“I’d like to feel that viewers will see my art and sense a secret self… where the lightning wrestles with the sky and where the stars open the darkened night, where one can feel the cowboys ride.”- Carrie Fell
Jackson’s Mountain Trails Gallery hosts an artist’s reception for Colorado artist Carrie Fell, the gallery’s February featured artist. The gallery reports that Fell will make a personal appearance at that reception, happening Saturday, February 28, 4-7:00 pm.
Some years ago I wrote about another show of Fell’s, one that also took place at Mountain Trails. It’s always interesting to revisit previous thoughts on an artist’s style and subject matter, but as I’ve been unable to find that Planet/Arts Observatory column, I’ll tell you what I remember of Fell’s work then, and what I see now.
I remember, above all, the color. Fell favors bright pastels: rose, violet, pale yellow. Those colors project a great deal of joy; her works are contemporary translations of traditional western themes. That hasn’t changed, but what I think has changed is her use of detail; now, there’s more of it. I’m drawn to “Yellow Tail” because it is an explicit and strong portrait. Here is his face, his spirit, in detail. Yellowtail, born around 1855, was a member of the Big Lodge Clan. His son, Tom Yellowtail, was a Crow medicine man. Fell’s portrait includes a yellow feather headdress, the feather of a yellowtail hawk.
Fell’s quotation about her own art suggests she is working with dreams, and she may be inspired by Native American spirituality and totems. Fell’s gaily colored horses, riders, long horned steers and now, “Yellow Tail,” are electric. An “anything can happen” optimism hallmarks her work.
Call Mountain Trails Gallery at 307-734-8150. Email [email protected]
Tammy Christel 
