Bold Colors: Bigfork artist Nancy Dunlop Cawdrey

Becoming recognized as one of the top Western artists in the country is no easy feat, Nancy Dunlop Cawdrey can attest.

“You put in the miles to find your recognizable voice,” the Bigfork-area artist said.

Cawdrey’s artistic voice is being heard loud and clear these days as two premier art events are putting her work on a pedestal.

She’s been selected as the featured painter for the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival in Jackson, Wyo., considered one of the most significant shows of its kind in the Rocky Mountain West. Cawdrey’s colorful dye on silk painting will be auctioned off in September as a fundraiser for the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce.

Cawdrey said she wanted a scene that’s “quintessential Jackson Hole.” After mulling three ideas, she settled on a bull moose standing in water with a landscape of the Tetons in the background. The piece, “Forever Jackson,” is huge, measuring 68 inches high by 52 inches wide.

“It was physically challenging,” Cawdrey said. “I stayed with it a couple of months.”

The painting also will be the official image for the Jackson festival poster, which means Cawdrey will be called upon to personally autograph the 2,000 collectable posters made for the event. She has been participating in the Jackson festival for more than a decade, and is the sixth female artist to be honored as the featured painter in the event’s 30-year history.

“Forever Jackson,” now hanging in the historic Wort Hotel in Jackson, will be auctioned off on Sept. 13.

A second pivotal accomplishment for Cawdrey is happening closer to home, in Great Falls, where she is among an elite group of 22 inaugural contemporary Western artists chosen for the new Russell Skull Society of Artists. The C.M. Russell Museum established the Skull Society — named for the well-known buffalo skull motif famed Western artist Charlie Russell included when he signed paintings — as a way of highlighting the country’s top art talent.

Skull Society artists will have the opportunity to showcase and sell their work in display booths during “The Russell,” an exhibition and sale in March to benefit the Russell Museum.

The criteria for membership in the Russell Skull Society include an artist’s history of support for the C.M. Russell Museum as well as accomplishments within the art industry.

Through the years Cawdrey’s quick-draw pieces have raised more than $100,000 for the C.M. Russell Museum.

Cawdrey recalls her first to the Russell show and sale 15 years ago when she drove a U-Haul truck through a blizzard to Great Falls with her son Morgan, who is now 26  and also an artist. He is the director of the Western Masters Art Show and Sale that will be held March 19-22 in Great Falls, the same week as The Russell auction.

At the upcoming show the 22 Russell Skull Society artists will have special booths set up for their work.

“They’re putting us in front of their most qualified buyers,” Cawdrey said. She’ll have two pieces in the auction.

Cawdrey’s mastery of the ancient art form of painting with dye on silk has earned her devoted admirers both nationally and internationally. Vibrant colors, textures and patterns come together to create her signature style.

“Whatever medium I am working in, I love to mix color, texture and patterns on the surface of the painting, giving the work more immediacy and spontaneity,” she said. “It’s what I call spirited painting.”

Although she’s recognized as a top Western artist, Cawdrey found her favorite art medium originated in the Far East. Painting on silk is a Chinese technique that’s been around more than 3,000 years.

“On silk I can really float brilliant color with spirit and gusto.”

Cawdrey’s childhood had an international flair; she moved from one country to another with her parents. She took watercolor lessons in England and learned to oil paint in Paris, and later during a trip to Hawaii discovered dye on silk.

Her career as an artist came over time. College studies focused on political science and journalism at George Washington University. It was during a stint in the art departments at National Geographic and U.S. News that her passion for art resurfaced.

Cawdrey and her husband,Steve, who handles the business side of marketing Cawdrey’s artwork, moved to England for a time to run an alternative school. They later returned to the U.S. to direct a wilderness school for troubled teens in Thompson Falls.

They eventually settled near Bigfork on Fox Creek Slough, where her gallery and work studio are located. Framing her pieces is an integral part of her business, Cawdrey said. Derek Vanderberg of Frame of Reference handles all of her framing.

Cawdrey’s awards for her work span nearly 20 years, and she’s been featured in numerous art magazines and other publications.

Of particular note, in 2009 the C.M. Russell Museum acquired Cawdrey’s “Tatonka” for its permanent collection. She was selected as the Glacier National Park Centennial Artist in 2010.

Galleries throughout the West represent Cawdrey. Locally her work can be found at Dick Idol Signature Gallery in Whitefish and at her gallery, 2230 Riverside Road, Bigfork.