Capturing the western lifestyle
Lake Benton artist expands work to
nationwide audience, now includes horses
Mavis Fodness | Freelance reporter
One cannot think of the American West without picturing cattle, horses and cowboys.
Fifteen years ago, Lake Benton artist Michelle Weber turned a hobby into an art career by transferring those images from her family’s cow-calf operation to canvas.
“I will always enjoy lifting a brush to canvas with a unique perspective on how I can best represent beef cattle and modern agriculture,” she said. “When I began stretching my wings behind the easel by painting pieces that ignite my fire, the horse surfaced quickly as a place where my heart feels happy.”
Three years ago, horses became everyday tools in the Weber cattle operation.
As a result, horses naturally began appearing more and more in Weber’s artwork after 2023.
Horse art garnishes a Texas show invite
In the fall of 2024, Weber set a goal to exhibit more of her original artwork at shows or galleries. She began the process by committing to sending out 24 applications to organizers across the U.S.
Within weeks, she received a potential invite to exhibit at the 42nd annual Roundup and Exhibition at the Museum of Western Art (MOWA) in Kerrville, Texas.
Darrel Beaucamp is the MOWA executive director.
He said the selection committee approved of Weber’s application. He was also encouraged by other Round Up artists who spoke highly of her artwork, which depicts a different Western lifestyle.
“Michelle paints from the unique perspective of a northern rancher,” Beaucamp said. “Her work is intimate — coming from her deep-roots in the rural agriculture scene.”
The annual Roundup exhibition focuses on the preservation and promotion of Western heritage. The event provides an educational platform and cultural enrichment to a diverse audience. As many as 60 artists are invited to submit original artwork. A meet-and-greet event at the opening of the three-month exhibition allows attendees to get to the know the invited artists.
Horses are the most common animal depicted in the Western artwork.
“The horse was essential to the American West, providing the vital mobility, power and survival tool needed to traverse vast, rugged landscapes,” Beauchamp said. “(Horses) completed transformed Native American societies, enabling the cattle ranching industry, and drove nineteenth-century expansion across the frontier.”
Instead of scenes from the 1800s, Weber’s artwork show horses from a more modern day perspective and with a softer edge to the scenes first captured by a camera. Her interpretation of the pictures undergo transformation when it goes to the canvas. She often blends and layers her subjects with various shades of brown, gray, red and black, later accenting areas in white, yellow and cream paint to highlight small points within the subject(s).
“Painting horses has absolutely pushed my untrained eye to see new shapes, muscles, textures and movements but I am a willing learner and I am up for the challenge,” she said. “The look in an eye or the flick of an ear can elevate a painting from a craft store special to fine art.”
For her first MOWA exhibit, Weber went outside her comfort zone. In a conversation with director Beauchamp, he challenged her to think small.
Traditionally Weber used canvases sized at 24- by 36-inches and 36- by 48-inches. Beaucamp wanted Weber’s artwork to be no larger than 10-inches.
“This posed an extreme challenge for me: How was I going to catch a viewer’s eye from across a crowded room on a 10- by 10-inch space,” Weber said. “I decided to focus heavily on lighting and a subject that would pull at the heartstrings —horses and little girls.”
The result was two small artworks called “Every Girls’ Dream” and “Little Hands; Big Heart.” Both paintings featured a close up of a little girl and a horse. Both were painted using shades of white and gray with a small touch of color.
“Little Hands; Big Heart” is currently Weber’s favorite creation involving a horse.
“It sold while I was down there, shining a light on my career while helping chip away at the imposters syndrome which creeps in from time to time,” she said.
Self doubt on her artworks’ popularity, Weber was invited to this year’s Roundup. She created two pieces using the larger canvas sizes she’s more comfortable.
The result was pieces titled “Burnin’ Daylight” and “Reined In.” Both paintings caught the eye of buyers with sale prices of $6,750 and $7,850 respectively.
Beauchamp said 2026 sale averages ranged from $3,500 to $10,000.
