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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Lana Dunlap is a self-taught fine artist known for creating artworks inspired by the working West — including portraits and images of ranch life, livestock, and western themes. Her pieces often capture both the quiet strength and raw emotion in her subjects.  She works in gouache, colored pencils, and charcoal on various substrates.

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.

The art of Molly Mellinger celebrates and explores the horse. Her connection to horses and horsemanship informs her understanding of movement, balance, and softness—qualities that naturally emerge in her work.  Mellinger is a multidisciplinary artist with a foundation in drawing, an emerging interest in sculpture, and a primary focus on oil painting.  Her paintings are vibrant and textural, rich with color and contrast. Each piece attempts to reconcile the tension between the precise and the abstract, where sensitively rendered forms emerge from painterly, expressive backgrounds. Artistic magic happens in the space between these contrasts. Calculated design and composition meet intuition and play, and the flow found in the process creates a dynamic harmony.  Mellinger strives to establish a sense of equilibrium—where control and fluidity align, much like the unity achieved between horse and rider.

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. 

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. 

LJ McLoughlin is an artist and a working cowgirl.  She creates oil and acrylic paintings.  Her inspiration comes from the gritty scenery and western lifestyle she is surrounded by — historical ranches, working ranches, and the Native American land where the Apache and Navajos once lived, along with the special ambient light of Arizona, the color of the rocks, dirt, sky and the mountains.  McLoughlin’s work reflects her authentic experience with ranch life—she grew up raising and training horses and continues to live and work on a ranch in southeastern Arizona with her husband.

 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. 

Western life in its variety holds a special fascination for Jackie Penner. Her paintings reflect the strength of her feelings for the horses, wildlife, people and landscape of the true west. 

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.

Whether it is the poetry of a mustang in gallop or the sublime beauty of the southwestern landscape, Cheryl Koen’s paintings reflect the spirit of the west and its inhabitants. The wide–open spaces conveyed in her work are meant to invoke a feeling of nostalgic connection with the wild west and dreams of times past and present.

Lauri Ketchum's agricultural roots and life-long love affair with the American cowboy have fueled her concentration in Western Art.  Ketchum loves capturing the essence of hard–working ranchers and sharing the ranching lifestyle through her art.  She began her art career working in watercolor and acrylics before settling on oil as her preferred medium.  Ketchum is largely self-taught and has refined her skills through workshops with artists she admires. 

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.

Carol Lee Thompson is a full-time, professional artist, classically trained in the methods of the Old Masters.  She paints a wide range of subject matter including landscape, equine and animal, portrait, and Western themes.