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.  

Marla Smith is a contemporary oil painter known for creating artworks that reflect the landscapes and spirit of the American Southwest.  Her paintings capture Southwest scenery and ranch life, drawing on the natural beauty and wide–open spaces of the region, especially near Prescott, her home.

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.

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.   

Cindy Sorley–Keichinger is a Canadian painter whose artwork focuses on realism depicting wildlife, nature, and landscape subjects.  She prefers working in acrylics, but also works in oil and gouache.  She is known for using vivid colors and capturing the essence of her subjects with a mix of observational detail and artistic vision.   Sorley-Keichinger wants to bring viewers closer to nature and wildlife through her paintings. She believes that awareness leads to care.

Ellie Freudenstein is best known for her richly colored plein-air and studio landscapes and coastal scenes in oil and watercolor of California’s central coast as well as European scenes.  Her work reflects the American Impressionist tradition with a focus on light, color, and mood in her landscapes. Her lifelong dedication to painting from nature has made her a recognized figure in contemporary plein-air circles, especially in the southwestern United States.

Kelly Hine began her art journey during the Covid pandemic in 2020.  She joined an art accountability group in which she created art every day for one hundred days and then posted her work on social media. She was reluctant at first, not having spent any time doing art since her youth, but accepted the opportunity and challenge.  She discovered the beautiful world of pastels during this time and fell in love with their unique ability, vibrancy and immediate tactile response. This is when her obsession began and she has never looked back. 

Kelli Folsom is an award-winning contemporary artist best known for her oil paintings of still life scenes and landscapes, created directly from life with a classical, painterly sensibility.  Her style blends traditional techniques influenced by the Old Masters and American impressionists, emphasizing rich color, dramatic light and expressive brushwork. 

Sally Delap-John is best known for her plein air landscapes and village scenes, especially those inspired by the light, architecture, and natural beauty of Northern New Mexico. Her work often captures the rugged landscapes, old adobe villages, and sweeping skies of the region in vibrant oil paintings.   She works alla prima — that is, completing a painting in a single session, whether in the field or from life in a studio setting.

Laurel Lake McGuire is an American artist best known for her expressive watercolor paintings created in the realist tradition with a strong focus on landscapes, still life, floral subjects, and plein air work. Her art draws inspiration from her travels and the diverse environments she has experienced across North America.  McGuire’s plein air process involved carrying her gear in an R.V. and pulling it to sites with a wagon so she could paint quickly on location — a method that deeply informs her later studio work.   She uses classic watercolor techniques that evolve into a layered, solid style that conveys both detail and atmosphere.

Barbara Summers Edwards, born and raised in Southeastern Idaho, is a fourth generation native of the American West. Graduating from Utah State University in illustration and working as a freelance illustrator, Barbara evolved as a fine art oil and watercolor painter. Commonly portraying figurative imageries, her painterly, realistic paintings have received numerous awards as they have been exhibited in international, national, regional and state juried, invitational, group and two person exhibits.

Pat O’Brien is an Arizona artist known for her oil paintings of landscapes, western themes, desert imagery, old vehicles and animals.  She often experiments with palette knife techniques, undercoat painting, color exploration, and expressive brushwork, and sometimes nearly complete abstraction of her subject. 

Simone B. Silva is a contemporary landscape artist based in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  She is known for her plein air and studio oil paintings that capture the subtle interplay between history, cultural heritage, and the light, atmosphere and beauty of the American Southwest.  She works in oil, primarily on panels.  Her style tends to realism with painterly interpretation. 

Kadra Nevitt is a Kansas-based artist known for her evocative works centered on Western themes, outdoor life, natural landscapes and animals —most notably horses.  She blends heartfelt subject matter with technically strong pastel and watercolor work to evoke the beauty and spirit of the American West.  She is self-taught and has developed a reputation for life–like portrayals that lean toward soft realism with expressive technique. 

Barbara A Parish is a professional watercolor artist, workshop teacher and author of watercolor instruction books.  Her colorful, sensitive paintings of flowers and landscapes are executed in the tradition of classical realism using time–honored techniques. 

 Kathryn A. McMahon is an American artist known for her impressionistic oil paintings, especially landscapes and marine scenes. Her work reflects traditional impressionist techniques — distinctive use of light, color, and short brushstrokes to capture the feel of nature.  She has traveled all over the world, always taking her sketching or painting materials with her to inform and inspire her new output. 

Nori Thorne is an award–winning pastelist celebrated for her depictions of the people, artifacts, lifestyle and the land of the American Southwest.  She works to capture a strong sense of place and secrets revealed through the mastery of her medium — capturing changing light and color with formidable drawing skill.  She is undaunted by the challenges of working en plein air to render her desert scenes.  Cayoneering, which always calls for endurance while packing in her pastels and panels, is just part of the joy of making art about this rugged region.   She is equally at home with revealing the unique beauty of the lifestyle and peoples of the American Southwest with sensitive feel and authenticity.

Katy Smith is a plein air landscape artist specializing in paintings of locations on the Central Coast of California. She finds her inspiration directly from the world around her. She enjoys painting locations of historical significance both to capture their beauty and to draw awareness to those places that need to be conserved for future generations.  Her subject matter and loose brushwork lean toward California Impressionism/The Eucalyptus School with a subtle sense of romanticism, and the color palette of the Hudson River School. Her work has been described as “ethereal”.