Watercolor Illusionist
Richie Vios grew up in a house in Cebu City in the Philippines that was filled with the smell of oil paints, thanks to his father and siblings, who were all painters. “The smell of oil paint was always present in my home,” he says. “That was my childhood smell.”
Pushing Boundaries
For Nebraska native Todd A. Williams, capturing beauty and rendering it in ways that excite viewers on multiple levels is his greatest love. His distinctive way of texturing paint and his paint quality and manipulation allow viewers to take in the entire design and the overall harmony of the visual
A Sense of Intimacy
Since she started exhibiting her work 15 years ago, Naomi Shachar’s emotive oil paintings of Western scenes and personalities have been celebrated and honored in competitions and exhibitions across the country. But, when she was just starting out as an artist, she aimed to please only one critic: her mother,
‘I Believe in Callings’
Lying on her back, flat on the ground, watching the clouds’ antics for hours. Running barefoot through the woods, dog beside her, throwing her head back and embracing the sun with arms and laughter. Moving from full throttle to dead stop in an instant, captured by the beauty of a
A Long and Winding Road
“I’ve probably had a different journey to art than most artists,” says oil painter Lauri Ketchum, in what is actually a monumental understatement. “As a kid, I liked art and had an artistic brother, but I played basketball. I had nothing to do with art, didn’t pursue it whatsoever.” Ketchum’s
Spiritual Experiences
When Randy Van Beek sees a landscape that he wants to paint, he grabs his camera and his outdoor painting kit. He then alternates between painting a small study that captures the light, colors, and emotions of the place and looking through the lens of his camera to compose the
The Studio of Donna Howell-Sickles
Working in a studio that overlooks the historic square in Saint Jo, Texas, Donna Howell-Sickles is surrounded by the tools and atmosphere she needs to create her award-winning paintings and drawings of women who inspire her: cowgirls. She previously worked in a studio—a former church—in the city, but left that
‘Its All About Having That Touch’
“I’m geared to winning the rodeos, painting live, and really being a real cowboy,” says artist and competitive roper Bradley Chance Hays. And that’s exactly what his life has looked like so far. Hays has been pursuing rodeo and art since he was a child growing up in Oklahoma. He
