techniques with a contemporary feel. 

Elin Thomas has been painting professionally in both acrylics and oils since 1983.   She owns and rides a motorcycle, which she uses to travel to many gorgeous locations for camping, painting and loving life. Her dog Bessie is a companion on these journeys.  She’s been called the “fastest brush in the West” when doing on-location painting, completing a painting in about 40 minutes.  

Beki Tobiasson is a self-taught artist working primarily in oil.  She explores deep emotional and spiritual themes in her work.  Her art works often tell stories based on personal or familial spiritual experiences; or depict biblical figures and spiritual concepts centered on faith and divine inspiration.  Her landscapes and floral images are often symbolic narratives that reflect life challenges alongside hope and resilience.

Katrina Rae found her passion for creating art working in soft pastel, mixed media, and oils.  She explores representational subjects, with a strong focus on culturally significant themes — especially those involving Native American traditions, people, and ceremonial regalia; western themes and animals.  One of her notable technical innovations is using protective clear coatings that eliminate the need for glass over her pastel and mixed media works.

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.

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.

Syri Hall is a contemporary visual artist known for her oil paintings and bronze sculptures.  Plein air painting in the Sedona area has been Hall’s interest for the last several years.  Her passion for the breathtaking paradise she lives in translates beautifully on canvas, captured with dynamic color, depth, and movement.