Show Preview | Looking West

This July, Mockingbird Gallery in Bend, Oregon, presents the exhibition Looking West featuring iconic Western imagery by Tom Browning, Charles Cashwell, Lisa Danielle, John DeMott, Grant Redden and John C. Traynor. The gallery hosts an opening reception with the artists on Friday, July 3, from 5 to 8 p.m. as part of Bend’s First Friday Art Walk. “It will be an exciting show for people to explore,” says gallery owner Jim Peterson.

Looking West includes multiple new works from each artist. Though the six are stylistically diverse, they share a creative interest in the American West: its pristine yet rugged landscape, the people and animals inhabiting it, and the prolific contributions of its Indigenous peoples.

Browning depicts Western scenes with captivating realism, communicating each narrative through the physical expressions of humans and animals alike. He says, “My love for horses and the culture of the West has always been meaningful to me, not only personally but also professionally. I have been blessed with an incredible career that has had rewards that I used to only dream of. So, I just keep painting what I love and loving what I get in return.”

Cashwell brings a love of figure painting to his impressionistic depictions of the Southwest, which offer a wealth of movement in his intricate brushwork. “For this show, I’m exploring a new direction focusing on American cowboys,” says Cashwell. “I have always loved representing the figure in my paintings and to now add the horse gives me so much to work with in terms of movement, line and abstraction, which is what my work is ultimately about.”

Danielle paints her striking compositions with drama and precision. Through delicate details painted in saturated hues, she immortalizes the objects signifying the Southwest’s earliest inhabitants. “As a young artist searching for direction, my purchase of a small Northern Plains beaded bag and a subsequent move to the Southwest were defining,” says Danielle. “A half-century of exploring in paint all the legend, lore and mystery through objects made and used here covers varied subjects, and Mockingbird Gallery has been the perfect venue.”

Described by Peterson as presenting “authentic Western depictions,” DeMott manifests his interest in history and its characters on the canvas. With rich colors and potent, atmospheric light, DeMott creates highly researched historical narratives featuring Native Americans, frontiersmen and wildlife set against a bygone Western landscape.

Peterson refers to Redden as an artist who “tells a very authentic story with each painting,” and it shows in his naturalistic scenes of life on the Western range. Growing up on a working ranch gave him firsthand experience living in a rural setting with cattle, sheep and horses, and those interactions fueled his creative fire.

Traynor fuses techniques of the Old Masters with tenets of impressionism to create his signature style. Ten years ago, he added to his work images of the Western landscape, capturing the essence of place through subtle light play and energetic, painterly brushstrokes. “I have added some figurative subject matter to my landscape in this show,” Traynor says. “It will be exciting to see how the public responds.”

“Western subject matter has been an important part of our identity here at Mockingbird for quite some time,” says Peterson. With this exhibition, he looks forward to engaging younger collectors. “There’s a whole new generation of collectors embracing Western subjects,” he says. “Western subject matter is just as important and exciting as it’s ever been.” —Elizabeth L. Delaney

contact information(541) 388-2107mockingbird-gallery.com

This story appeared in the June/July 2026 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Subscribe today to read every issue in its entirety.

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