Western Art Exhibits Open This Week at Red Bluff’s Main Event Gallery – Red Bluff Daily News

Western art by Toni Gaylord and Patty Mackey will be on display starting this week at the Main Event Gallery in Red Bluff.

A reception with the artists is scheduled from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at the gallery, 710 Main Street, and the exhibitions will continue until May 7.

The exhibit includes a special collection of original Western and Native American vintage art from the collection of Kay Nuss, courtesy of his son Scott Moore and his wife Heather. It includes original works by award-winning Western artist Martin Grelle as well as some of his lithographs and other original Native American art and artifacts, including a vintage saddle. Other wild horse art from Tehama Creatives and gallery member artwork will be included.

The event is sponsored by the Tehama County Arts Council and gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. For more information, write to tcacarts.gmail.com.

Both artists are featured in the Round-Up tradition at Red Bluff.

Brushes, Broncos & Buckaroos

Gaylord drew his first horse in kindergarten and amazed his teacher with the perfection of his drawing. Encouraged by positive feedback from her parents and others, her passion for art grew.

Gaylord’s impressionist style paintings are fresh and spontaneous and full of color and movement, sometimes having a contemporary twist. She was heavily influenced by the works of Chagall, Van Gogh and Georgia O’Keefe and follows the works of more recent artists from whom she draws much inspiration.

“I was just one of those kids who always drew,” she said. “Even playing as a kid, I always looked at things thinking they would make a cool drawing or painting.”

Gaylord’s mother was very good at drawing, but never pursued it. She often doodled while talking on the phone, leaving her beautiful artwork lying around by the phone or on the table. Art has always been encouraged among them. When the family went to town, they visited art museums or art exhibitions.

Gaylord eagerly took every art class she could in high school. She was inspired by her art teacher and learned a lot. “I also took art classes in college, anything to drink everything in the art world,” she said. There she won art competitions with her paintings.

After marriage and while raising a family, Gaylord dabbled in art, but had no studio space for his works.

“It was only after I had a high pressure position in the company that I quit that job and took 10 months off to get my life back and catch my breath, that’s when I took my brushes back after 30 years,” Gaylord said. . It was about 3 years ago.

She joined the Red Bluff Art Association to revive it and get involved in the art community and she loved meeting new people.

Gaylord is part of Tehama Creatives and has designed and painted several murals in Red Bluff and some of the colorful horses that are starting to appear in town.

Impasto Oils and Vintage Western Art

Mackey, well known locally for her cake decorating, was told by people that her cakes looked so good they didn’t want to cut them and that she should start putting them on canvas.

Mackey took that suggestion to heart seven years ago. While taking art classes, she started painting with thick oils because they had the same consistency as glaze. Using a technique called “Impasto” the application of oils gives his paintings a dimensional effect. Her use of vibrant textures and colors bring her subjects to life.

Mackey has always had an interest in art. Drawing as a child was a way of expressing oneself. Her mother was a professional seamstress and it was there that she learned design and color assembly. As a teenager, she did a lot of baking and cake decorating, which led to custom orders. Her cake decorating became her art for 42 years.

It was an easy transition to the impasto technique on canvas.

“I not only use a paintbrush, but also a palette knife, paper towels, cardboard, a stick, and pebbles or my fingers,” Mackey said. “It’s actually a lot of fun finding different things to get the perfect effect. This is what makes my paintings unique.

All of Mackey’s paintings are freehand. She doesn’t draw anything.

Another key element of her paintings are the custom frames she and her husband create for each piece of art. Some are dimensional and actually become an extension of the painting. Its specialty is the weathered wood frame with additional accents.

Mackey’s Western and Native American art are two of the many subjects she enjoys painting.

“A lot of my ideas come to me in a dream or a vision, or real life events or places, sometimes bringing ideas together,” she said. “I draw inspiration from so many different things, because when you’re an artist, you look at things differently. You think how could I paint this. I put a lot of love and tenderness in my paintings. They are an expression of me.