Excuse me while I put my art reviewer hat on…There, it’s on now. Also, please excuse the fancy speak you’re about to hear.

I have a background in art and photography. Some of my formative years were spent working for galleries specializing in western art. Let’s just say there’s a soft spot in my gut for the genre. I wouldn’t consider myself an art critic but more of an art appreciator. However, I have a good eye for what’s good and bad and the level of talent and dedication necessary to make a true artist.

While searching the internet for western art the other day my browser uncovered the work of a true craftsmen, or craftswoman in the case of photographer Bev Pettit. She has the biography of an accomplished photographer and a portfolio to match. Her portfolio has several bodies of work including: Wild Horses, Equine, Rodeo, Portraits, Flora, and Asia.

In the “Wild Horses at Return to Freedom” series Bev uses excellent panning technique to capture the wild horses running wild while the landscape remains blurred. She is no slouch in the post processing department either. While remaining in color the wild horse images have been processed with an overall warm tone that enhances the relationship of horse to landscape. The final result is dynamic, powerful, and cinematic.

I really enjoy her “Rodeo” series as well. The choice to slightly weather and tone the monochrome images helps freeze in time decisive moments between man, animal, and earth. Mud flies and danger feels imminent.

Much of her work is for sale in the form of unframed museum quality prints and gallery wrapped canvas prints. The prints are ridiculously affordable, so if you are looking to fill some empty wall space visit her website and buy a print or two.