Posts by Vicki Stavig

Sharing Her Light

Sharing Her Light

August 10, 2023 | by

“My goal is to show others how I see the world,” says Kwani Povi Winder. “Being an artist has completely changed how I see it; it’s so incredibly colorful.” While she’s always seen the world and its people as a wondrous place, since 2013 Winder has been sharing her visions—whether they be landscapes, people, spiritual images, or animals—through paintings filled with vibrant colors and brilliant light. “I am constantly analyzing everything before my eyes and trying to identify what made me stop and take a second look at something,” she says. “Was it the contrast, the saturation, or maybe the
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A Magnificent Obsession

A Magnificent Obsession

August 10, 2023 | by

When Heidi Marshall was a young girl, she said to her mother, “Show me something I haven’t seen before.” Her mother replied, “Oh, my—another artist!” In recalling that moment, Marshall says, “I come from a family of artists, and she recognized what we were like.” Marshall’s father, William Amenda, was chief editorial portrait and courtroom illustrator for “The Detroit News” and also painted and sculpted in his spare time. Her paternal grandfather was an artist in Germany who painted religious scenes in churches. And her mother was a writer and fine arts appraiser. Read the full article in the September/October
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‘The Ball Just Kept Rolling’

‘The Ball Just Kept Rolling’

June 15, 2023 | by

Russell Smith’s original career plan was to become an aeronautical engineer so he could design airplanes. That changed after he took a few art classes during his first year of college. “I realized I didn’t want to design them, I wanted to paint them,” he says. And that’s just what he’s been doing for more than 20 years. His depictions of early aircraft—combined with the people and land of the West—are wonderfully crafted and carry with them a captivating energy, excitement, and perspective. His paintings, fueled by an early love of aviation, have earned him several awards but the real
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A Journey Through History

A Journey Through History

June 15, 2023 | by

“I love where we have come from,” says Brian Bateman. “History is the catalyst for all of my work—the men, women, machines, and how they intertwine.” That love of history took hold when he was a young boy and continues to drive him as he captures the past in paintings that feature everything from the West and Native Americans to mountain men and military aircraft. What makes those paintings unique is that he often combines two or more subjects in one painting, and he looks forward to combining aircraft within his Western work. Growing up in Dayton, Ohio, Bateman’s initial
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Looking to the Skies

Looking to the Skies

June 15, 2023 | by

Canadian artist Ross Buckland developed his love of the land while growing up on a farm in Ontario. “I was always looking at the sky or at the colors on the ground,” he says. He’s still looking at the sky and the ground but now he’s sharing what he sees through his paintings of landscapes, wildlife—and airplanes. “Aviation became a passion for me, and so did drawing,” Buckland says. “For summer vacations we would go to visit our grandparents in Calgary. The airplane flight was the most exciting part of it. I wanted the window seat so I could see
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The Magic Continues

The Magic Continues

May 4, 2023 | by

Most people probably know Arturo Chávez as an award-winning painter who masterfully captures the colors and shapes of Western landscapes. But there is more to this talented man—so much more. He is also a classical guitarist, a former pilot, a championship tango dancer, and a licensed commercial drone flyer. It is his love of painting, however, that drives him. “I’ve been pushing paint for 40 years,” Chávez says. “My landscapes come from my heart. It’s my creativity. I’ve created more than 6,000 paintings. There’s a chain from my ankle to my easel.” Of course, he’s speaking metaphorically; he is as
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‘I’m Inspired by God’s Creation’

‘I’m Inspired by God’s Creation’

March 4, 2023 | by

“I have to paint my vision.” So says Frank Ordaz, whose visions range from portraits and landscapes to cowboys and old trucks. He is so eclectic in his subject matter and style that a gallery owner once told him, “I don’t know where to put you; I don’t know how to sell you.” That gallery owner needn’t have worried because his paintings sell themselves, appealing to a similarly eclectic group of collectors. Simply put, Ordaz’s paintings cannot be labeled—and neither can he. Although he was trained as a fine artist when he was a young boy, Ordaz spent his early
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Beauty is the Goal

Beauty is the Goal

March 4, 2023 | by

“The most consistent source of my inspiration will always be nature.” So says Aaron Blaise, who spent most of his career as an animator for Walt Disney Feature Animation before turning to fine art and capturing everything from small birds and big cats to elephants and moose in a beautifully realistic style. “The natural world, for me, is an escape,” he says. “It’s a source of wonder and, ultimately, my greatest inspiration for all of the work I do, whether it be painting, drawing, or animation. The creatures we share our planet with are so diverse and beautiful and such
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Beautifully Authentic

Beautifully Authentic

March 4, 2023 | by

Monte Moore describes his art career as a large tree. After so many years as an illustrator—and so much more—he says, “I started growing another branch.” That new branch is his career as a fine artist who captures the people and wildlife of the West in a myriad of mediums, including acrylics, pencils, oils, bronze, and mixed media. The Colorado artist, who was born in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1971, considers himself blessed to have had parents who encouraged him and instilled in him a love of art, particularly Western art. A year after Moore was born, his father bought a
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The Cycle of Life

The Cycle of Life

January 5, 2023 | by

“It’s been a busy 12 years.” That’s how Elizabeth Robbins describes her life since the last time we visited with her. Since then, she’s continued to create masterful paintings that find homes with enthusiastic and appreciative collectors. She’s also added to her repertoire, has started a successful online instructional program and a production company, and has moved to Ogden, Utah. She made that move in late 2013, six years after her husband Jim Pruitt passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack  while mowing the lawn at their home in Kansas. “We had a beautiful marriage,” she says. “He was the
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