By Charlotte Berney

After a Storm Near Table Mesa by Claudia Hartley, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 inches

CLAUDIA HARTLEY A California native, Hartley enjoyed a successful career far from the Southwest, earning a BFA degree from the University of Georgia and becoming a respected artist and art teacher in Atlanta. Drawn by the light and the "wildness" of the Southwest, she moved to Arizona three years ago and now exults in her desert setting. Her enthusiasm for her new home is apparent in the exuberant paintings she creates that are reminiscent of Matisse and Gauguin. With vivid color and bold brushstrokes, Hartley explores in paint her love of landscape, anthropology, and archaeology—and the West's open spaces.

Wilde Meyer Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona, (480) 945-2323, (480) 488-3200, (480) 947-1489; Tucson, (520) 615-5222.

Buffalo Mask by Avery Anderson, fused glass, 20 x 20 inches

AVERY ANDERSON Noted for the unusual glass sculptures she creates from her studio in Maine, Anderson comments that from an early age, "One of my passions has been a deep love for animals and nature. In my art, I explore the relationship between animals and humans down through the ages. I'm especially drawn to the spiritual connection." A glass artist skilled in various techniques, Anderson loves fusing and says, "I am constantly pushing the edge for more complex and creative work in this medium. Fusing is a challenging process technically and aesthetically, but one that brings me daily joy and great fulfillment." Her Animal Medicine Series exhibition will open October 13 at Kiva Fine Art in Santa Fe.

Kiva Fine Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, (505) 820-7413.


RAYMOND NORDWALL A consistent award-winner at Santa Fe's Indian Market, Nordwall opened his own gallery and studio on Canyon Road in Santa Fe's art district. Raised in Oklahoma, Nordwall explores his Pawnee/Ojibwa heritage in vivid contemporary depictions of Native American life. Warriors, dancers, leaders, women and children, landscapes, and wildlife are rendered in oils, watercolors, and monotypes. Nordwall has served as commissioner of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board in Washington, D.C.

Nordwall Gallery & Studio, Santa Fe, New Mexico, (505) 988-5057; nordwallart.com;
Center Street Gallery, Jackson, Wyoming, (307) 733-1115;
Tribal Expressions, Arlington Heights, Illinois, (847) 590-5390.

Holdin' On by J.E. Knauf, oil on panel, 48 x 28 inches

MARIA SHARYLEN This artist has achieved wide recognition for her Places of the Sun series, which portrays indigenous peoples of the Americas with sensuous color in bold formats. Her figures are captured in simple acts of daily life in works that celebrate these scenes' inherent beauty. Sharylen was a founder and past president of the American Academy of Women Artists and is the only woman member of The Other Side of the West, a group of prestigious contemporary painters. She is one of 15 living artists chosen for an upcoming museum exhibition on Arizona Woman Artists. "My world is my Lord, my family, and the beautiful people I paint," says the artist. She lives in Mesa, Arizona.

Joan Marcus Fine Art, Scottsdale, Arizona, (480) 451-7892;
Pitzers of Carmel, Carmel, California, (800) 843-6467;
The Granger Gallery, Palm Desert, California, (760) 779-9312.


J.E. KNAUF Raised in the beach towns near Los Angeles, he left California to attend art school in Northern Arizona. His frequent travels take him along the back roads of the Navajo, Hopi, and Apache reservations where he explores Arizona's rural mining and ranching communities, gathering personal impressions of the West. Today, his popular paintings of Native Americans and cowboys combine contemporary techniques with original statements. Knauf is a founding member of The Other Side of the West, a Southwest group that goes beyond traditional Western art in its portrayals of Western life.

Meyer Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona, (480) 947-6372;
Ray Tracey Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, (800) 336-8782;
Big Horn Gallery, Cody, Wyoming, (800) 505-2639.



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