“Stampede” Where Ed Mell left off
“Stampede” Oil 12 × 23”
In 2025, at a Scottsdale Artists’ School studio sale, I came across some of Ed Mell’s unused stretched linen panels. At first I questioned if these were his, but after buying two and taking them home I noticed some hand writing along the side of one that clearly matched Ed Mell’s sharp angular hand writing style.
Coming to the realization that I was holding an usused Ed Mell panel felt special. It felt like a bridge between me and one of Arizona’s most Iconic artist. Knowing Mell’s deep connection to the Western landscape and his iconic cow paintings, the panel felt less like a blank object and more like a conversation paused mid-sentence. Purchasing it was not about ownership of a relic, but about stewardship—continuing a dialogue with an artist whose work had long shaped how I understood movement, mass, and the spirit of the Southwest.
Ed Mell’s cow paintings have always struck me as more than representations of livestock. His cattle feel monumental and rhythmic, arranged with a sense of inevitability, as if they are part of the land’s geology rather than merely passing through it. Their weight, repetition, and forward motion convey endurance and quiet power. That sensibility became the guiding force behind my own painting, ”Stampede”, an oil work measuring 12 x 23 inches, created directly on that unused panel.
Medicine Man Galleries. Tucson, Arizona
Working on the panel carried a particular gravity. I was aware of its history, but I didn’t want reverence to turn into imitation. Instead, I focused on absorbing Mell’s approach and his bold simplification of form, his confident color relationships, and his ability to suggest movement through mass rather than detail. In *Stampede*, the cattle move as a single, unified force across the composition. Their bodies overlap and echo one another, creating a visual rhythm that suggests momentum and cohesion, a collective energy pushing forward.
Color played a crucial role. Inspired by Mell’s palette, I leaned into warm earth tones balanced against cooler blues and purples, allowing light to carve form out of shadow. The paint handling remains direct and expressive, honoring the physicality that Mell brought to his subjects while still asserting my own hand and perspective. The result is not a reinterpretation of any single Mell painting, but a personal response to his enduring influence.
I reached out to Victor from Mayen Olsen framers and he was gracious enough to build me a custom guided frame reminiscent of the art deco motifs that are commonly seen on Ed Mells pieces.
In the end, “Stampede” is both a tribute and a continuation. By painting on an unused panel from Ed Mell’s studio orbit, I was able to connect materially and creatively with an artist who helped define a visual language of the West. The painting stands as a gesture of respect and acknowledgment that influence is not about copying the past, but about carrying its spirit forward with honesty and intention.