At 17, S.C. (Chris) Mummert knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life: He was going to be an artist. He envisioned himself spending long days alone in his studio, illustrating magazine covers and living the solitary life of an artist.

It didn’t exactly work out that way. And maybe, Mummert says, that’s for the best.
“I wanted to be a hermit and just paint all day,” he says. “But then I got thrust into business, where I had to deal with people all day. That experience really rounded my corners out. It helped me realize that I love people.”

Mummert spent 30 years working in his family’s automotive businesses before becoming a full-time artist in 2012. Although he had been painting at night and on weekends for most of that time and had even had occasional representation in galleries, he finally decided the time was right to take the leap.

Read the entire article in the May/June 2020 issue.

Flying Southwest

Oil
48” by 48”

“Have you ever been up on a bucking horse, a bit out of control, and not really sure how things will turn out? It can get pretty thrilling! I know because I’ve been there. I mention that because I discovered that 1930’s cowgirls were regularly riding bucking broncs in rodeos and performing feats on horseback that I’d never dream of doing! Those gutsy girls in jodhpurs from back then were the inspiration behind this painting.”

Last Light

Oil
18” by 24”

“The sunset hour has always been my favorite time of day. Shadows are long and dramatic, the color of light becomes rather glorious, and a gentle calm seems to permeate everything. It’s my love for those final minutes that caused me to put a lone cowboy up on a ridge—hard at work moving cows and surrounded by the day’s last light.”