Jan Mapes – Western Art, Western Life

This profile of artist Jan Mapes appeared in the La Junta Tribune-Democrat.

La Junta, Colo. —For art lovers enjoying the Western way of life, and pictures and sculptures depicting it, you won’t want to miss the works of renowned Western artist, Jan Mapes, to be showcased in La Junta soon.  Jan’s works will be exhibited prior-to-and-following “The Chair Affair” reception and art auction that will be held on Tuesday evening, July 31, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Student Center at Otero Junior College.  Jan’s art will be for sale that evening, as well as a chair she is painting that will be sold during The Chair Affair auction.

Jan Mapes has loved horses and the outdoors since she was a little girl visiting her grandparents’ ranch in Arkansas.   And through her high school and college years those passions grew. Some of her best friends were all  God’s four-footed creatures.   Her sketch books were filled with them, but it wasn’t until she visited Santa Fe on her honeymoon that she considered her art anything more than just a hobby.

For over 30 years Jan has been immersed in the rural culture of Colorado’s ranching community.  With encouragement from her horse-trainer husband, Jim, and her own inquisitive mind, Jan has developed her God-given talent to express – first in clay and later in paint – the things that touch her heart.

Working from her studio in Kim, Colo., her passion and inspiration has yielded works that have been exhibited across the United States.  The National Cutting Horse Association contracted with her to design and sculpt a trophy for the organization – and that work, itself, has been around the globe.   But whether painting or sculpting, Jan’s goal is the same: “To capture the spirit and beauty of this earthly experience, and to encourage others to see, feel, enjoy, and appreciate it.”

Jan attended Lamar Community College, completed the Horse Training and Management curriculum, and later graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with her bachelor’s degree in earth science.

Jan has exhibited her works at many of the premier Western art shows throughout the United States, including shows in Wickenburg, Tucson, and Prescott, Arizona; San Antonio, Amarillo, and Clifton, Texas; and Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho.  She has also exhibited at the Coors National Western Art Exhibit and Sale in Denver, and at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Her art has been exhibited at the Salmugundi Non-Member Exhibition in New York City.   Jan’s works can be seen hanging in galleries in Sheridan, Wyoming; Tucson, Arizona; Santa Fe, New Mexico, and San Antonio, Texas, as well as in the Gallery at the Windsor in Del Norte, Colorado and the Hayden-Hays Gallery in Colorado Springs.

To see more of Jan’s works, you can visit her website at www.janmapes.com, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jan.mapes.