“I’m 76, and I’m going to paint what I damn well please.”

So says Rock Newcomb, laughing heartily as he does so. In fact, he laughs freely and often during the interview for this article. With a successful teaching career behind him and more than 30 years as a successful artist, he’s earned the right to say what he wants—and to paint what he wants.

There is no niche for Newcomb’s art, and that’s exactly how he—and his collectors—like it. He’s earned national and international acclaim for his paintings of subjects that range from wildlife, landscapes and ruins, to cowboys, Native Americans, and historic and prehistoric artifacts in a highly realistic manner.

Read the full article in the March/April 2022 issue.

Majestic

Acrylic
24” by 18”

“This painting presents a dramatic profile view of a mature American bald eagle. I find the regal and ferocious bird a timely subject.”

Prehistoric Mimbres Puzzles

Acrylic
13” by 39”

“These seven, pre-Columbian, Mimbres ceramics from southwest New Mexico, date circa 1100-1400 AD. The two upright bowls have ‘kill holes,’ indicating their use as burial items. The biomorphic bighorn ram ceramic is an incense burner with an indentation on its back. The small, bird-shaped ceramic is a pipe bowl, and the three large bowls/pots/ollas are multi-functional serving as containers for water, seeds, corn, and/or other food items. The term Mimbres was given to the area where these items were eventually discovered by early Spanish explorers and means Willow, in reference to the many willow trees in the area.”