Archives for Oil

Three-Dimensional Delights

Three-Dimensional Delights

July 15, 2018 | by

I made my first—and, as I recall, my last—attempts at sculpting when I was in elementary school. Those “works of art” consisted of an ashtray—why, I don’t know; neither of my parents smoked—and an elephant with several holes on its back, strategically placed to hold pencils. I quickly learned that art was not my calling and turned to other endeavors. Fortunately for us, the five artists we feature here did not give up so easily. Of course, they had the talent—and the fortitude—to pursue their dreams of becoming artists and, in the process, have brought immeasurable joy to countless art
Read More

Following the Light

Following the Light

July 15, 2018 | by

Light glistening on the snowy banks of a river, illuminating trees, reflecting on water—no matter where he is painting, Tom Lockhart looks to the light, inspired by its brilliant, dramatic impact on the land. “I’m fascinated by the light—soft, warm, or bright—and how it affects the subject,” he says. Exceptionally talented at using light to showcase the natural beauty of the world, Lockhart captures the attention of viewers, urging them to share his wonder at what he sees before him, whether it’s the Rocky Mountains, the Grand Canyon, waterways, or farmlands. “I try to convey a sense of mood, a
Read More

Heart and Soul

Heart and Soul

July 15, 2018 | by

Exquisitely detailed and vibrantly personal, the imagery of Denver-based artist Jie Wei Zhou radiates the passion he feels for his subject matter, as he fulfills his mission to preserve the history and traditions of his Chinese homeland—one image at a time. From his earliest days, it was obvious that the young Shanghai native was destined to become an artist. With a sketchbook as his constant companion, the daily entries he made helped him to refine his understanding of form and light. When he was 14, he was one of only a few students singled out to receive individualized instruction at
Read More

Realism with a Painterly Slant

Realism with a Painterly Slant

July 15, 2018 | by

Shawn Cameron can’t remember when she first began drawing horses. “I never decided I would be a Western artist,” she says. “It was just a natural outcome of my life. I painted or drew horses from—I can’t remember when I started! But from my earliest memory, I drew what I saw, and what I saw was horses and cattle.” A fourth-generation cattle rancher, Cameron grew up among horses, cattle, and working cowboys. She also grew up immersed in the arts. “My mother encouraged it, always,” she says. “She studied art and music herself, and my brother and I had professional
Read More

Infusions of Light

Infusions of Light

July 15, 2018 | by

Long before he became an artist, Jim Wilcox juggled three loves: product design, architecture, and painting. Because his high school didn’t have an art program, he funneled his creative energy into drawing horses and later competing in the Model Car Competition. He won third place in the auto design competition, which challenged boys to create the car of the future. “I did that for two years—1959 and 1960—and won the smallest award you could win, which was third place in Colorado, where I lived at the time,” he says, adding with a chuckle that there were probably only three contestants
Read More

The Secret Sauce

The Secret Sauce

July 15, 2018 | by

It was a rainy day in Wisconsin that opened Dan Gerhartz’s eyes to his future career. Gerhartz, who grew up 40 miles north of Milwaukee, loved to be outdoors. As a teenager, he did a lot of hunting and fishing with friends and family in nearby woods. But one rainy day, a friend suggested that they do some drawing instead. “We had some Walker Foster how-to-draw books,” Gerhartz remembers. “That’s how it got started. I found out that I enjoyed it and that I had an aptitude for it.” He entered a few high school competitions, won a couple of
Read More

‘Each Painting is Personal’

‘Each Painting is Personal’

May 15, 2018 | by

In late February, after being out of commission for several months, David Hettinger was back working in his studio, creating the wonderfully executed paintings that have earned him a host of awards, as well as inclusion in collections throughout the world. The reason for that interruption in his schedule was a torn ligament that required surgery and almost three weeks in the hospital, followed by months of recuperation at his home in Aurora, Illinois. That doesn’t mean, however, that Hettinger wasn’t working at his art. He asked fellow artist Walt Gonske and several other artist friends to send him photos
Read More

Abstract Impressionism

Abstract Impressionism

May 15, 2018 | by

Perched atop the corrals or catwalks above rodeos, artist Howard Post gets a view that rouses his muse. The patterns of cattle huddled together in the corral, or the linear outline of the fences create a vision that spawns his artistic vision and are a strong focus in the Arizona artist’s paintings. Post, once an avid rodeo participant himself, discovered this birds-eye perspective by accident. To get a better look, he clambered up above the activity and discovered patterns and light that hadn’t been evident from his ground-level participation. The new perspective set his contemporary paintings of cattle, cowboys, rodeo
Read More

‘It’s a Calling’

‘It’s a Calling’

May 15, 2018 | by

“Besides painting, I don’t really have any other hobbies. I don’t do anything besides painting,” says Chicago oil painter Mary Qian, when asked what sorts of things she likes to do in her spare time. She seems honestly a little bewildered by the question. Why would she not be painting? Why would she have spare time? What is spare time? Qian leads a clean, streamlined, art-centric existence, spending many of her waking hours at Chicago’s Palette & Chisel Academy of Fine Arts, an art space where she makes extensive use of the studios and the models the organization makes available
Read More

In Praise of the Cowboy

In Praise of the Cowboy

May 15, 2018 | by

Bill Anton traces his fascination with the West back to a trip he took, when he was just 7, with his family to Glacier National Park and the West Coast. “The mountains, the air, the weather were profoundly different from anything I’d known,” says the artist, who grew up in Chicago, Illinois. “I’d never seen anything that was like the American West, and the impression it made on my mind and heart was unmistakable. I’d find a way to be back to stay the minute I was old enough—and I did.” Now living in Prescott, Arizona, Anton has been sharing
Read More