Archives for Oil

‘Painting is a Spiritual Thing’

‘Painting is a Spiritual Thing’

January 18, 2017 | by

It’s not unusual for Grace Schlesier to get up before the sun rises, grab a cup of coffee, and head outside to her gardens, still wearing her robe, set up her paints, and begin to capture the beautiful flowers she lovingly tends to on her one-acre property in San Diego, California. “If I’m going to paint my flower garden, I decide the day before what I’m going to do and get everything, except the paints, set up for the next morning,” she says. “I have no preconceived ideas. I want to be flexible; I want to let the scene pull
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A Passion For Creativity

A Passion For Creativity

January 18, 2017 | by

In the highly competitive world of fine art, where building a national reputation might take decades, it is remarkable to note that 36-year-old, Montana-based wildlife artist Kyle Sims already has amassed an impressive list of honors, many of which were attained before he turned 30. In 2004, the Society of Animal Artists honored him with its Distinguished Young Artist Award, and the following year his work was included in the Arts for the Parks touring exhibition. In 2009, Sims not only received a coveted invitation to show his work in the Prix de West Invitational at Oklahoma City’s Cowboy and
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The Dream Continues

The Dream Continues

January 18, 2017 | by

William Acheff is every bit as clever, colorful, and captivating as his still life paintings, which have earned him numerous awards, including two at the prestigious Prix de West Show, the first in 1989, the second in 2004, as well as the Masters of America West Purchase Award in 1998. A conversation with this talented artist reveals a commitment to creating art that is beautifully provocative, along with a delightful sense of humor. Acheff’s talent reaches far beyond painting. He has remodeled several homes in Taos, New Mexico, where he has lived since 1973. He has a pilot’s license and
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Magical Connections

Magical Connections

November 19, 2016 | by

While strolling through a gallery, a painting catches your eye: an intricately portrayed primitive clay pot set against a stark black background. It’s a complicated design, dramatically displayed. You’re drawn to the simple artifact, looking deeper for meaning you can feel but can’t see. That is exactly the effect Santa Fe, New Mexico, artist Roseta Santiago hopes to elicit. Painting these artifacts, she says, is like looking into the window of the ancient peoples’ souls and retelling their history. When she looks at a piece of pottery, Santiago doesn’t see just a geometric, complex design, although it’s clearly visible. What
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Making a Life’s Work from One Trip

Making a Life’s Work from One Trip

November 19, 2016 | by

One of the earliest white artists to portray life in the West, Alfred Jacob Miller had no idea he was headed that way, until an unexpected 1837 encounter with a Scotsman, who hired him to document the trip through illustrations. Their ensuing journey was Miller’s only westward travel. However, he found so much inspiration and made so many sketches from that one journey that it sustained commissions for the rest of his life. Miller, who made a career out of one trip, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in January 1810, the first of nine children in a family of comfortable
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Sweet Sixteen

Sweet Sixteen

November 19, 2016 | by

Contacted in mid-August to see if he would be available on the following Wednesday afternoon to do the interview for this article, Kyle Ma replied, “That won’t work; I’ll be in school.” If all you knew about Ma was that he creates beautifully rendered paintings of everything from landscapes and seascapes to flowers and chickens, you would quite naturally assume that the reason he would be in school on a Wednesday was that he would be teaching art classes. And you would be oh, so wrong. Ma is taking classes, not teaching them. You see, this remarkable painter is a
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Defying Definition

Defying Definition

November 19, 2016 | by

Tim Solliday’s paintings do not lend themselves to easy categorization. Clicking through the slides on his website once, twice, a couple dozen times, my eyes linger on the expressive faces, the light-drenched landscapes. Are these works realistic? Well, no, not exactly. No human eyes have ever been that wise or that kind. No natural light is quite so warm and inviting. I’m not looking at reality; I’m looking at something with more beauty and more potential for magic than mere prosaic reality. I find myself looking to literature instead, where there’s a term that feels close to apt: magical realism,
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Celebrating America’s National Parks

Celebrating America’s National Parks

November 19, 2016 | by

On August 25, 1916, with a stroke of a pen, President Woodrow Wilson signed an act that created the National Park Service—and that would result, 100 years later, in the protection and preservation of 59 national parks, encompassing approximately 51.9 million acres in 27 states. That act was inspired, in large part, by the Hudson River School painters, who eagerly painted the majestic landscape of the West. Perhaps best known is Thomas Moran, who became famous for his paintings of the Rocky Mountains and whose Western landscapes are credited as being critical to the creation of Yellowstone National Park. In
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A Long Time Coming

A Long Time Coming

September 19, 2016 | by

Mark Maggiori fell in love with the American West when he was a 15-year-old on vacation with his uncle and cousin. It was so different from his home in Paris, France, that he couldn’t help but be charmed by the wide-open spaces, the rugged terrain, and the hard-working cowboys. But when he returned to France, his attention quickly returned to his skateboard and his studies, and the romance of the West was forgotten. Almost 20 years later, Maggiori found himself at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. By then, he had finished his formal art
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A Visual Poet

A Visual Poet

September 19, 2016 | by

California artist Dan Pinkham wants to leave behind a legacy. Yes, his paintings will continue to be his spiritual voice into perpetuity, but he wants there to be more. His studio, a 16th century replica of the Italian Chapel that Michelangelo used as a studio when he painted the Sistine Chapel, will be that legacy. Pinkham and his wife Vicki, along with a nephew and fellow artists, have spent years refurbishing this relic. In fact, when they first saw the property, slated for demolition, it presented a daunting undertaking that neither Pinkham nor his wife felt inclined to tackle. Besides,
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