For more than 30 years, artists at Mountain Trails Gallery in Tlaquepaque have been inspired by the history and legends of the Old West.
As the gallery continues the tradition of offering paintings and sculpture featuring historical narratives, Western artifacts and cultural objects, it also looks ahead to include artists who work with new ideas, materials and ways to express this timeless subject.
From artists who are masterful with life-like scenes, portraits, wildlife and story-telling painting and sculpture to more contemporary talents, new artists continue to inspire with creativity and insight that delights and astounds.
“Mountain Trails Gallery showcases both traditional art and more contemporary art in an overlapping way that integrates aesthetic beauty with new ideas and techniques,” Julie R. Williams, director, said about the wide-ranging choices available.
Mountain Trails Gallery is proud to present new contemporary paintings by Michelle Condrat, whose intensified color, broad-blended strokes and love of geometry create an illusion of movement in her landscapes. Condrat’s love of the outdoors, especially the Grand Canyon, is expressed in her newly arrived body of work. Her unique style has been called pixelated impressionism, along with references to Cubism and even video-game art. The artist wants to give viewers a feeling of movement.
“When we are outdoors in nature, trees, clouds and water are in constant motion,” Condrat said. “I love to convey that nature is alive and my paintings are alive.”
Vibrant paintings by David Jonason express his love of simplified shapes from nature while incorporating a synthesized understanding of 20th-century art ideas in his regional landscapes. He has referred to his style as “contemporary Cubism,” although nature’s order is still intact. Jonason’s love of the desert, along with intensified color, such as fiery reds, deep blues, greens and earth tones, takes the beauty and calm of his landscapes to a new vivid level.
New wildlife and equine-colored pencil paintings by Sandra Passmore Byland grace the gallery with their intriguing surfaces, detailed fine texture and awe-inspiring technique. “These ‘paintings’ are unlike any colored pencil art I have ever seen,” longtime art consultant Christine Trcic said. “How this passionate artist can achieve such fine detail and texture is a marvel to behold.”
Byland’s works on paper are sealed with her own process to forgo glass or plexi.
Also new work by contemporary sculptor and blacksmith artist Holly Fisher speaks to the essence of a subject with her spirited horses. The form of a horse is suggested in the action and movement of the forged steel cantilevered figures, as is its feisty personality.
The gallery continues with their popular artists such as wildlife sculptor Raymond Gibby, who offers playful insights into animal behavior. His range includes the fierceness of nature with a touch of symbolism that relates to our own challenges and triumphs.
Bill Cramer continues to bring fresh knowledge and experience to his contemporary impressionistic paintings informed by his keen love of mountain climbing and hiking. Cramer masterfully paints the atmosphere, light and mood of a vista or canyon with the ardent hand of a maestro.
Mountain Trails Gallery continues to offer a large and varied selection of paintings, sculpture and mixed media fine art from more than 50 award-winning artists, including small bronzes and paintings to larger than life-size sculpture. A reception for the show’s opening is on First Friday, April 5, from 5 to 8 p.m. Mountain Trails Gallery in Tlaquepaque, at 336 SR 179, Sedona, is upstairs in Suite A201 and overlooks Patio de las Campanas.
For more information, visit
mountaintrailssedona.com or email fineart@mountaintrailssedona.com.
