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Excerpt
from True West October 2011
Sheila
Cottrell:
Family heritage and
history infuse the paintings of Sheila Cottrell. Born and raised
in southern Arizona, Cottrell has western roots reaching back
to early 1800s Texas, where ancestors homesteaded before migrating
west to Cochise County as the 1900s dawned. Working with subjects
ranging from prairie schooners fording swollen rivers, to cowboys
at work and play, to serene landscapes, Cottrell says authenticity
is essential to her work. But she does admit to a nostalgic streak
that turns up in her paintings and her personal life and style.
The clothes worn by her subjects are based on personal family
photos, photos taken at recent brandings and rodeos, and photos
sent by friends and fans. They’ll send me old photos from
roundups,” she says. She liked painting historical portraits,
including Indians whose primitive styles and colors were less
complicated. As for cowboy themes, she notes that “contemporary
work wear hasn’t changed that much” from what was
worn 50 and even 80 years ago.
Her personal style reflects her romantic ideals about the Old
West. “I used to design and sew my own clothes, especially
dressier clothes, she says. Her preference for simpler times seems
to extend to her wardrobe, which she says is made up of “classic,
simple” styles. “I might have a print in my closet,”
she teases.
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UPCOMING SHOWS:
MOUNTAIN
12th Annual Empire Ranch 100
Western Art Show & Sale
January 9 – March 9, 2012
Tucson, AZ
COWGIRL
UP! 7TH ANNUAL SHOW
Desert
Caballeros Western Museum
Wickenburg, AZ
March 23 – May 16, 2012
Western Artists of America
Pearce Museum
Corsicana TX
March 30 – May 12, 2012
"Donkey Days of Winter"
Excerpt
from March 2011 Issue
“For Sheila Cottrell, sunsets trigger fond childhood memories
of camping and hunting trips in the mountain ranges in southern
Arizona. She revisits that time of tranquility and family togetherness
in “Friends.”
We loved camping in the wild away from signs of human activity.
Whatever adventures and explorations we’d enjoyed during
the day, gathering around a blazing campfire at dusk was a ritual,”
reflects Cottrell. “Our family rule was that we could make
camp one hour after seeing our last human. Of course, driving
on barely discernible rutted roads, or often none at all, didn’t
mean all that many more miles. But sadly, today, such coveted
isolation and freedom in pristine wilderness doesn’t exist.”
Excerpt
from December 2010 issue
“Sheila Cottrell’s family was 4th generation Texans
before they moved on to southeast Arizona by covered wagon in
1900. Her dad was born near Tombstone, Arizona, where her grandfather
was a deputy sheriff, and she was raised in southern Arizona.
Her detailed and light infused painting Tender Hoof shows two
cowboys tending to one of their horses whose hoof needs attention.”
A
recent interview I did with DMZone. Interview
Excerpt
from March 2010 issue:
Sheila Cottrell’s roots can be traced throughout Cochise
County, Arizona, where her great-grandmother, Sarah, homesteaded
several ranches and raised 11 of her surviving children. Her
grandmother, Del, also home- steaded several ranches in Cochise
County while raising her eight surviving children. Upon reflection,
Cottrell feels that she represents the pioneer women in her
family, the true Women of the West, whose struggles to survive
left them no time for art. Her Cowgirl Up! Piece, Canyon Light,
illustrates this moment of nostalgia.
“When I think about how difficult and dangerous life
was for these cliff dwelling women, and wonder at the differences
in our lives, it hits me that what I have most in common with
them is that they loved their children as much as I love mine,”
says Cottrell. “I can’t comprehend the violence
today when every person dying is someone’s child. Mothers
are making a real impact in the most impoverished countries
in the world—maybe they are the cement that will bond
this country again.”
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