Mountain Trails Gallery - Working Cowboys


Mountain Trails Gallery is hosting the Sedona Gallery Association's 1st Friday Artwalk and celebrating the heritage of the "Working Cowboys," with artist-in-residence Suzanne Baker.

Suzanne Baker grew up in the Sierra community of Three Rivers, California, just outside of Sequoia National Park. She was surrounded by large cattle ranches, horse packers and mountaineers spurring her interest and great love for horses and the ranching lifestyle. Baker started painting when she was a little girl. Her mother, also an artist, shared her artistic gift of painting with Baker encouraging her to express her vision through drawing. In the Baker household painting was a favorite family activity that often included other artists from their community. Throughout the years Baker has developed a unique painterly style. With each subject painted she is able to depict the essence and lifestyle of ranchers, the horses and the places they lived, creating the feeling of the moment without telling the whole story, thus allowing the viewer to see the art through their own imagination .

The horse has always been a constant throughout Baker's life appearing solo at times in her paintings or running wild on the land. Baker spends days backpacking in the Sierra back country discovering new territory that will become the next colorful layered landscape painting. While on the land Baker photographs her excursion bringing back an eclectic collection of memories to her home studio where she will begin painting a new vibrant piece. Baker will be in the Mountain Trails Galleries from 5-8 p.m. She will be at the gallery meeting and greeting the western art collector and sharing stories with everyone. Please come out and enjoy an evening at Mountain Trails Galleries. The gallery will be serving delicious refreshments catered by Shugrue's Hillside Grill.

About Tlaquepaque Arts & Craft Village:

An unforgettable Sedona experience must include spending time at internationally renowned Tlaquepaque. Nestled beneath the shade of the sycamores on the banks of beautiful Oak Creek, Tlaquepaque is the most distinctive shopping experience to be found in the Southwest. Authentically fashioned after a traditional Mexican village, Tlaquepaque, meaning the "best of everything," has been a Sedona landmark since the 1970s. Its vine covered stucco walls, cobble-stoned walkways and magnificent arched entryways give you the feeling that Tlaquepaque has been here for centuries. Tasteful galleries and unique shops live in harmony with its lush natural environment where giant sycamore trees stand in testimony to the care taken in preserving the timeless beauty of the Tlaquepaque grounds. It would be hard to find more beautiful surroundings anywhere to create a shopping experience like no other.

Tlaquepaque, the Art and Soul of Sedona, is located at the Oak Creek Bridge just south of 89A on Highway 179 and is open daily at 10 a.m. For more information call 928-282-4838 or visit www.tlaq.com.

Article courtesy of Jill Kyriakopulos, Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village.

Posted March 27, 2008.