Larger Than Life
Like no other artist, German-born painter Albert Bierstadt portrayed the unspoiled grandeur of the 19th-century American West. He was known for large canvases, heavy luminosity, towering trees, and gargantuan mountains, while humans and horses were made to look even tinier in comparison. Bierstadt was not the first artist to depict
Answering the Call
You could say that William Alther’s journey to becoming a professional artist was the result of his answering the call of the wild. Although the Colorado-based painter has been fascinated by God’s wild creatures from early childhood, time and other career commitments would intervene before he eventually turned to paint
Incurable Glory
“I belong outdoors. I love painting on location, and I love the beauty and peace that comes with standing before Mother Nature and reacting to her incurable glory.” That, says Kim Lordier, is why she paints landscapes. And she does so beautifully, whether capturing scenes near her home in California,
Back in the Saddle
Four years ago, Harold T. Holden wasn’t sure if he should accept any more commissions. He wasn’t even sure if he’d be able to finish the pieces he had underway. “H,” as Holden has been known all his life, was so sick that he couldn’t walk. He couldn’t ride his
‘It’s a Spiritual Thing’
He created jewelry long before he created legislation in Congress. At 81, Ben Nighthorse Campbell reaches back into his memory to a time he and his dad walked the railroad tracks, letting the big locomotives flatten pennies for the jewelry they made. “Making jewelry was a matter of necessity,” Campbell
The Softer Side of the West
Spring in the Midwest can be a fickle. One it’s day warm, the next day cold, the next day a blanket of snow settles on the daffodils. Snow is exactly what thwarted a painting trip Montana artist Loren Entz had planned with Alise, his 6-year-old granddaughter, last April. On his
Digging Deep
“There are three components to my work. The empirical—what I observe when painting outside. The rational—what I know about the landscape. And the spiritual—how I feel about the subject, my emotional response to it.” So says Joseph McGurl, whose landscape paintings have earned him numerous awards, as well as recognition
