Hita von Mende

Many of Hita von Mende’s oil paintings are about the American West - the cowboys, the cowgirls, the ranchers, horses, coyotes, eagles, landscapes and wind farms. About them she says, “These figures embody the romance and drama of the West, a dynamic space where heroism is both epic and everyday.”

Her painting Downhill Racers was chosen to be in the tv series “Longmire”.  She was the featured artist and poster artist for the 2014 National Western Art Show.  In 2012 and in 2004 she was named the poster artist for the Ellensburg National Rodeo. In 2013 she was artist of the month at DueWest Gallery in Santa Fe, and previously was named the commissioned artist for Allied Arts on Vashon. She has designed theatre, opera and ballet sets.

Her show at the Clymer Museum January – February 2015, was featured in the January 2015 issue of Cowboys and Indians Magazine, was shown at the WAA National Fine Art Show and Auction, and was in the "Windows to the West" invitational art show held in Estes Park as part of the Western Heritage Festival in conjunction with the Rocky Mountain National Park's 100-year celebration in May 2015. 

Hita von Mende works and lives on Vashon Island in Puget Sound, another great source of inspiration for her paintings, where she and her family are finding out how addictive raising foals can be.