On March 16, from 6 to 8 p.m., Marless Fellows, owner and artist of the Saddle Up Gallery in Cave Creek, will be showcasing Faces of the West—an original art showing that embodies the true heart and soul of the West. Interviewing numerous Valley cowboys and cowgirls, Fellows selected 24 who live the authentic lifestyle, had the best characteristics of the West, and who would capture and preserve the Southwest through her paintings.
These western characters range from people who make a community difference, ranch hands, champion ropers and barrel racers, rodeo enthusiasts, veterinarians, a chuckwagon cook, and a former Scottsdale policeman who rides Hashnife Pony Express and is on the board of the Parada Del Sol. Not only will you get to see all 24 portraits, but also the real cowboys and cowgirls painted will be there to meet. Wine and cheese will be served.
"As long as I can remember, the feeling of the Southwest ran through my soul. My horse, Sam, took me over some of the most spectacular terrain this country has to offer, and now I am able to paint my dreams and share them with you,” Fellows says, “I want to show the world the Southwest through my eyes and introduce you to some of the characters of the great southwest." This is exactly the idea behind Faces of the West—to show the world how one can feel the soul of the cowboy, the meaning behind the lifestyle, and what it means to her herself by seeing it in the faces she paints.
Being born to a father of the West, who rode horses with other cowboys under the moonlit night, Fellows had a childhood entrenched in the old Western culture. She full-heartedly believes that the essence of living a life as a cowboy or cowgirl is a different mental life. She calls it “the Cowboy creed”. “It is a simple desire to take care of your neighbor, take care of the land, and love animals,” Fellows said. The true soul of the West embraces honesty, trustworthiness, and staying interconnected and helping each other in a community. “They’re genuine people,” Fellow explains. She believes that technology and electronics have taken away a genuine quality of real connection, a connection she feel that the traditional West has. Her paintings, express this lifestyle of genuine living, and lives to preserve something precious to her.
All both images are paintings by Marless Fellows.
