Artists of Note | Mikela Cameron - Southwest Art Magazine

A rodeo and a picnic

Mikela Cameron, Persimmon Thanksgiving, colored pencil, 8 x 8.

This story was featured in the May 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art May 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

“I HAVE A really hard time finishing my pieces,” confesses artist Mikela Cameron. “It’s hard for me to walk away. I literally make a connection with my subjects; it’s like a heart connection. I don’t want it to stop.” In fact, after spending so many hours perfecting each of her drawings—lovingly rendered in colored pencil—they can feel like members of her own family, says the Willits, CA, artist.

Cameron enjoys portraying her subjects realistically while creating “softer” backgrounds with impressionistic undertones. And because she works in thick, saturated layers of color, she thinks of her drawings as paintings. “It’s almost a sculptural effect,” she says of her process. “You just watch the images rise up out of the paper.”

: Mikela Cameron, Moi?, colored pencil, 12 x 11.

: Mikela Cameron, He’s a Pistol, colored pencil, 16 x 12.

: Mikela Cameron, Mike, colored pencil, 21 x 12.

The Colorado native grew up riding horses and drawing animals, so it’s not surprising that these subjects are recurrent stars in her work today. Some of her most dependable models are her infinitely expressive French Bulldog, DooDah, and the equines and cowboys she photographs at brandings throughout her Northern California community. The artist recalls one wise old cowboy telling her, “I love working on ranches. Every day is a rodeo and a picnic.” Cameron, who herself worked on a ranch for many years, wholeheartedly agrees. Where else can you get bucked off a horse and then enjoy lunch alfresco? “I’ve always wanted to make my art like that,” she chuckles.

Cameron, a newly minted Signature member of Women Artists of the West, showcases her work this summer in the group’s online exhibition entitled WAOWing the Wind River Valley. —Kim Agricola

Cameron is represented by www.mikelacameron.com.