Posts by Mary Nelson

Unsung Heroes

Unsung Heroes

April 7, 2025 | by

Creativity has always been the name of the game for Sean Michael Chavez. From a young age, he was driven to study and practice one art form or another—music, writing, design, painting. “I’ve always lived a life centered around creativity,” he says. “I’ve always been an artist and, looking back, to have become a professional artist seems to have been inevitable. It was my path.” That pursuit took Chavez to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1990, the year he graduated from high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He wanted to learn more about himself, about the East Coast, and about art, so
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Pushing Boundaries

Pushing Boundaries

February 7, 2025 | by

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 layout whether they’re up close, studying details, or standing at a distance. “I love it when I can reveal the entire process of creation from the drawing and abstract underpainting to the finished areas of refinement,” Williams says. “The belief in the process of creation is just as important as
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A Love Story

A Love Story

December 13, 2024 | by

Texas artist Tony Pro is currently preparing paintings he will exhibit at Night of Artists at the Briscoe Western Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas, in March. It’s his third year in the show, and he’s excited about it, calling his works for that event a love story to the American West and to his own artistic trajectory. “The unique component of my art is the narrative depth,” he says. “Each piece tells a profound story, reflecting personal and historical themes. This storytelling, combined with my technical expertise and attention to cultural and historical details, sets my work apart.” Pro
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The Studio of Lori Putnam

The Studio of Lori Putnam

October 9, 2024 | by

Nestled on a five-acre plot of land in rural Charlotte, Tennessee, Lori Putnam is living the dream in her 1,800-square foot studio. The open design of the studio’s structure also boasts a 700-square-foot loft that serves as living space for Putnam and her husband Mark. Looking at the building from the outside, you would assume it’s just another house but, once you walk through its doors, you realize how wrong that assumption is. The openness of the home and studio gains perspective when Putnam says there is only one door inside: the one that leads to the bathroom. Putnam and
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Changing Lanes

Changing Lanes

June 6, 2024 | by

Wyoming sculptor and painter, J. C. Dye, says an artist needs two lifetimes: one to master the art of sculpting and painting and another to reap some rewards. As a 76-year-old who has enough experience to fill at least two lifetimes, one reward is being recognized as one of the top sculptors in the United States. He’s earning kudos for his paintings as well, something he turned to when foundries began closing, and he found himself waiting up to a year to have a sculpture cast. Dye’s years as a rancher provided with him with intimate knowledge of the cowboy
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The Studio of C. Michael Dudash

The Studio of C. Michael Dudash

April 10, 2024 | by

C. Michael Dudash’s 2,100-square-foot studio is nestled on a scenic, five-acre lot in the small Irish city of Rathdrum, Idaho, a small town just north of Coeur d’Alene. Working with a contractor, he designed and built a beautiful studio, one that would stand out and have a certain “je ne sais quoi.” The interesting shape resembles a church from the outside and could easily be remodeled someday to accommodate a large RV by taking out two interior walls and adding a larger garage door. “That’s the way I designed it—a big main room,” Dudash says. “At its core, it’s a
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The Studio of Michael Ome Untiedt

The Studio of Michael Ome Untiedt

February 8, 2024 | by

When he was a college student in the 1970s, Colorado artist Michael Ome Untiedt attended a lecture by Jacob Bronowski and remembers to this day most of what the Polish-British mathematician and philosopher said. “I heard Dr. Bronowski say that it is not tools nor intellect nor language that separate us from all other species on the planet. The thing that separates us from all other species is the ability to pass on aspects of our culture through acts of beauty, which he defined as art,” Untiedt recalls. “That has led me my entire life. That’s why I’m committed to
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The Road to Western Wildlife

The Road to Western Wildlife

December 11, 2023 | by

Carol Lundeen’s love affair with animals of the West began in the 1970s. During a family trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota, she was fascinated by the bison and herds of pronghorn she saw there. “Everywhere you’d look, you could see herds of pronghorn running over the land,” she says. “I was so impressed with their beauty.” It would take many years for art and the fascination with Western wildlife to combine and become a focus for Lundeen. But, here she is today—enthusiastically capturing in oils the animals that made such an impression on her when she was
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Exquisite Designs

Exquisite Designs

October 12, 2023 | by

What happens when you pair aesthetics with mathematics? In the case of Texas artists Marilyn Endres and Eucled Moore, the results are complex, segmented, wood-turned vessels that combine classic shapes with contemporary, modern designs. The two artists take turns driving from their homes in Texas—his in San Miguel and hers outside Austin—to work together in creating stunningly beautiful beaded, wood vessels. Thirty years ago, Endres discovered Moore’s work when one of her friends suggested she check it out. Endres was creating high-end kaleidoscopes that were featured at galleries and shows. Moore was a wood turner who crafted intricate vessels with
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A Continual Pursuit

A Continual Pursuit

August 10, 2023 | by

David Dorsey takes great care to create Western paintings that are realistic rather than photorealistic. His goal is to move viewers to become involved, to fill in the blanks. “I want viewers to look at a piece and be able to become connected to the image by allowing them to interpret areas within the piece that are not as defined as others,” Dorsey says. “I am always trying to move toward a looser feel and more expressive brushwork in my pieces.” A Nebraska native, Dorsey lives within 75 miles of his childhood home in Newport. “I’m from a ranching family,”
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