Posts by Vicki Stavig

Artist Ride Returns to the Bloom Ranch

Artist Ride Returns to the Bloom Ranch

August 17, 2026 | by

  There will be plenty of action at the Bloom Ranch near Wall, South Dakota, for three days in August, as Western artist and photographers gather to get ideas for future works that will feature the Western past. During the invitation-only event August 28, 29, and 30, they will gather together to take in the wonder and action in classic Western scenery that boasts high plains grasslands, colorful badlands, numerous hills, canyons, and drop-offs.     The Artist Ride is an annual, invitation-only event that provides on-the-spot inspiration as models portray cowboys, fur traders, cavalry troops, and Plains tribes for
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The Drama of Black and White

The Drama of Black and White

August 6, 2026 | by

  When Stephanie Campos was in kindergarten, her teacher gave the class a drawing assignment. She finished her drawing and gave it to the teacher, who then asked her to draw it again. “I think she wanted to know that it wasn’t ‘accidentally’ good,” she says. “Then she called my parents and said, ‘Your daughter is an artist.’” She is indeed. Today Campos is known for her realistic charcoal portraits of Native Americans. Her work has caught the attention of collectors—and other artists. In fact, when asked about the highlight of her career, she quickly responds with two words: Howard
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Chasing Her Dreams

Chasing Her Dreams

August 6, 2026 | by

  Katherine Irish has chased—and caught—two dreams. The first one came to her when she was a young girl. She had pulled out the “P” volume of the family’s set of encyclopedias and flipped through its pages until she landed on “painting.” The masterpieces featured within those pages fascinated her. “I studied those paintings for hours,” she says. A dream was born. The second dream came to Irish many years later while she was studying art and living in New York. In 1981, she took a painting trip to New Mexico and was fascinated by what she saw there—the landscape
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Celebrating Richard Schmid

Celebrating Richard Schmid

August 6, 2026 | by

  How do you honor the life and work of someone as talented and generous as Richard Schmid? How do you celebrate a master artist who championed the beauty and integrity of representational work through his magnificent paintings? How do you acknowledge an artist who generously shared his knowledge by mentoring countless artists in various stages of their journeys? How do you celebrate and recognize the joy he found in creating art? The answer is this: You gather with others who loved, appreciated, and learned from him. That will be the case in October, when the Palette & Chisel Academy
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Route 66 Celebrates 100 Years

Route 66 Celebrates 100 Years

July 16, 2026 | by

  As the United States of America celebrates its 250th anniversary, there is another celebration taking place this year: The 100th anniversary of the iconic Route 66. The iconic highway was constructed on November 11, 1926, as part of the country’s first highway system and stretches more than 2,400 miles from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California. Route 66 became famous after World War II as families hit the open road, traveling to destinations that included the Grand Canyon and Disneyland and cementing the concept of the “Great American Road Trip.” It also caught the attention of a myriad of
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Ink, Oil, and Graphite

Ink, Oil, and Graphite

June 9, 2026 | by

  You would think that having parents who are successful artists would naturally set their offspring on a path leading directly to fine art. Not so if that offspring is Maia Chavez Larkin. “I was certain that I would never be an artist, because it seemed like a tough way to make a living,” she says. “I thought it also meant being nervous about finances. It seemed like a hard life and a tough way to make a living. I thought I’d have a real job.” After years of working as an illustrator, four years ago Larkin became what she
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The Color Connection

The Color Connection

June 9, 2026 | by

Once the gate opened, Jessica Garrett-Lawrence ran through it like a wild bronco. Less than a year after she started to paint seriously, galleries began to take on—and sell—her work. One of those galleries was in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where almost a dozen of her paintings sold in just six weeks. It’s not surprising that her vibrant landscapes caught the attention of gallery owners and collectors so quickly. Garrett-Lawrence portrays nature in all its glory, from aspen trees, mountains, and streams to sunrises, sunsets, and moonrises. She paints flowers, up close and personal, as well as an occasional still
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Paying Tribute to the Statue of Liberty

Paying Tribute to the Statue of Liberty

June 9, 2026 | by

  Some works of art are immediately identifiable throughout the world. A few that come to mind are Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, Michelangelo’s David, Alexandros of Antioch’s Venus de Milo, and Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker. Another one we can add to that list is the Statue of Liberty, a magnificent work of art that is known throughout the world as a symbol of freedom and democracy. Designed by Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, the Statue of Liberty took 10 years to create—from 1876 to 1886. It was assembled in Paris, then disassembled into 350 pieces, packed into 214
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Gala Celebrates Art and the Couse-Sharp Historic Site

Gala Celebrates Art and the Couse-Sharp Historic Site

May 14, 2026 | by

  Wild Plum Blossoms, Josh Elliott, oil, 13″ by 60″   What are your plans for June 5 and 6? If you’re lucky, you’ll be attending La Luz de Taos 2026, the Ninth Biennial Gala and Art Sale at the Couse-Sharp Historic Site in Taos, New Mexico. The site, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, includes the homes, studios, and gardens of Eanger Irving Couse and Joseph Henry Sharp, two men who had much in common. They were early 20th-century artists who were famous for their paintings of Native Americans, they were founding members of the Taos Society of Artists in
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Blowing Up Botanicals

Blowing Up Botanicals

April 16, 2026 | by

    You can see Ariana Enriquez’s artwork while driving down a street or riding along a bike path in several cities, including Chandler, Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe, Arizona. That doesn’t mean galleries don’t carry her work; they do, but she’s made a name for herself as a muralist, creating most of her works on outside structures. Enriquez completed her most recent project in March, when she painted four bike paths—each one 30-feet-by-five-feet—in Tempe. “They were next to an elementary school, and I painted them in two weeks while the students were on spring break,” she says. “Each path was inspired
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