Due to her popularity, Weber’s invited to exhibit at the 2027 event, her third-straight year.
“I knew it (the first invitation) was a big deal but did not have any idea how much of an honor it was,” she said. “The artists represented at that show are as high caliber as they come and I will forever hold that first show and the MOWA deep in my heart.”
More than 90 pieces of Weber’s art, including those from the MOWA event, are available online or at her art studio in Lake Benton.
Horses: More than just art subjects
“Horses have always had a presence here,” Weber said.
Long before Weber Land and Cattle was created by Weber and her husband, Jesse, in 2001, Jesse’s mom, Jodi Weber, was and still is a passionate horsewoman. Jodi has spent her life raising world champion cutting horses.
It was Jodi, who introduced horses to the younger Webers when she gave a pony to Jesse and Michelle’s first child, Wacey.
“Wacey was only 2, and Sugar wasn’t good for much except creating a safe exposure to horses our young family needed,” Michelle said.
The positive exposure has allowed the family’s horse herd to grow to seven horses, all of which are ridden to work cattle on the Weber ranch. Outside of work, the horses are ridden in both 4-H game and pleasure events. They recently began attending western heritage and ranch riding events.
As the number of horses grew so did the Weber family.
In addition to Wacey (now 14) the Webers have four additional children: Reese (11), Andi (10), Mick (7) and Wren (5).
The addition to horses to the cattle business has been a good fit.
“Horses can read your soul, I swear,” Michelle said. “They all love working cows.”
She has seen various lessons the horses have taught over the years. While the lessons are too numerous to list, the top four lessons include:
1.) Hold your ground.
2.) You might be uncomfortable but to get better you have to overcome or next time the problem will just be worse.
3.) Control your emotions or they will control you.
4.) Sometimes the quiet cues speak the loudest.
Those simple lessons are more often incorporated into Michelle’s artwork.
“When I can capture the simple moments on our farm and ranch, which to us are ordinary, but to the rest of the world those moments are truly extraordinary,” she said.
nationwide audience, now includes horses
Mavis Fodness | Freelance reporter
One cannot think of the American West without picturing cattle, horses and cowboys.
Fifteen years ago, Lake Benton artist Michelle Weber turned a hobby into an art career by transferring those images from her family’s cow-calf operation to canvas.
“I will always enjoy lifting a brush to canvas with a unique perspective on how I can best represent beef cattle and modern agriculture,” she said. “When I began stretching my wings behind the easel by painting pieces that ignite my fire, the horse surfaced quickly as a place where my heart feels happy.”
Three years ago, horses became everyday tools in the Weber cattle operation.
As a result, horses naturally began appearing more and more in Weber’s artwork after 2023.
Horse art garnishes a Texas show invite
In the fall of 2024, Weber set a goal to exhibit more of her original artwork at shows or galleries. She began the process by committing to sending out 24 applications to organizers across the U.S.
Within weeks, she received a potential invite to exhibit at the 42nd annual Roundup and Exhibition at the Museum of Western Art (MOWA) in Kerrville, Texas.
Darrel Beaucamp is the MOWA executive director.
He said the selection committee approved of Weber’s application. He was also encouraged by other Round Up artists who spoke highly of her artwork, which depicts a different Western lifestyle.
“Michelle paints from the unique perspective of a northern rancher,” Beaucamp said. “Her work is intimate — coming from her deep-roots in the rural agriculture scene.”
The annual Roundup exhibition focuses on the preservation and promotion of Western heritage. The event provides an educational platform and cultural enrichment to a diverse audience. As many as 60 artists are invited to submit original artwork. A meet-and-greet event at the opening of the three-month exhibition allows attendees to get to the know the invited artists.
Horses are the most common animal depicted in the Western artwork.
“The horse was essential to the American West, providing the vital mobility, power and survival tool needed to traverse vast, rugged landscapes,” Beauchamp said. “(Horses) completed transformed Native American societies, enabling the cattle ranching industry, and drove nineteenth-century expansion across the frontier.”
