Archives for 2022 March-April Issue

Putting Marrow In The Bones

“I used to sit at Clark’s desk and draw. Who does that?” Acclaimed Western sculptor Richard Greeves is reminiscing about his childhood in St. Louis, Missouri, and yes, he’s talking about that Clark: Captain William Clark, of Lewis and Clark. Greeves’ childhood home, a stone’s throw from the Louisiana Purchase celebration grounds, afforded him the opportunity to serve as an unpaid gofer at the Missouri History Museum where he would rummage through the archives and make himself comfortable on the explorers’ furniture. “Back in those days, nobody thought much about it,” he says with a laugh. “They just thought of
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Beauty Past and Present

“I’m 76, and I’m going to paint what I damn well please.” So says Rock Newcomb, laughing heartily as he does so. In fact, he laughs freely and often during the interview for this article. With a successful teaching career behind him and more than 30 years as a successful artist, he’s earned the right to say what he wants—and to paint what he wants. There is no niche for Newcomb’s art, and that’s exactly how he—and his collectors—like it. He’s earned national and international acclaim for his paintings of subjects that range from wildlife, landscapes and ruins, to cowboys,
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Painting the Air

Cheri Christensen is blessed with the ability to capture the uniquely individual personalities of the animals she lovingly portrays, radiating their charm and joie de vivre as she does so. Her love of animals traces back to her childhood in Enumclaw, Washington, a small farming community, where her family had a butcher shop, and her grandfather raised Herefords. “I spent a lot of time at his ranch, and I idolized the lifestyle of being surrounded by animals—sheep, horses, cows, cats, and dogs,” Christensen says. After graduating from high school in 1979, she enrolled at the University of Washington in Seattle
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The Studio of Adam Smith

Adam Smith has an innate talent for drawing and painting cougars, pumas, and mountain lions. There was a time, however, when the only big cats he wanted to draw came with a 428/335 horsepower Super Cobra Jet engine designed by Ford for its Mustang and Cougar cars. “In high school I was drawing cars,” Smith says. “I thought about car design [as a career], so in 2006 I enrolled full-time at Wyoming Technical Institute in Laramie to become a technician.” Read the full article in the March/April 2022 issue. Thunderhead Acrylic 25” by 35” The Stalker Acrylic 19” by 35”
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‘I’m Just A Vessel’

Nathan Solano took the long way to becoming an artist. He spent years working in restaurants, shooting photos, and working in graphic design before finally settling down as an artist when he was 40. And, for the past 30 years, that’s what he’s been. From his studio on the second floor of an historic building in downtown Pueblo, Colorado, Solano paints Western landscapes, cowboys, and Native Americans—and sometimes the simple scenes that unfold on the streets below his windows. He recently took a break from painting to talk about the path he took to get to where he is now—and
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Walking With Grace

Walking with grace has become a way of life for landscape artist Jennifer Moses. “I have always had an affinity for the word,” she says. “For me, grace encapsulates so many other words. It exists in all things that are in their purest, natural state.” Moses’ fascination with things in their natural state might have begun in Virginia. She and her family moved there from Kansas when she was 3 years old. Her father Mike was in the Army Reserve and was assigned to Fort Eustace Army Base for advanced training. There, Moses and her sister Krista enjoyed spending summers
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Finishing Touches: An Interview With Erik Petersen

Artists often have interesting backgrounds most of us never hear about or read about. Erik Petersen is one of them. Many notable sculptors—such as Susan Kliewer and Kim Kori—started out working at bronze foundries. Deborah Copenhaver Fellows started her own foundry, while Kim Obrzut did much of her own foundry work when she first began to cast bronzes. Ken Rowe, a well-known taxidermist, is very hands-on during the bronze process as is John Coleman who even did his own patinas. Read the full article in the March/April 2022 issue. Photo courtesy of Willie Petersen
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Classical Realist

Joshua LaRock will turn 40 in August. Artistically, however, he’s a bit of an old soul. Inspired by the 19th century painters, he is a classical realist. Brilliantly executed, LaRock’s paintings have earned him designation as a living master by the Art Renewal Center and have been exhibited at prestigious venues that include the Autry Museum, the Beijing World Art Museum, and the National Portrait Gallery in London. LaRock’s paintings have been described as “classic nostalgia with a masterful touch.” That’s quite a compliment considering the fact that he began to study art just 16 years ago. Read the full
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