Ready to Ride Painting

Work and play, story and cinema, landscape and legends—they all layer together to shape our view of the American West. Real and romanticized, the West is the center of my work. I start each piece on location, looking directly into the sun; ranches, rodeos, and vintage Main Street providing the perfect stage. I’m drawn to iconic silhouettes—strong graphic elements to tell big stories. In my studio, working on wood, glass and steel, I weave “Old West” elements including vintage wallpaper designs, typography and other symbols with modern day Western moments. The result? A sense the past is always present. I grew up in Northern California around the corner from Stanford University where the historic Eadweard Muybridge stop-action images of a running horse were taken and now displayed. I studied Latin/Classical Studies there, learning how iconic figures, myth and moments shape and define a culture. Two decades ago, I began chronicling the American West with ranchers and wranglers as my trusted guides and realized many of the same cultural forces are at play. When I’m not on the road, Prescott, AZ, and the Williamson Valley are home. Late in the day, I like to watch the Santa Fe Railroad snake through the valley, just as it has for well over a century. ______ Awards + Accolades Western Art & Architecture (2020) Cowboys + Indians Magazine (2017) Southwest Art Magazine | Geography of Hope (2017) Cheyenne Frontier Days | 2016 Official Rodeo Poster SouthwestArt Magazine | “The Santa Fe Trail” (2015) Western Art Collector Magazine | “Art from the Other Half of the West” (2015) SouthwestArt Magazine | Cover + “Today’s West” feature profile (2014) Museum Purchase Award | Desert Caballeros Western (2014) Tin Star Award | Pearce Museum New Look at the West (2014) SouthwestArt Magazine | “Celebrating Women” (2014) SouthwestArt Magazine | “Cowgirl Up! Show Preview” (2014) Artists’ Choice Award | Cowgirl Up! (2013) SouthwestArt Magazine | “Meet the Artists” (2012) Rene di Rosa Award of Merit Hearts of San Francisco | Artist Grant Collections Desert Caballeros Western Museum, Wickenburg, AZ Hilton Hotels Inverness Hotel, Denver, CO Pearce Museum, Corsicana, TX Ritz-Carlton Hotels Yellowstone Club