Preferring to be called Billy rather than Bill or William, it is obvious that Billy Schenck is a man secure in who he is and what he does—with good reason. In addition to being a much sought after painter, the 67-year-old artist can also be described as a nearly compulsive collector of fine art and prehistoric pottery, an avid cattleman, horseman, and rodeo promoter. He is a multitalented man, whose fascination with life and learning has allowed him to excel at all these endeavors and more.

At first glance, working in the Western genre might seem a bit of an anomaly for Schenck, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and who built his early reputation in New York and Europe.

Billy Schenck

Sheep on the Bluff
Oil
25″ x 50″
“The sheepherder and sheep are my own slides shot in 1989; the sheep were shot in 1995. The mesa is my own slide from Wupaki National Park, north of Flagstaff, Arizona; I shot that in 2002. The cloud is made up.”

Billy Schenck

Drive to Durango
Oil
40″ x 48″
“The original image is a pen-and-ink drawing by Nick Eggenhoffer, used to illustrated a Western short story that was published in a pulp Western magazine titled Western Story Magazine, circa 1925-1935. The mesa in the back is a portion of a Maynard Dixon painting, circa 1930. The tree is my own slide, and the clouds I made up. The palette is, again, entirely my own.”