“Whatever medium I am working in, I like to mix color on the surface of the painting–giving the work more immediacy and spontaneity–what I call spirited silk painting. On silk I can really float brilliant color with spirit and gusto.”

Nancy Dunlop Cawdrey paints with vibrant French dyes on crepe de chine silk fabric adapting her experience in water media to express her renowned contemporary style. Cawdrey’s signature western motif paintings, vibrant florals, and commanding wildlife masterworks can be found in museums and private collections around the world. Her home studio is in Northwestern Montana right next to the endlessly inspirational Glacier National Park.

In 2020, Nancy was honored to launch a one-woman traveling museum exhibit titled “Forever Glacier” which focuses on the mammals native to Glacier National Park. The collection contains twenty-five large-format original silk paintings depicting Glacier’s variety of mammals, habitats, and landscapes. Forever Glacier has exhibited at the C.M. Russell Museum, The Booth Western Art Museum, The Hockaday Museum of Art, and continues to travel to new venues around Montana and the rest of the country.

Nancy also teaches silk painting workshops multiple times a year. For the past 14 years, she has led a workshop at Triple Creek Ranch in Darby, MT, a five-star resort and member of the prestigious Relais & Châteaux.

Nancy is a founding member of the Russell Skull Society of Artists and has regularly participated in The Russell: A Sale to Benefit the C.M. Russell Museum. She has shown at the National Cowboy Museum’s Small Works, Great Wonders show, the National Cowgirl Museum, the Gilcrease Museum, and various other shows across the country. In 2010, her art was selected to be an Official Glacier Park Centennial Art piece and Nancy became an Official Centennial Artist chosen by the Glacier National Park 2010 Centennial Committee. Honors include being the Featured Artist at the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival 30th Anniversary where Nancy’s painting set a new auction record, and numerous years as “People’s Choice” at the Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale in Cody, Wyoming. Nancy’s work is included in the stellar “Night of Artists” show at the Briscoe Western Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas.

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Mountain Magic