CLEARWATER -- Take a quick look at Bev Doolittle's snowy Sacred Ground and you'll see a cowboy galloping off in a hurry pulling a bay pack horse, its mane flying in the icy wind.

But on closer inspection of the oil painting, the cowboy and the horses appear frightened, chased by something unseen, spirits of long-dead chieftains, perhaps. Look even closer into the frozen birch forest, deeper into the tangle of naked branches and willowy trees and you'll see something else lurking there, something the cowboy sensed, but could not see.

"If you really look into it, you will see three eagle heads camouflaged within the birch trees and a profile of an Indian's face," said Jill Berry, co-owner of The Plainsmen Gallery. "(The work) is very interesting. It has hidden images."

A limited edition print of what Berry calls a "painting within a painting" by Doolittle of California, one of the nation's premier Western painters, will be available for sale for $900 at the gallery during the exhibit "Western Visions" through Aug. 3, Berry said.

No Doolittle originals will be available. They can start at $150,000, according to Berry. But the show features originals from eight other painters and sculptors from Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico and other Western states, including J.D. Challenger, Howard Terpning, Trevor Swanson and Judy Larson.

Each specializes in highly detailed American Indians, Western and equine art.

In Pinellas County, where tropical floral art reigns, their work stands out.

While some of the original paintings are priced at $3,000, and bronze sculptures can fetch as much as $30,000, "the nice thing about this show is the prints start at $200 and you can buy a poster for $25," Berry said.

In each work there is a glimpse into the disappearing West, its people and animals. The paintings are so detailed, it is possible to count individual hairs on a bison's head, make out each needle on a pine tree and spot each crag on each rock on a bouldery landscape.

"We wanted to show people this is what we would lose," said Berry, a supporter of environmental causes and frequent visitor to Western states. "The wide open spaces are diminishing. That's why we wanted to have this show."

The gallery was founded 20 years ago in Clearwater by Berry and partner Betty Brown, both of whom have a passion for realistic art. It moved to Dunedin for a few years, and is now back in its hometown.

It was to feature Western art exclusively, but there was such a demand for tropical art, the gallery does the occasional Florida wildlife show.

But their hearts still belong where the buffalo roam -- or used to.

"We want to expose Florida people to Western art," Berry said. "It is unusual to find a Western art gallery in Florida."

-- Eileen Schulte can be reached at 445-4153 or at schulte@sptimes.com.

If you go

A show called"Western Visions" will run through Aug. 3 at The Plainsmen Gallery, 2450 Sunset Point Road, Suite A, Clearwater. It features American Indian, Western and equine art by nine artists. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. For information, call (727) 726-5100.

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