The Westerly is Full of Western Charm

When husband and wife duo Ryan and Jacque Scheer bought what used to be the Standard Gallery + Wine Bar at 907 Lincoln Ave., they had a vision: Western charm, fun, whimsical, not overly masculine, which, they point out, can happen a lot when you get into the Western genre.

“In short,” they say, “we wanted to create a true gallery space/event space/community space to showcase our artists in a proper way.”

The space came to life, thanks in part to Jacque’s interior design background, with a cozy seating area, games for kids and adults (think Magnatiles and Scrabble respectively), a sleek bar area featuring cocktails like the ‘cosmic cowgirl,’ as well as a variety of mocktails, and of course - the art.

They inherited a few artists from the previous iteration of the gallery and have four local artists (including Ryan himself, who photographs Western-themed dioramas). The rest of their artists are spread across the country, in Idaho, Nashville, Austin, Reno and Denver.

“That’s the fun part,” says Jacque. “With Ryan being a fine artist himself, he has lots of relationships and connections. It’s been fun to reach out to these artists who we’ve been following and see if we can represent them here.”

September 1 marks the opening of Miles Glynn’s show titled “Cocktails and Western Shit.”

“Some galleries are considered to be arrogant and we want to create a space where everyone can enjoy art, have fun and feel comfortable,” says Ryan.

Visit www.the-westerly.com to learn more about the gallery and artists or stop by 907 Lincoln Ave. for a drink, a game and some art. The gallery is open from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday - Sunday.