Archives for 2019 March-April Issue

Mother Nature’s Majesty

Mother Nature’s Majesty

April 17, 2019 | by

California artist Nancy Davidson says she can describe what inspires her in just one word: light. “It can transform even the most mundane scene into something magical and evocative,” she says. “The potential for beauty is all around us; we just need to recognize it, when it appears.” A self-described nature lover, who is surrounded by the spectacular scenery of Southern California, Davidson says that, “beyond an appreciation of natural beauty, I try to convey a sense of timelessness and wonder. When I am at the beach, watching the waves roll in just as they have since time immemorial, I
Read More

Mother Nature’s Majesty

Mother Nature’s Majesty

April 16, 2019 | by

Colorado artist Jean Perry made her initial entry into fine art with abstract “nonobjective art,” she says, “but there was always a part of me that felt I was missing something by not pursuing traditional art.” Her focus began to change while taking a weeklong workshop conducted by Mel Fillerup, and she went on to enroll in workshops and classes that focused on representational art. “Today it doesn’t matter whether I am standing on the side of a hill in Portugal or by a stream in Colorado, there is always a certain excitement about painting landscapes on location,” Perry says.
Read More

The Studio of Paula Holtzclaw

The Studio of Paula Holtzclaw

April 15, 2019 | by

Five days a week, Paula Holtzclaw takes a seat at her easel and paints on location. Her setting is an idyllic one in the North Carolina countryside, about 20 miles south of Charlotte, a place of lush gardens and slow-moving clouds, and verdant farmland. She paints there at all times of the day, but she particularly loves the dusk, when the light falls and the colors deepen. Where is this magical place? It’s in Holtzclaw’s house; it’s her studio. Although she has been in her current studio for well over a decade now, she still speaks of it with gratitude
Read More

Mother Nature’s Majesty

Mother Nature’s Majesty

April 15, 2019 | by

“There is so much in the wilderness that is relative to life. It’s hard, messy, and wondrous, but strangely there is a perfect order to it all. Whether I am on the middle of a lake, floating down the river, climbing a mountain, or simply sitting on my front porch, reveling under the big sky, it all makes me think deeply. I find purpose and passion in the landscape; it is inherently who I am.” So says Montana artist Brooke Wetzel, who adds that she and her family “live where the winters are hard, but the inspiration is endless. The
Read More

Mother Nature’s Majesty

Mother Nature’s Majesty

April 15, 2019 | by

W. Jason Situ was born in Kaiping, China, where he was faced with the changes and challenges brought about by the country’s cultural revolution under Mao Tse Tung. His interest in art took hold, as he copied propaganda and slogan banners, before connecting with Szeto Lapa, who introduced him to plein air painting and, later, with Mian Situ, who became his mentor. Eventually, Situ was able to study at the Guanzhou Academy of Fine Arts, where his style evolved into impressionistic realism. Fast forward to 1989. Situ left China and immigrated with his wife Lisa and their two children to
Read More

‘I’m On a Quest of Discovery’

‘I’m On a Quest of Discovery’

April 15, 2019 | by

If it weren’t for a musician cancelling a two-month recording session 17 years ago, today we more than likely would not be enjoying the wonderful paintings Michael Blessing creates at his studio in Bozeman, Montana. Faced with eight empty weeks on his calendar, Blessing, who at the time owned and operated a recording studio, decided to spend that time down in his basement—drawing. “My wife had been an art major and encouraged me,” he says. “I have two daughters, and they would bring me little trinkets to draw. Then my wife gave me an image from a National Geographic magazine
Read More

A Universal Language

A Universal Language

April 15, 2019 | by

Utah artist Robert Duncan’s motto could be this: Explore the depth of your surroundings to mine the beauty at hand. Meanwhile, his catalyst seems to be Andrew Wyeth’s artistic philosophy. “[Wyeth] never wanted to travel much, he just wanted to dig deeper into the things close around him,” Duncan says. “He’d talk about how just a footprint in the snow, as he walked across a field, would trigger a feeling that he could dig into for days and weeks. I think that digging deeper into the things we care most about, and to appreciate the things that we pass by,
Read More

Living By the Brush

Living By the Brush

April 15, 2019 | by

Arizona-based artist Gregory Stewart Hull is a highly regarded devotee of contemporary realism. His versatility is vividly apparent in a wide range of luminous compositions that underscore his ability to use his mastery of capturing light to its fullest potential. A Renaissance man by nature, Hull has been blessed with an inquisitive mind, a passion for perfection, and the ability to find beauty in a diverse range of subject matter, especially in mountains and coastal settings. From his earliest days, he says, his parents emphasized the importance of being well rounded, providing him with many opportunities to develop his talents.
Read More

‘I’ll Never Retire; I’ll Always Paint’

‘I’ll Never Retire; I’ll Always Paint’

April 15, 2019 | by

For most of the past decade, C. Michael Dudash has been ramping up his annual schedule of shows. In the coming year, he’ll participate in at least half a dozen major art events, from Quest for the West at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, to the Prix de West Invitational at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. That means that Dudash paints between 40 and 50 pieces a year. Some are small, and some are larger, but each one requires dedicated time at the easel in his Rathdrum, Idaho, studio. “It is a lot
Read More