Archives for 2017 March-April Issue

The Stuido of Lorenzo Chavez

The Stuido of Lorenzo Chavez

March 18, 2017 | by

At the end of December, as landscape painter Lorenzo Chavez walked along Cherry Creek near Parker, Colorado, he held his cell phone to his ear. He was multitasking, as he visited with this writer, while enjoying the day’s mild weather and scouted the area in search of scenes that might eventually find their way into a painting. He’s outside, where he belongs, where he finds inspiration for the colorful landscapes he composes, much to the delight of his many collectors. A portrait painter turned landscapist, Chavez is equally at home painting the desert, the ocean, mountain, or the foothills near
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I’ll Paint Anything, Within Reason

I’ll Paint Anything, Within Reason

March 18, 2017 | by

Barron Postmus can’t find much to complain about. He lives in sunny Southern California with his wife Jane Skeeter, who he describes as “the love of my life.” He has enjoyed a long career as a successful artist. He’s strong and healthy, thanks to his daily trips to the gym. And he has four happy children and six grandchildren, all of whom help keep him young. “I’ve been so lucky,” he says. “What a life I’ve had. I’m married to the girl I love, my kids are all doing well, and I make a living painting.” Even so, there’s one
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Spiritual Connection

Spiritual Connection

March 18, 2017 | by

Riding, roping, and sculpting are the things Greg Kelsey’s dreams are made of. Deep inside this sculptor beats the heart of a cowboy. He is the intrepid soul who likes to stand on the precipice of the future and hurl himself headlong over the edge to pursue his dreams. If it doesn’t always look real pretty, chalk it up to opportunities—not challenges—that have served well him during his 45 years on this earth. From childhood on, Kelsey was drawn to the natural world, coming from a long line of ranchers and rural dwellers. He also was drawn to art at
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Romance and Reality

Romance and Reality

March 18, 2017 | by

Acclaim comes when artists paint what they know best, and for Utah-based watercolorist Ian Ramsay those subjects are harbors and boats. “The love of ships is in my blood,” he says. “I am almost convinced the source of my passion is genetic, because I can trace it back to both sides of my family. My paternal grandfather serviced vessels docked in Woolwich, a naval shipyard on the Thames River in London. He often took me along with him to work, and we spent a lot of time in the engine room. To this day, I can still recall the smell
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A Balancing Act

A Balancing Act

March 18, 2017 | by

Colorado artist Lori Forest relies on her acute powers of observation and her love of the natural world to bring authenticity to her paintings. Even as a young child, growing up in the rural Midwest, she spent her time drawing dinosaurs and horses, insistent on being accurate. “I was fixated on getting it right,” she says, adding that even as a young child, authenticity was crucial. After some consideration, Forest chose to study geology at Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, Colorado, saying, “I’ve always loved the earth. Geology has always fascinated me, and I think that plays a really
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Truth, Beauty, and Happy Accidents

Truth, Beauty, and Happy Accidents

March 18, 2017 | by

Ask Eric Bowman what he does for fun, when he isn’t painting and you might get a long, slightly self-conscious silence, followed by this sheepish admission: “When I’m not painting, I’m thinking about painting.” Bowman spends long days in his backyard studio in northwest Oregon, patiently creating richly textured oil paintings in a style he describes as “not as tight as realism, but not as abstract as impressionism.” Sometimes he paints figures, sometimes he paints landscapes, and occasionally he does a still life. On the rare days Bowman feels uninspired, he attends to the busywork that goes along with being
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King of the Canyon

King of the Canyon

March 18, 2017 | by

Curt Walters is a man on the move, geographically as well as artistically. He has traveled to, and painted in, several countries—Spain, England, Italy, France, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Jordan, Mexico, and Switzerland—and, although he has made a name for himself with his magnificently rendered landscapes, he also now is painting some figures, but more about that later. Now living in Sedona, Arizona, Walters grew up in New Mexico, the son of a dentist, who also painted on occasion. When the elder Walters gave his daughter a paint set, his son quickly stole it and began to follow a
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