Wyoming Blue Eyes by Carrie Ballantyne
Wyoming artist Carrie Ballantyne will be featured in a retrospective exhibition of her portrait art at The Brinton Museum in Big Horn, WY, opening June 3, 2018. Carrie Ballantyne Comes Home includes works in oil, colored pencil and graphite, conté and charcoal, from the 1980s to the present and represents the first time Ballantyne will be featured in a retrospective show of her work in her own ‘backyard’. Having exhibited at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West (Cody, WY), Gilcrease Museum (Tulsa, OK), Booth Western Art Museum (Cartersville, GA), National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum (Oklahoma City, OK), Autry Museum of the American West (Los Angeles, CA) and the George Phippen Memorial Show (Prescott, AZ), The Brinton Museum’s exhibit represents a coming home for this artist whose family and friends are part of the local community, many of whom she has lovingly portrayed in drawings and paintings.
Known for her representational art, from within our ranching culture, images of male and female, young and old, Ballantyne’s exquisite portraits are more than just a documentation of life in the West, her art tells a story about the individual lives of the people who live in the American West. Carrie grew up in California and developed a passion for art at a young age. She was destined to take her keen interest in the outdoors and a love for the lifestyle of the people who work with horses and cattle, and bring the two together in art. The result has been a long and passionate art career that continues to excite and humble her; an artistic love affair with the portrait by an artist who truly captures the essence of the subjects she paints, and draws. Ballantyne says, “I feel very fortunate to be able to pursue my artistic passion, in places, and with people who mean so much to me.”
Carrie Ballantyne Comes Home comprises nearly 30 retrospective pieces on loan from the Gilcrease Museum, Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Booth Western Art Museum and private collectors from across the country. A selection of new work recently completed will also be included in this show. The artist is represented in numerous public and private collections and is a recipient of the prestigious 2017 Academy of Western Artists – Artist of the Year award, as well as an award winner of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, now the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, in Cody. Ballantyne has been featured in multiple publications and magazines throughout her career.
A full-color, illustrated exhibit catalog of works of art on display in Carrie Ballantyne Comes Home will include an essay on the artist.
Carrie Ballantyne Comes Home runs June 3 through July 15, 2018.