Where to buy...Gaylen Hansen

Gaylen Hansen is a cowboy on canvas. Working in the region of southeastern Washington state known as the Palouse, the artist has for decades been painting images that invoke, directly or indirectly, the prairie landscape. Traces of Hansen’s 1970s beginnings in abstract expressionism are ever present. But his vocabulary has come to feature primativist figurative elements such as grasshoppers, wolfish dogs, robotic-looking mallards, and a horseback-riding alter ego named Kernal Bentleg. In his latest series, Hansen, now in his 90s, has rendered his cast of wacky characters in strong colors and rugged strokes. At Linda Hodges Gallery, 316 1st Ave. S., Seattle, (206) 624-3034. Prices range from $5,800 to $22,000.