Wild
women won’t seem out of place at Norby Gallery on
Nov. 3 – they’ll be the stars of the evening.
“This
will be an interesting show,” says Kathy Spangler‑Norby
of Norby Fine Art Gallery in Cave Creek of the upcoming
multi‑artist show she is organizing called “Wild
Women of the West.” “It’s a collection of diverse
styles and some very exciting new work. We’re celebrating
the unsung heroes of the Wild West, the women, and
it should be a lot of fun.”
The
show opens with an hors d’oeuvres and wine reception
Friday Nov. 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the gallery, located
in The Shoppes at the Creek, and will feature 20‑30
new works by a collection of local and national artists
on the theme of women in the West–the wild, the whimsical
and the historical.
Two
local artists taking centerstage with their wild women
are oil painter Laura Lakey and photographer John
Beckett. Both started as television illustrators and
have lived in Arizona for about 10 years. And they
both have their own particular way of looking at the
ladies.
“I’ve
always liked the illustrations of the ‘30s and ‘40s
and I thought it would be fun to do pictures that
tell stories, like the old pulp covers, the dime novels,”
Lakey explains. One of her pictures, “Arizona Hellcat,”
which will be available in a limited edition giclée
at Norby, even has the “10¢” insignia as part of the
painting.
“I
really appreciate her (Lakey’s) work,” Beckett says,
“because I originally intended my Painted Ladies photographs
to be like the pulps. They do tell a story, but they
ended up more in the style of (Alberto) Vargas.”
Beckett
has built an impressive portfolio of commercial photography
that included advertising campaigns for clients like
McDonalds and Land’s End, and a string of high‑profile
beer posters during the 1990s for Miller, Heineken,
Anheuser‑Busch and others featuring sexy, provocative
women, many of then Playboy Playmates.
“These
new pictures are really an offshoot of the beer ads
I used to do combined with my love for the West,”
Beckett says of the 24x30‑inch canvas giclées
he will have at the Norby show. A tee‑shirt
with one of Beckett’s photos will be available at
the show.
“He’s
a wonderful artist with his camera,” says Arthur Norby,
sculptor, painter and owner of the gallery.
Beckett’s
women definitely put the wild in the West, and Lakey
wilfully supplies the whimsy. A couple of other artists
provide an Old West historical perspective, The Desert
Advocate cartoonist Gary Bennett and San Francisco
painter Teresa Moore.
Bennett,
a well‑known local artist who has worked extensively
for Arizona Highways and other publications, will,
according Norby, unveil a new work for the show depicting
notorious outlaw Pearl Hart who held up a stagecoach
in 1988 at Cane Springs south of the Pinal Mountains.
Teresa
Moore, known for her evocative depictions of dark
dames and femme fatales, offers her take on Josephine
Earp in an oval portrait of the dancer, actress and
prostitute who eventually married Tombstone gambler
Wyatt Earp.
“She
was a very spirited, crazy, wild woman of the West,”
Moore says of her subject. “I saw her picture of her
in a book about the Gold Rush called ‘Good Time Girls’
and always wanted to paint her. This was the perfect
opportunity.”
High‑gloss
California chronicler of the cowboy and the cocktail
Robert Ransom will have a new 50x40‑inch original
oil called “Ride ‘Em” in the show. He will have a
full, one‑man show at Norby in March.
Also
included in the show are Paul Henry, Chaille Trevor,
Elaine Elliott, Julie Evans, Janene Grenda, Judith
Moore‑Knapp and Joseph Wolves Kill.
Wine
will be served at the reception and appetizers and
desserts will be provided by Sonoran Sun Fine Foods.
Western singer and guitarist Tina Angotti will supply
the entertainment.
Members
of The Wild Women of the West, a nonprofit organization
of women who don period costumes and portray actual
historical women (of the 1800s and early 1900s) at
parades and other events, will be attending the opening
to lend some atmosphere and raise some funds for their
favorite charity, Arizona Dream Catcher Equestrians,
which provides recreational and therapeutic horseback
riding opportunities for disabled individuals of all
ages. Norby Gallery will be donating 10 percent of
Friday night’s proceeds to the Apache Junction‑based
charity.
“They
get together to enjoy themselves,” Spangler Norby
says of the charitable group, “and to keep the West
alive.”
That’s
what everyone will be doing at Norby Gallery on the
evening of Nov. 3 ... and it should be a wild time.
Norby
Fine Art Gallery is located at The Shoppes at the
Creek, 6268 E. Cave Creek Rd., Suite 4. For information,
call (480) 595‑3281 or visit www.norbygallery.com.
