25 Sep Artist of the West: Breaking 
Conventions

“When you take a close look at history, not all women who came West brought their grandmother’s iris bulbs and settled into a little house on the prairie,” says artist Nancy Dunlop Cawdrey. “A lot of them were broke, alone, and out of options. Some became prostitutes, some became outlaws. I’m interested in those real women — the outlaws. The rough and tough, gritty ones who lost teeth — their stories are as much the West as any cowboy.”

At first glance, Cawdrey might not resemble an outlaw. But in the world of Western art, she isn’t afraid to break the rules. Rather than an escape from the discipline, though, it is a freedom she has earned from decades of practice. Having spent over 60 years honing her craft, she’s ready to stir things up.

Ruby Gems | DYE ON SILK | 21 X 50 INCHES

“Learn all the rules you can about art — and then break them,” she says. “It won’t ruin your artistic spirit. And you will be able to break the rules more intelligently.”

Long before she became known for her vibrant, colorful Western paintings, Cawdrey started out like most kids do — with a box of crayons.

“I would peel the paper off them and color with their sides,” she says. “Even then, I was looking for more texture and vibrancy.”

And that instinct to do things differently has carried on. Seven decades later, Cawdrey is still pushing the boundaries of what a medium can do — be it silk, watercolor, or mixed-media — to bring bold, colorful, and humorous stories to life about iconic Western themes, nature, wildlife, and florals.

Lone Mountain Sentinel | DYE ON SILK | 28 X 28 INCHES

“Growing up, painting pictures was how I navigated the world,” she says. “We were always moving — new countries, new classrooms — so drawing became my way of journaling. I didn’t write in a diary; I documented places and feelings by making marks on paper.”

While studying studio art in Paris for two years as a college student, Cawdrey became attuned to Old Master techniques and found her voice through painting. After living abroad in Europe with her husband, Steve, she returned to the United States and settled down in Montana. The couple ran a boarding school for troubled teenagers in Thompson Falls. All the while, she continued to paint, mostly with watercolor and sometimes in oil.

“The boarding school was hard work. Those kids would push every boundary that you ever put up,” Cawdrey says. “Painting was how I’d recharge and reconnect.”

And then she discovered the magic of silk.

“I’d been doing watercolor for years — very English, very soft,” Cawdrey explains. “And then while on vacation in Hawaii, I saw these small silk paintings that just exploded with color. I paid the artist to teach me the basics. It was the best money I ever spent. Suddenly the color had this punch I’d been craving.”

The silk did not simply make the colors brighter; it transformed how she approached her work. With silk she was finally able to “fill the space.” She started working on diagonals, going off the canvas and out of bounds.

Lawman | MIXED-MEDIA | 30 X 20 INCHES

“Silk is unforgiving and generous at the same time,” Cawdrey says. “The dye runs, it surprises you, and you have to respond. It forces you to be bolder, which matches who I had become over the years. My paintings got bigger, stronger, more colorful — and closer to how the West feels to me inside.”

Now, in her 70s, Cawdrey is pushing color, composition, and Western art toward something freer, less defined, more playful, and humorous — much like herself.

“My work tends to reflect the stages of my life,” she says. “These days I love playing and experimenting. I find a lot of joy in that. My style is growing a little more loose and abstract.”

In addition to silk, Cawdrey still paints with watercolors. She also loves to work with a variety of mixed-media — acrylic markers, papers she has made or collected, ribbons, and fabrics. She describes it as a form of “play” and uses them to help inform some of her more “important” pieces.

“It’s so fun because the pieces kind of guide you and tell you what they want to be,” she says. “Learning and experimenting is so joyful to me.”

When constructing Lawman, for example, she didn’t start out certain who the figure was going to become. “He was just a fellow with an attitude,” she says with a laugh. “The last thing I put on there was the badge, and there he came to be.”

Assiniboine Sundance Shirt | DYE ON SILK | 32 X 36 INCHES

By tradition, Western art brings with it certain expectations: naturalism, linear perspective, and a clear sense of place. Cawdrey is aware of these conventions. She also knows when to look beyond them.

“People come to expect certain subject matter from an artist over time — they expect you to keep doing the same thing over and over,” she says. “But we all grow and evolve.”

A former journalism student, she loves a good story. And rather than dictate the narrative, her paintings make room for them.

“I could paint every hair on a horse, but then where does the viewer get to come in?” she says. “If I fill in all of the details, I’m not leaving any space for anyone to attach their own. I’d rather suggest just enough — and then invite the viewer to engage. If you leave room for interpretation, they can bring to your work their own story — be it one in their mind or something they have experienced.”

Cawdrey is finding the Western art market to be more accommodating of abstraction, giving her more room to experiment. Currently, she’s putting her final touches on Chuckwagon Charlie’s for Resonance, an annual invitational at the A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art in Trinidad, Colorado. Each year, the museum invites artists from around the country to reinterpret and reimagine historic photographs taken by Western illustrator and painter Arthur Roy Mitchell.

“I love challenges more than I used to,” she says. “I find these types of shows to be real fun.”

Cawdrey is a founding member of the Russell Skull Society of Artists and participates in The Russell auction at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls each year. Her work is also in the Night of Artists invitational at the Briscoe Western Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas, the Coors Western Art Exhibit and Sale in Denver, and the Western Visions fundraiser at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming. She has shown at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, the National Cowgirl Museum, the Gilcrease Museum, and various other venues across the country.

Tree for Two | OIL ON CANVAS | 8 X 8 INCHES

She is represented by Sorrel Sky Gallery in Santa Fe, West Lives On Contemporary Gallery in Jackson, and the Cawdrey Gallery in Whitefish, Montana, which Cawdrey owns with her husband, Steve. And just like her work, her gallery continues to evolve. Recently the gallery became home to Digital Planet, a fine art reproduction and imaging studio that caters to the Western art community.

“We produce high-end giclée reproductions for artists, primarily,” she says. “Colt Idol, Tom Gilleon, Allen Jimmerson, R.S. Riddick — there are quite a few of us doing this. Essentially, we transform original artwork into high-quality reproductions that honor every detail, color, and texture. Our scanning technology captures every pixel.”

“I think it’s a business that helps make art more accessible,” says Cawdrey. “Which is awesome for younger collectors who maybe can’t afford an original. Now they can get a real high-quality reproduction for a fraction of the price. And for the artist, it’s like putting money in the bank a little bit. You’re banking your artwork for the future. I’ll never stop painting — that’s who I am — but reproduction business is an exciting way to keep producing.”

For all our talk of outlaws, the rebellion in Cawdrey’s work is subtle, clever, and brilliant. She knows the rules, honors the craft, and breaks conventions with a smile — so every painting becomes less of a picture and more of an open space that welcomes the viewer to come inside and share.

Christine Phillips is a freelance writer based in Whitefish, Montana. She enjoys writing about art, architecture, design, health, and outdoor recreation. When not playing with words and working with her clients, she loves hiking, biking, snowboarding, taking care of her two little dogs, and teaching Pilates.