Archives for Bronze

The Guy Who Loves Horses

The Guy Who Loves Horses

September 1, 2021 | by

Mehl Lawson’s lack of the financial resources necessary to purchase a sculpture proved to be a blessing not only to him but to the Western art world, as well. If he couldn’t buy one, he decided, he’d create one. Lawson turned to a friend who was doing some sculpting, asked what he would need to do a sculpture, and went out and bought the basic tools his friend recommended. “I did a little one, and it started selling immediately,” he says. “Within about a year, I had sold the whole edition.” Read the full article in the September/October 2021 issue.
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The Studio of Stefan Savides

The Studio of Stefan Savides

May 1, 2021 | by

Stefan Savides—aka The Bird Man—is as close to heaven on earth as he could be. Living in a home and working in a studio situated on 8 ½ acres in Klamath Falls, Oregon, he is in the midst of what he describes as “one of the most remarkable wild fowl staging areas in the United States.” Why is that important? Because the taxidermist-turned-sculptor has been fascinated by birds for as long as he can remember. “My interest in birds was just there from the beginning,” he says. “No profound experience sparked it; I was born that way.” Read the full
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Untold Stories

Untold Stories

March 1, 2021 | by

If you look for dogs in most traditional Western art, you tend to find them in the lower left-hand quadrant. They’re sitting at the feet of a cowboy in front of a roaring campfire, or they’re poised just out of kicking range of a horse at the center of the canvas. Their eyes tend to be looking at the focal point of the painting—a human being, a larger animal, an important event they’re witnessing. Their eyes tell the viewer where to look. They’re serving in their traditional role as man’s best friend. Man remains at the center. Not so with
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A New Chapter

A New Chapter

January 1, 2021 | by

TD Kelsey wants to be a painter. He’s been sculpting for more than 40 years, and his award-winning works are in the permanent collections of museums that include the C.M. Russell Museum and the National Museum of Wildlife Art. He has monuments placed at the Saint Louis Zoo and the historic Stock Yards in San Antonio, Texas, among dozens of other locations. Kelsey loves sculpting. It’s a medium that has allowed him to capture the essence of the animals he loves so much, especially horses. It has helped him to create a career, make lifelong friendships, and travel the world.
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Genuine Moments

Genuine Moments

September 1, 2020 | by

Deborah Copenhaver Fellows had two major projects underway late last spring: a monumental sculpture of the 19 firefighters from Prescott, Arizona, who died battling a wildfire in 2013 and a statue of rancher John Palmer Parker for the town of Waimea in Hawaii. Both were nearly complete and ready to roll when the coronavirus pandemic hit. “COVID stopped both,” Fellows says. Fellows hasn’t taken many breaks in her 45-year career as an artist. She comes from a long line of workaholics, she explains, and she’s happiest when she’s busy working. Plus, she loves her job—and she knows that she’s lucky
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Still Going Strong

Still Going Strong

July 2, 2020 | by

Artists will tell you that creating art is a career—but it’s not a job. Why is that? They see creating art as a calling that is so intense it cannot be ignored no matter the risk. And there is indeed risk, financial as well as personal. They put their work out into the world, where everyone who sees it will judge it. If it’s deemed worthy, it will sell. If not, it’s on to the next painting or sculpture, determined to do better. The four artists we feature on the following pages have a combined age of 344 years and
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Toward a Greater Understanding

Toward a Greater Understanding

May 4, 2020 | by

During the more than three decades Susan Kliewer has been sculpting, she has created a large body of work that ranges from the beauty and traditions of the Native American culture to images that celebrate the working cowboys and cowgirls of the Southwest. “All my life I have been fascinated by the ever-changing dynamics of our American West,” she says. “Through my work I strive to portray the many cultures that have come before us with dignity, respect and understanding. From the ancient cliff dwellers to the cowboys who rode the range, my subjects reflect the West that I’ve researched
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Monumentally Magnificent

Monumentally Magnificent

February 28, 2020 | by

On the night in 1987 that Bill Nebeker announced an edition of 25 castings of his sculpture If Horses Could Talk, he sold all 25 of them—and had another 75 collectors wanting to buy it as well. “It was the most popular piece I ever made; people just loved it,” he says. “You’ve got the cowboy looking for the deer, the deer sneaking away behind him, and the horse looking at the deer. It’s happened to every hunter out there. And people who don’t care for hunting love it, too, because the deer is getting away.” During the following years,
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Releasing the Spirit

Releasing the Spirit

July 15, 2019 | by

When Doug Hyde was commissioned to create a sculpture for the town of Joseph, Oregon, one of the first things he did was to go there. He knew the story of what had happened in Joseph. Hyde knew that it took its name from Chief Joseph, who led the Nez Perce people, when the government relocated them from their home in the lovely Wallowa Valley in northeastern Oregon, to a reservation in Idaho. He knew that it had been a sad time in Nez Perce history, and that even now, as the tribe continues to return to the area, feelings
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The Hemingway Version

The Hemingway Version

June 15, 2019 | by

Today, the name Sandy Scott is synonymous with sculpture. But there is much more to this versatile artist than meets the eye. Her experience and expertise spans decades—and abilities. No matter what Scott does, she charges full bore into it and excels at it, leading the kind of life many of us can only dream of. Born in rural Oklahoma, near Tulsa, Scott knew early on that art was her destiny. The path she took, however, didn’t follow a particularly natural progression. She’s the first to tell you that her journey has been propelled by good fortune, but it’s clear
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