Prix de West veteran Thomas Blackshear II and newcomer S.M. Chavez have one thing in common — they both know how to push boundaries through their art.
The 53rd annual Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition & Sale welcomed seasoned Prix de West attendees and fresh newbies into the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum for a weekend celebrating the heritage and evolution of Western art. C&I caught up with Thomas Blackshear II — who has commanded Prix de West audiences for years with his depictions of Black cowboys — and met Prix de West newcomer S.M. Chavez — who brings his new take on the Mexican vaquero to Oklahoma.
Ballad of New Mexico, S.M. Chavez, 48" x 48".
Thomas Blackshear II
Thomas Richman Blackshear II commands attention with his “Western Nouveau” paintings that blend decorative elegance with powerful cultural narratives.
Born in Waco, Texas, in 1955, the son of an Air Force captain grew up in Atlanta before pursuing his artistic dreams at the Art Institute of Chicago and the American Academy of Art. After graduating in 1977, he launched his career at Hallmark Cards, where he apprenticed under renowned illustrator Mark English.
His diverse portfolio spans 30 U.S. postage stamps, collector’s plates for Star Wars and Star Trek, and religious art that adorns evangelical churches nationwide. Inducted into the Society of Illustrators’ Hall of Fame alongside legends like Norman Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish, Blackshear turned his attention to Western art seven years ago and has since become a fixture at the Prix de West, where his portraits of Black cowboys challenge historical narratives with striking visual power.
C&I: This is your fifth year at Prix de West. How did you first become involved with the show?
Blackshear: I’ve always heard about the Prix de West, and it was very exciting when I got a chance to participate. Somebody came to me and let me know they were considering me to have a show. So I was very excited, because I knew this was the biggest Western art show in America.
C&I: What was it like walking into your first Prix de West as a participating artist?
Blackshear: It’s an honor, first of all, because this is the primo show. That’s why it’s the Prix de West. Everybody here is at the top of their game. The first time I was even in the show, I said to myself when I walked away, ‘I gotta up my game,’ because I know I’m dealing with the big boys. It truly is an honor and it helps you to want to keep growing and improving and doing the best you can, because these guys don’t play.
C&I: You won the purchase award last year. What was that moment like?
Blackshear: It was a big shock, because I hadn’t been here but, four years, and you never know how it’s gonna go. I was like, ‘whatever.’ And then they say my name, and I’m like, ‘What?’ I was getting ready to jump up and clap for whoever it was. It was me.
C&I: As an award-winning artist, what do you see as your responsibility in representing Western art?
Blackshear: I think my responsibility is just to continue to do the best kind of work that I can do, to paint things that you don’t see all the time. What I always want to do is work that doesn’t always look like the same thing you see all the time. Something new, something exciting, something that makes people want to stop and think, catches their attention. I just want them to be able to walk by the painting and go, “Okay, that’s different. I hadn’t seen that before.” That’s why I'm always trying to come up with new concepts and new points of view.
C&I: What advice would you give to aspiring artists who dream of showing here one day?
Blackshear: Be diligent. Don’t get discouraged. Keep moving forward in what you’re doing, and don’t let anybody snuff out the vision of where you’re trying to go. I think it’s good for young artists to come to a show like this to see what the possibilities are, but also to have something to shoot for, because they can make it if they keep moving in that direction.
S.M. Chavez
Born and raised amidst the rich cultural tapestry of the American Southwest, Native New Mexican artist S.M. Chavez (Sean Michael Chavez) paints a unique vision bridging tradition and innovation. He melds the old with the new, nodding to historic masters such as the Taos Society of Artists while simultaneously embracing the future of Western art.
His soothing sense of color and exceptional design aesthetic firmly place his work within the spectrum of the best in contemporary Western art. Chavez continues to sell out solo shows and participates in several museum exhibitions nationally, with venues including the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, the Albuquerque Museum of Art, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, the Couse-Sharp Historic Site, the Briscoe Western Art Museum, and the Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, where he was recognized as one of three award recipients in 2024.
He is one of the new artists featured in the 2025 Prix de West.
C&I: Tell us about your journey as an artist and what drew you to Western art.
Chavez: I was born in Albuquerque and I've always been an artist and a painter for as long as I can remember. I do remember getting in trouble in school for not doing addition and subtraction because I was drawing instead. I went through my first journey as an artist in my mid-20s and realized this is actually pretty difficult and hard, so I went to college and got a degree in marketing and advertising. The creative aspects of that profession really did pacify me for a number of years, but the pilot light was always ready to go and to start painting again. Through that growth and maturity, I started understanding the value of this forest and the trees that I was in, seeing Santa Fe, New Mexico for the first time as always going to be home and as one of the best art places to be in the world.
C&I: Your style is distinctive. What specifically drew you to painting vaqueros?
Chavez: As somebody who understood business plans and marketing and design, it was important for me to do my research and figure out where I might fit in as well as stand out within the Santa Fe art scene. My last name being Chavez, and remembering seeing as a youngster photographs of ancestors with their horses and their side arms and even a badge, I felt that’s something that I can relate to personally, and also bring something that’s a little bit different to what is being shown in Santa Fe. As a result, I chose the vaquero, the Mexican cowboy, which really is the origin of what we know as the traditional cowboy at this point in America.
C&I: You’re new to Prix de West this year. How did you get into this prestigious show?
Chavez: Certainly a little bit of magic and good luck, I suppose, and doing some good work too. My in-laws are from the Oklahoma City area, and before I was aware of Prix de West, I had been coming to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and enjoying it just for what it already is. Once I discovered there was something called Prix de West, there was no stopping my desire to be a part of this in any way that I could. To now actually have my paintings on the wall as part of this elite group of artists is really something special and really a dream come true.
C&I: What do you hope to achieve by being featured here?
Chavez: I do believe that Prix de West is considered the premier Western art show in America, and for that matter, I would say the world. This being my first year, it really becomes all about the work at this point. That’s sort of a refreshing and new place for me to be. It is always about the work, but that is quite literally what is ahead of me at this point.
C&I: What advice would you give to aspiring artists who want to be part of shows like this?
Chavez: Show up. My advice for beginning artists who want to start being a part of these types of shows is to show up to the shows, whether they’re big or small, and to meet the people behind the paintings, whether they’re ones that are actually making the artwork, or those who are helping the artists to display their artwork. Meet the collectors, shake some hands and be present. Have a good time, but show up.
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PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy of the artists
VIDEO: Courtesy of GiGi Elyse
HEADER IMAGE: Two Americans of the Old West, Thomas Blackshear II 43.25" h x 33.5" w, oil on canvas, 2022.
