Posts by Vicki Stavig

Pitzer’s Palettes

Pitzer’s Palettes

June 18, 2025 | by

Rob Pitzer, who passed away in the spring, was an art collector and founder of several galleries, including Pitzer’s Fine Arts in Wimberley, Texas—located between Austin and San Antonio. He also assembled an impressive collection of art from the artists he worked with during his almost 50 years in business. One of his most interesting ventures was what his son, Tyson, describes as a sub-collection that he refers to as the Artists’ Palette Collection.   Painted Palette, Mikki Senkarik, oil on panel   That collection is the product of an art lover who also thought outside the box—or the frame,
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The Master

The Master

June 5, 2025 | by

What can you say about Howard Terpning that hasn’t already been said? He’s described as the grand master of Western painting, an American icon, and a master storyteller. He is all of that and more. His magnificent paintings have earned him a myriad of awards and inclusion in some of the finest museums in the country. And, yet, he is unpretentious when it comes to the many accolades he has received during the 44 years he painted the American West. Terpning will celebrate his 98th birthday November 5. He’s still sharp as a tack, but he hasn’t painted for the
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The Studio of Vic Payne

The Studio of Vic Payne

June 5, 2025 | by

Seven years ago, Vic Payne was offered a deal he couldn’t resist. For several years he had been driving from his ranch in Cody, Wyoming, through a small town named Meeteetse and noticed— and admired—an old building on the town’s main street. During one of those drives, he pointed to the Meeteetse Mercantile building, which had fallen into disrepair, and said to his wife Angie, “I love that building.” Months later, Payne purchased it, knowing that he and Angie could transform the historic structure into something wonderful. They had worked on similar ventures in the past—restoring an historic home and
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Electric Americana

Electric Americana

April 7, 2025 | by

Colt Idol is hard at work in the studio at his home in Whitefish, Montana. That’s not surprising, but what is surprising is that he’s surrounded by 21 paintings on the floor and hanging on the walls in a U-shape around him. “Right now, I have 21 pieces in the works,” he says. “Some artists work in a more linear fashion, but I like to spend about three hours on a piece and then go on to another. I work on four or five pieces each day; it helps me get a stronger end piece by spending time with it.
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Quiet, Peaceful, and Contemplative

Quiet, Peaceful, and Contemplative

April 7, 2025 | by

Carmen Drake laughs easily, speaks enthusiastically, and paints beautifully. Her goal is to bring beauty and peace through her art into the lives of others. Her own life hasn’t always been one of peace and joy, however. She has dealt with heartbreak and loss, but she doesn’t dwell on the past—except, of course, when she’s painting an old pair of shoes or umbrella. Drake is curious about the past lives of things, which might sound a little odd since we normally don’t think of things as having lives. Not so with Drake. “I think about the people who might have
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Watercolor Illusionist

Watercolor Illusionist

February 7, 2025 | by

Richie Vios grew up in a house in Cebu City in the Philippines that was filled with the smell of oil paints, thanks to his father and siblings, who were all painters. “The smell of oil paint was always present in my home,” he says. “That was my childhood smell.” With all that oil painting going on, it’s a little surprising that Vios’ medium today is watercolor. Yes, he says, he did paint with oils with his father when he was in high school, but didn’t plan to become an artist. Instead, he earned a degree in architecture in the
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The Studio of Donna Howell-Sickles

The Studio of Donna Howell-Sickles

February 7, 2025 | by

Working in a studio that overlooks the historic square in Saint Jo, Texas, Donna Howell-Sickles is surrounded by the tools and atmosphere she needs to create her award-winning paintings and drawings of women who inspire her: cowgirls. She previously worked in a studio—a former church—in the city, but left that behind in 2013, after she and her husband John opened a gallery downtown and renovated that building to include a studio on the second floor. “It turned out to be a fabulous thing,” Howell-Sickles says. “It’s a beautiful space that is much more public than the sanctuary-like space of the
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A Grand Affair

A Grand Affair

December 13, 2024 | by

Twenty-two years ago, while driving from a workshop in Wyoming to her home in California, Amery Bohling took a detour and stopped at the Grand Canyon. She had visited the natural wonder when she was 12, and wanted to revisit it as an adult. That spur-of-the-moment decision was to have a major impact on Bohling and her art. It was October, a busy time at the canyon, but she was able to get a room at the lodge on the North Rim for one night—the last night of the season. She spent the day, taking photos and sitting on the
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All is Well in Paradise

All is Well in Paradise

December 13, 2024 | by

Scott Rogers has heard “the voice” speak to him twice. Both times it changed his life. The first time came about after he had purchased a sculpture created by his uncle, Grant Speed. He had seen the sculpture, entitled Rough String, in 1982 and knew he had to have it but, being a college student, he couldn’t afford it. “In 1990, when I had a little money, I called uncle Grant and said I wanted to buy it,” Rogers says. It had sold out, but Speed, through an art gallery, was able to locate one that would soon become available
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Portraits of the West

Portraits of the West

October 9, 2024 | by

The three best gifts you could give to Cindy Long are a pencil, paper, and a man with a weathered old face. Then give her a few weeks to work her magic. The result will be a detailed, black-and-white portrait that will have you studying each line, each shadow, the eyes, the face. It will also have you wondering who he is, what he’s thinking, and what he’s experienced. And that’s exactly what Long wants. “I want to convey the depth and personalities of my people—an emotion, a mood, the story behind the eyes,” she says, adding that the same
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