“I don’t know that I could be in a better place.” Although Gregory Beecham is referring to his home in Dubois, Wyoming, a rural area brimming with wildlife, those words also aptly describe the success he has realized with his paintings. The enthusiasm of his collectors, combined with several prestigious awards, gives testimony to the skill with which he depicts the animals that inspire him.

Greg Beecham (Wyoming)

Flying Fortress—Trumpeter Swans
Oil
24″x48″
“I knew, going in to this piece, that I was taking a risk in having my point of interest facing away from the viewer. But my experience of these swans flying away low over the snow and ice, kept screaming, ‘Paint me!!’ From the response I’ve gotten with the piece, I guess it worked. I used a limited palette of pthalo turquoise, yellow ochre, and alizarin crimson plus white—with a smidge of cadmium yellow pale in the highest key area—to help create a unified color harmony. The foreground swan sort of enveloped the others with its giant wingspan. The whole thing, with the shadows directly beneath the birds, reminded me of the old World War II B29s, as they lumbered down the runway, hence the title.”

Greg Beecham (Wyoming)

Shadow Dancing—Bobcat
Oil
26″x18″
“As I attempt to figure out who I am as an artist, I am continually drawn to the idea of unity in the context of simplicity and beauty. I consider the tools with which I have to work as a painter to be color, value, texture, edges, drawing, and composition. My goal is to work these tools in a sort of point-counterpoint method, with good color harmonies; strong, graphic value shifts; intelligent texture change-ups; hard edge, soft edge, lost edge approaches, with good drawing and mostly active compositions up to an overall artistic oneness that is both pleasing and exciting. I believe this painting is a step forward for me in that endeavor. It depicts a bobcat jumping down from a ruined wall of an ancient Anasazi kiva.”