Instead of scenes from the 1800s, Weber’s artwork show horses from a more modern day perspective and with a softer edge to the scenes first captured by a camera. Her interpretation of the pictures undergo transformation when it goes to the canvas. She often blends and layers her subjects with various shades of brown, gray, red and black, later accenting areas in white, yellow and cream paint to highlight small points within the subject(s).
“Painting horses has absolutely pushed my untrained eye to see new shapes, muscles, textures and movements but I am a willing learner and I am up for the challenge,” she said. “The look in an eye or the flick of an ear can elevate a painting from a craft store special to fine art.”
For her first MOWA exhibit, Weber went outside her comfort zone. In a conversation with director Beauchamp, he challenged her to think small.
Traditionally Weber used canvases sized at 24- by 36-inches and 36- by 48-inches. Beaucamp wanted Weber’s artwork to be no larger than 10-inches.
“This posed an extreme challenge for me: How was I going to catch a viewer’s eye from across a crowded room on a 10- by 10-inch space,” Weber said. “I decided to focus heavily on lighting and a subject that would pull at the heartstrings —horses and little girls.”
The result was two small artworks called “Every Girls’ Dream” and “Little Hands; Big Heart.” Both paintings featured a close up of a little girl and a horse. Both were painted using shades of white and gray with a small touch of color.
“Little Hands; Big Heart” is currently Weber’s favorite creation involving a horse.
“It sold while I was down there, shining a light on my career while helping chip away at the imposters syndrome which creeps in from time to time,” she said.
Self doubt on her artworks’ popularity, Weber was invited to this year’s Roundup. She created two pieces using the larger canvas sizes she’s more comfortable.
The result was pieces titled “Burnin’ Daylight” and “Reined In.” Both paintings caught the eye of buyers with sale prices of $6,750 and $7,850 respectively.
Beauchamp said 2026 sale averages ranged from $3,500 to $10,000.
Due to her popularity, Weber’s invited to exhibit at the 2027 event, her third-straight year.
“I knew it (the first invitation) was a big deal but did not have any idea how much of an honor it was,” she said. “The artists represented at that show are as high caliber as they come and I will forever hold that first show and the MOWA deep in my heart.”
More than 90 pieces of Weber’s art, including those from the MOWA event, are available online or at her art studio in Lake Benton.
Horses: More than just art subjects
“Horses have always had a presence here,” Weber said.
Long before Weber Land and Cattle was created by Weber and her husband, Jesse, in 2001, Jesse’s mom, Jodi Weber, was and still is a passionate horsewoman. Jodi has spent her life raising world champion cutting horses.
It was Jodi, who introduced horses to the younger Webers when she gave a pony to Jesse and Michelle’s first child, Wacey.
“Wacey was only 2, and Sugar wasn’t good for much except creating a safe exposure to horses our young family needed,” Michelle said.
The positive exposure has allowed the family’s horse herd to grow to seven horses, all of which are ridden to work cattle on the Weber ranch. Outside of work, the horses are ridden in both 4-H game and pleasure events. They recently began attending western heritage and ranch riding events.
As the number of horses grew so did the Weber family.
In addition to Wacey (now 14) the Webers have four additional children: Reese (11), Andi (10), Mick (7) and Wren (5).
The addition to horses to the cattle business has been a good fit.
“Horses can read your soul, I swear,” Michelle said. “They all love working cows.”
She has seen various lessons the horses have taught over the years. While the lessons are too numerous to list, the top four lessons include:
1.) Hold your ground.
2.) You might be uncomfortable but to get better you have to overcome or next time the problem will just be worse.
3.) Control your emotions or they will control you.
4.) Sometimes the quiet cues speak the loudest.
Those simple lessons are more often incorporated into Michelle’s artwork.
“When I can capture the simple moments on our farm and ranch, which to us are ordinary, but to the rest of the world those moments are truly extraordinary,” she said.
