Kelly Dangerfield was 13 years old when he asked his grandmother to give him his first oil painting lesson. While some grandmothers’ houses are filled with the scent of cookies and pictures of cats, his grandmother Arlene’s house was filled with artwork. A hobby painter, she always had her easel set up and landscape paintings on display when her grandson visited. Dangerfield was intrigued.

“She bought me a little tabletop easel and told me to look through these old magazines for a picture I thought was cool,” Dangerfield says, adding that he chose a photo of a high mountain lake. “She showed me how to sketch it out on a canvas and let me do my thing. The experience was fun. It was rough, but it had an impact.”

Read the full article in the May/June 2021 issue.

Lounging Around

Oil
14” by 20”

“I often paint animals that are moving or interacting, but occasionally I also like to show them in the more passive moments that make up a majority of their day. This bobcat is relaxing on a rock and is not concerned with much else going on.”

Morning Reflections

Oil
18” by 22”

“I photographed this pair of trumpeter swans on a small pond in Wyoming and was drawn to their overlapping shapes, the contrast of warm and cool colors, and the reflections in the water.”