‘The West’ Main Theme Of Annual Art Show

Cavanaugh’s Ridpath Hotel turns into an art gallery this weekend, as it has for 20-plus years.

The annual Spokane Western Art Show, with 100 exhibitors and an anticipated 25,000 viewers, is one of the largest original art shows in the Pacific Northwest, said organizer Don Walsdorf.

Southwest Art Magazine ranked it among the nation’s top 100 original art shows, and it’s been listed in America’s “Best of the Best” shows.

This year’s artists are from nine Western states and two Canadian provinces.

As its title suggests, much - but certainly not all - of the artwork has “the West” as its theme, with Native Americans, cowboys, horses, buffalo and other western motifs. But there are also landscapes, florals, portraits, wildlife and abstract art painted by artists who live in the West, Walsdorf said.

A few include:

George Horvath, a Hungarian immigrant, who won the Best Canadian Painting Award at the Cowboy Hall of Fame. “A Window on Alberta” won Best of Show at the Calgary Stampede Art Show.

Bobbie Lorett of Conifer, Colo., was the first woman to win Best of Show at Michigan’s National Wildlife Art Show.

Randy Van Beek from Redmond, Wash., paints elegant wildlife and nostalgic old-America scenes.

But the Western Art Show is not just about artists who wield brushes. Also included are Launa Dutzler, who plys needles to create the art of quilting; Jody Young, who creates art pieces from jewelry and beads; and Ronald Watson, who replicates early transportation vehicles.

Another highlight is the “Quick Draw” event at 6:45 p.m. Saturday in the hotel’s Legend Room. Fifteen artists and sculptors will compete against the clock to produce finished art pieces in 45 minutes.

For the first time, there will be no auction, Walsdorf said. He hopes to resurrect it later in a different form.

The Spokane Western Art Show opens at 10 a.m. each day and closes at 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and at 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free. The hotel is at 515 W. Sprague.

, DataTimes