Archives for 2018 September-October Issue

The Studio of Paul Moore

Oklahoma-based sculptor Paul Moore describes his working studio as a rather unassuming building situated in an older section of his hometown of Norman. Despite being a bit run down when he purchased it nearly two decades ago, he knew it was perfect in size and location. “It is actually two, side-by-side segments of 2,000 square feet each, with another 1,000 square-foot extension at the rear of the right section,” he says. “When we started renovating the building, we kept the beautiful tin ceilings over what became the front room gallery, but otherwise we gutted the entire remaining sections.” Eschewing the
Read More

Frederic Remington Treasures

Few would argue that Frederic Remington is the most well known name in Western art. And yet, not many people realize the full breadth of his career and how much he accomplished during his life, before he died at age 48. That is something the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, hopes to help change. The museum will pay tribute to Remington when it hosts Treasures From the Frederic Remington Art Museum & Beyond from September 8 to January 13, 2019. Described by Seth Hopkins, the museum’s executive director, as “the largest Remington exhibition ever to come to the
Read More

Heading in the Right Direction

On a recent trip to Glacier National Park, Dustin Van Wechel came upon a rugged old tree that stopped him in his tracks. Something about its trunk, which had folded over itself and the mist hanging in its branches, reminded him of a scene from a horror movie—which gave him an idea for a painting. “I looked at it and I thought that it would make a great setting for a group of ravens feeding on an animal carcass,” Van Wechel says. “But I wasn’t interested in actually painting the carcass, I just wanted to paint it so that anyone
Read More

Poetic Landscapes

For Colorado artist David Grossmann, painting is a heartfelt means of communication. It’s his way of incorporating beauty, creation, imagination, and memory into his art. At first glance, his muted landscapes seem simple, soft. Look closer, and you see they are teeming with texture, nuance, and subtle commentary. Grossmann hopes his quiet, evocative paintings inspire viewers to linger and reflect on nature, to observe the beauty around them. “There is so much clamor for attention [in the world] that it’s easy to miss the quiet,” he explains. “I’d like people to pause and observe, look at the textures. I paint
Read More

Big Brushes, Lots of Paint

Kim Casebeer has happily spent her entire life in Kansas—and why not? It’s where she was raised, earned her college degree, met and married Shannon, started her family, and began what quickly became a successful career as a landscape painter. That success is apparent in the many awards she has earned, including top honors in the Art Muse Contest’s Master Class Division this past March, an Award of Excellence in the 2015 National Oil Painters of America (OPA) Exhibition, and an Award of Excellence in the 2014 Western Regional Oil Painters of America Show. While she values the honors she
Read More

Big Skies, Big Ideas

If the legendarily big Montana skies look just a little bit bigger in Josh Elliott’s paintings than in real life, that’s by design. “Recently, I’ve been giving myself a little more freedom to interpret, rather than being a strict slave to reality,” says Elliott, whose vivid landscapes depict national parks and other scenic areas. “That would involve changing colors up a little bit. I’m giving myself the freedom to say, ‘This I think would make a better painting.’ That comes with knowledge and years of painting. I’ve fought such a hard fight to stray from reality, but it’s more rewarding,
Read More

Reaching New Heights

Martin Grelle was a very nervous young man when, in 1974, just a year after he graduated from high school, he had his first art show at a gallery and frame shop in Clifton, Texas. “I had no idea what to expect,” he says. “It’s hard to remember, but I probably had, at most, eight or 10 pieces for the show, and we sold almost all of them the first evening. I had a combination of oils, charcoals, and pastels in the show, and the largest piece was probably an oil painting about 24” by 36”. It probably sold for
Read More