WAOW Artistry of the West

The WAOW Artistry is slowly being built to provide a page on our site to promote each artist. This project began late summer 2024. We have over 300 members to load here on their pages. You can search by name, location or by subject matter to find an artist.

Denise Horne-Kaplan . North Carolina & Florida . waow

Denise Horne-Kaplan started her professional career in 1983.  She has participated in exhibits and juried shows — over 74 national and International juried shows and eight solo shows to date.  She is in six international publications, including being a featured centerfold Artist with thirteen paintings in the 1999 Winter Issue of Watercolor magazine.  Horne-Kaplan is a signature member, one of only 130 in the country, of the Miniature Artists of America. 

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Barbara Archer-Baldwin . Arizona . waow

Barbara Archer-Baldwin, PSA, MC-IAPS, APAA, PSWC

A Master Medallion holder in the International Association of Pastel Societies, Barbara Archer-Baldwin and her husband John Baldwin relocated to Tucson in February, 2024 after living in Florida for over 25 years. She is an academically schooled professional artist with training at Rhode Island School of Design, Philadelphia University of the Arts, and Temple University's Tyler School of Fine Arts. She has been represented by the Four Corners Gallery in the Tucson Desert Art Museum since May 2024. Her work has been juried into three shows at the Phippen Museum, Prescott, AZ, since her relocation to Arizona. Painting the southwest has really expanded her muse.

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Naomi Shachar . California . waow

Arriving in Mission Viejo California, Naomi developed her artistic skills by studying color theory and practicing drawing and painting techniques. Naomi’s art subjects focus on: Western themes, Equine, Still Life, and the Natural Scapes of land and sea. All of which contribute to the transfer of her artistic visions to the canvas and onwards to the keen eye of the art viewer.

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Debbie Hughbanks . Washington . waow

Debbie Hughbanks is a professional artist specializing in wildlife, equine & domestic animal paintings, as well as figurative and western themed pieces. Painting most often in pastel or acrylic she still finds time to explore other avenues including scratchboard and mixed media work. Hughbanks is an artist that is passionate about the creation of art and finds her inspiration all around her studio located in northeastern Washington State.  Fascinated by animals, nature and interesting people she meets along the way there is never a shortage of subject matter to spark her creative flame. The connection she feels for the subjects she paints, as well as the passion and joy she experiences in the actual creation of the work, is evident in each unique completed piece of art.

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Landscape, Animals, Birds, Wildlife, Western WAOW . Landscape, Animals, Birds, Wildlife, Western WAOW .

Karen Cade. South Dakota . waow

Karen has been a professional artist for over 35 years having studied under master instructors in college.  Karen’s love and ability to convey the emotion of her western and wildlife paintings has earned her artistic awards and regional acclaim

As a distinguished wildlife and western painter whose artistic repertoire includes oils, pastels, inks, and mixed media. Through her art, she strives to capture the essence of nature, creating a reflection of her personal vision—a vision that is deeply inspired by the serene yet raw landscapes and the majestic creatures that inhabit them. Her works explore the symbiotic relationship between the natural world and the rugged spirit of the American West, inviting viewers to share in her appreciation of nature's beauty.

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Valeria Yost. Idaho . waow

Valeria Yost is passionate about her artwork. She has created works of art since she could hold a pencil. She believes she was given a gift from her creator, and she loves sharing it. Her love of horses, then and now, are still favorites. She also loves to paint the wildlife that surrounds her Idaho home. In the last few years, she has punched up the color and added Native American themes and abstract design combining them into new exciting paintings. Her love of nature shines through in all of her paintings.

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Suzie Varner. Texas. waow

The western artist, Susie Varner says as a child with ADD it was difficult to be still, but put a pencil in her hand and she could sit for hours! Some might even say Susie was born with a pencil in her hand, for as long as she can remember she longed for a horse, drawing them was the next best thing. Born in Chickasha, Oklahoma; #7 out of ten children in a two bedroom house, it was often chaotic and a spot in a corner with scrap paper and a pencil gave her solace.  Susie says there was so much love in that little house, it taught her to seek God given talents and she feels blessed to have found her gift. Much of her inspiration comes from living in the country and owning horses. As a child, she copied art from western artists, Charles Russell and Frederic Remington and feels that is where her love for western art comes from. 

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Lynn Shield . Montana . waow

Lynn is a contemporary Western artist known for her vibrant and colorful paintings that capture the beauty of wildlife, horses, cowgirls and cowboys, and the western lifestyle. Her passion for art started at a young age, and throughout her career, she used her creative energy as a marketing professional in the aerospace industry and later in her own small marketing and web design firm.

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Western, Wildlife, Landscape, Dogs, Birds WAOW . Western, Wildlife, Landscape, Dogs, Birds WAOW .

Casey Cheuvront . Scottsdale AZ . waow

My favorite shoes are hiking boots.

For years I've explored the wildernesses of the Southwest, hiking, backpacking, hang gliding and mountain biking - interacting with our wild places up close and in person. This has profoundly influenced my work.  I believe we are incomplete without a connection to, and appreciation of, the natural world, and that we should cherish and protect it. 

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Western, Realism, Wildlife, Landscape WAOW . Western, Realism, Wildlife, Landscape WAOW .

Leah Lucas . Canada . waow

Leah Lucas was raised in southern Alberta, Canada.  From early childhood she reveled in the freedom to explore her world on horseback. She would forever be informed by miles of flat unending 360-degree views, covered with expansive blue skies, butted against the imposing Rockies in the distance. Developing a deep connection with the natural world, fostered by a profound love and understanding of horses, led to her life’s passion. Leah has spent her life raising, training, and showing these magnificent beasts; developing a thriving practice devoted to healing horses with physical and/or behavioral imbalances.

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Western, Realism, Wildlife, Pets, Dogs, Cats WAOW . Western, Realism, Wildlife, Pets, Dogs, Cats WAOW .

Julie Frothingham . Kansas . waow

It was on the prairies of Minnesota that I learned to observe and listen. The song “Country Sunshine” says it nicely. I am forever a child of God; a student of life.

I believe everyone is an artist.  Art is life. We can't help but share life all around us daily. We each have a gift and a personal choice as to how we express it, feel it, use it, and thus, live it. 

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Elise Mahaffie . Wyoming . waow

Being a graphic designer for a good part of her life has definitely influenced the way Elise interprets shapes and how she see things. Elise loves bold marks, strong colors, and unique, simplistic compositions. She believes this gives the viewer a feeling of easy discovery and controlled focus on the smaller details. Resides in Jackson, WY USA

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