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Calgary Stampede's Western Art WinnersBy Terri Mason Ever since Charlie Russell exhibited his paintings to great acclaim at the first Calgary Stampede in 1912, western art has been a featured draw. Calgary now boasts one of the largest art shows of its kind in Canada. The juried Western Art Show Sales Salon presents well-known and emerging Canadian and American artists whose work reflects the heritage and grandeur of the West. Canadian Cowboy Country magazine is the Sales Salon Award belt buckle sponsor, awarded to Juror's Choice Best of Show - Flat Art and Juror's Choice Best of Show - 3-Dimensional as well as the buckle sponsor for the new Western Photo Competition. There is also an award for the Best of Show Booth.
Each year the Calgary committee expands the exhibit and 2006 was no different, with the addition of the exciting Western Photo Gallery featuring not only a gallery with framed prints for sale, but also the juried photo competition. The photos, coupled with a soundtrack, were presented in a 25-minute show in the new Vistek Theatre. Canadian Cowboy Country magazine is proud of our long association with the Western Art Sales Salon. Here are the grand prize winners: Kim PennerKim Penner is no stranger to art collectors or to the sales salon at the Calgary Stampede. In 1997, she blazed into town and was awarded the Best New Artist. Now for the second time (the first was in 2003), Penner has won Best of Show in the flat art category in the sales salon. Raised in Morden, Manitoba and a graduate from the University of Manitoba with degrees in Fine Arts and Education, Penner lives in a 75-year-old farmhouse in rural Manitoba, spending her days researching, painting and raising a family. This well-accomplished artist is passionate about portraying both the natural beauty of horses, and the land these gracious animals occupy. She is definitively an equine artist, whose research takes her from the rolling hills of Kentucky to the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. With a herd of horses and a daughter whose equestrian passions match her mother's, there is never a lack of inspiration.
Audrey Nanimahoo"I knew I found my calling in life when the first time that I picked up a piece of stone, I began to carve," said Nanimahoo, whose enthusiasm and excitement charged the air. The new belt buckle adorning her wide belt and fashionable low-slung jeans flashed and sparkled in the myriad of lights. Each sculpture, once a lifeless stone in a quarry, is spellbinding. Her hands caress her latest work. "He was my horse," she explained. "I never had the chance to say goodbye." As she recounts the story of the sculpture a small group gathers, transfixed by the tale. The sculpture, beautiful in its own right, takes on the vibrant story and viewers study its cool, smooth contours with new respect and affection. Nanimahoo's explanation of her gift makes sense. "Something told me that the Creator had given me my gift. I can see that I am bringing each piece of stone to life, as thought it will soon breathe on its own" as though it has gained its own spirit, its own life."
Stephen ThorneStephen Thorne has been a reporter, editor and photographer more than 26 years, 22 with the Canadian Press. He has reported from the front numerous times in Afghanistan. His honours include three National Newspaper Awards and the Ross Munro Media Award for defense reporting. Stephen is also the editor of the CWCA Newsletter, the official journal of the Canadian War Correspondents Association. He recently had his first two exhibitions in Ottawa of his ongoing photo project, The Vanishing Cowboy, on cowboy life in southwestern Alberta. High Country was shot on top of Hailstone Butte in southwestern Alberta in October 2005 and features outfitter Hugh McConnell of Turner Valley. Stephen used Canon equipment to capture this beautiful image. Daniel Parker
Raised in northwestern Montana, Daniel is a self-taught artist who has spent his life in the woods and mountains studying each animal in its natural habitat. This multi-award winning, fast rising artist possesses a rare eye for the aesthetics of fine art and for capturing the unique balance and grace that each of his subjects command. Each piece is sculpted with the strictest attention to detail, posture and body proportions, earning Parker status in prized collections around the world. In July of l997, Parker's monumental piece, Yellowstone Legacy, a 11/2 times life-size set of fighting bull elk that measures 23 feet long and 8 feet high, was placed in front of the Hibernation Station at West Yellowstone's Grizzly Park. The mammoth project was created and constructed in Parker's foundry in Kalispell, Montana. |
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