Archives for 2017 January-February Issue

The Studio of Glen and Barbara Edwards

The Studio of Glen and Barbara Edwards

January 18, 2017 | by

The couple’s main home is in Smithfield, Utah. They purchased it in December 1987 to be close to Utah State University in Logan, Utah, where Glen was a professor of art. Both artists love nature, especially trees, so when they discovered a property surrounded by trees of all kinds—poplar, blue spruce, maple, juniper, Austrian pine—they knew they were home. Forty years ago, Western artists Glen and Barbara Edwards decided that their summer home in Star Valley, Wyoming, lacked a fundamental tool of their trade: a studio. So, along with Glen’s brother, a chain saw, and a book on carpentry, they
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‘I’ve Got to Keep Painting’

‘I’ve Got to Keep Painting’

January 18, 2017 | by

To say that the past year has been a rough one for Joe Anna Arnett would be an understatement. Her husband of 31 years, artist James Asher, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the fall of 2015. Just as the couple was dealing with that news, a black widow spider bit Arnett’s foot, as she stepped into the shower. “The pain was horrible,” she says. “There are neurotoxins coursing through your body, and there’s nothing you can do for the pain. It was miserable.” But instead of dwelling on the difficulties, Arnett decided to look for the good. Some days,
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‘Painting is a Spiritual Thing’

‘Painting is a Spiritual Thing’

January 18, 2017 | by

It’s not unusual for Grace Schlesier to get up before the sun rises, grab a cup of coffee, and head outside to her gardens, still wearing her robe, set up her paints, and begin to capture the beautiful flowers she lovingly tends to on her one-acre property in San Diego, California. “If I’m going to paint my flower garden, I decide the day before what I’m going to do and get everything, except the paints, set up for the next morning,” she says. “I have no preconceived ideas. I want to be flexible; I want to let the scene pull
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Creative Freedom

Creative Freedom

January 18, 2017 | by

“Right now, I have three life-sized brown bears in my studio,” reports Joshua Tobey, sounding far less perturbed than other people might be under similar circumstances. “I also have three different African table-top pieces in progress. And my job today is to push all that aside and conceptualize a new sculpture for my show in Oregon next month.” Brown bears in the studio, multiple works in various stages of progress, new pieces to dream up, a calendar full of trips to art shows and foundries—it’s a fairly representative slice of the life of the bronze artist, who has been creating
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A Passion For Creativity

A Passion For Creativity

January 18, 2017 | by

In the highly competitive world of fine art, where building a national reputation might take decades, it is remarkable to note that 36-year-old, Montana-based wildlife artist Kyle Sims already has amassed an impressive list of honors, many of which were attained before he turned 30. In 2004, the Society of Animal Artists honored him with its Distinguished Young Artist Award, and the following year his work was included in the Arts for the Parks touring exhibition. In 2009, Sims not only received a coveted invitation to show his work in the Prix de West Invitational at Oklahoma City’s Cowboy and
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Finding His Voice

Finding His Voice

January 18, 2017 | by

While preparing for a massive show in 2013, Montana sculptor Tim Shinabarger found himself spending 70 hours a week in the studio. Stepping away from the show circuit maelstrom and what he describes as the marketing treadmill that consume so much of an artist’s time brought with it a wonderful surprise. Spending that much quality time in his studio put the sculptor in a new artistic space, a place of skill and confidence that was unprecedented for him. Even though Shinabarger’s past experience in taxidermy had provided him with an in-depth understanding of animal anatomy, this intense concentration reawakened his
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The Dream Continues

The Dream Continues

January 18, 2017 | by

William Acheff is every bit as clever, colorful, and captivating as his still life paintings, which have earned him numerous awards, including two at the prestigious Prix de West Show, the first in 1989, the second in 2004, as well as the Masters of America West Purchase Award in 1998. A conversation with this talented artist reveals a commitment to creating art that is beautifully provocative, along with a delightful sense of humor. Acheff’s talent reaches far beyond painting. He has remodeled several homes in Taos, New Mexico, where he has lived since 1973. He has a pilot’s license and
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