Archives for Oil

Seeing with the Heart

Seeing with the Heart

March 20, 2015 | by

The influence of the Italian landscape is clearly evident in the paintings of Colorado artist Mark Pettit. It’s not a huge stretch to understand his proclivity for the Italian essence in his art, as he believes that Italy is his domestic equivalent of a soul mate. At the same time, nature is Pettit’s backdrop. When he’s not painting, he spends most of his free time on two wheels—road bikes, mountain bikes, or a Harley Davidson, “because this puts me directly in touch with nature and is an excellent way to see and experience the beauty of the American West.” Mark
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A Different Perspective

A Different Perspective

March 20, 2015 | by

Alfredo Rodriguez bemoans the loss of personal interaction, a casualty of the evolution of technology—computers, cell phones, and social media—that, while increasing the speed with which people communicate, has put a distance between them. You can’t shake a hand or share a hug while tapping out letters on a keyboard. So it is that Rodriguez focuses on people interacting with each other, whether it’s an old man reading to his grandchildren, or a young man teaching his siblings how to carve. During the first part of his career, he painted colorful scenes of Native Americans, cowboys, and mountain men, along
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Billy Schenck

Billy Schenck

March 20, 2015 | by

Preferring to be called Billy rather than Bill or William, it is obvious that Billy Schenck is a man secure in who he is and what he does—with good reason. In addition to being a much sought after painter, the 67-year-old artist can also be described as a nearly compulsive collector of fine art and prehistoric pottery, an avid cattleman, horseman, and rodeo promoter. He is a multitalented man, whose fascination with life and learning has allowed him to excel at all these endeavors and more. At first glance, working in the Western genre might seem a bit of an
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All About the Light

All About the Light

March 20, 2015 | by

Debra Huse Above Avalon Oil 12″ x 16″ “This was painted on location, overlooking Avalon Harbor on the California island of Catalina. The perspective makes an interesting challenge for a painter. We are looking down through the trees at the boats moored in the harbor and at the Catalina Island Yacht Club. What joy, standing amidst the eucalyptus and painting this incredible vista on a warm, summer day.” Debra Huse Running With the Wind Oil 24″ x 36″ “This is a favorite of mine. My husband Randy and I were invited to sail in a regatta, in a boat called
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A Universal Chord

A Universal Chord

March 20, 2015 | by

Mike Untiedt lives right in the center of downtown Denver, Colorado. He can ride his bike to see the Colorado Rockies play baseball, drop in at any number of good eateries, or shop the downtown stores. Yet the oil painter’s heart and mind are often in another time and another place. “I like painting cowboys,” says the 63-year-old Denver native of his focus on painting the outback lifestyle. “Cowboys strike a universal chord, but I try not to make it too ‘cowboy,’ so people of all backgrounds can identify.” For Untiedt, a natural born storyteller, the direction works. Michael Ome
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The Passion Continues

The Passion Continues

January 20, 2015 | by

A small boy of 7, with curly dark hair, bright brown eyes, and a serious expression, walks home from school, looking at shop windows, as he passes. A movement in one of those windows catches his eye, and he stops, when he sees an artist on the other side of it. The boy is mesmerized, as he watches the artist mix colors and move his paintbrush across the canvas. Slowly, a mountain appears. The wonder of seeing that painting evolve stays with the boy and creates in him a desire to create similar scenes—and evoke similar responses. That boy was
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Still Climbing

Still Climbing

January 20, 2015 | by

How do you celebrate your birthday when you hit 60? If you are Colorado artist Ralph Oberg, you book a trip to Nepal. While it might not be on everyone’s bucket list, Oberg wanted to satisfy a deep longing to see the infamous peaks of that remote country. It was fittingly his first trip off the North American continent. Ralph Oberg Born to Run Oil 28″x36″ “By three weeks of age, pronghorn fawns are on their feet, ready to go. To avoid predators and keep up with mom, this is an important evolutionary adaptation. Soon they can run with the
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‘I Paint What I Love’

‘I Paint What I Love’

January 20, 2015 | by

“Is this really what I want to do for the rest of my life?” When Frank Serrano asked himself in that question in the early ‘90s, his immediate answer was, “No.” Already a successful commercial artist, he was getting bored and was finding the lure of fine art becoming increasingly strong. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Serrano had long been interested in art, drawing animals and cartoons whenever he wasn’t outside riding his bike or climbing trees. Frank Serrano Above Big Sur Oil 16″x20″ “Not far from my home, Big Sur is a favorite painting location, with many
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The Magic Is Working

The Magic Is Working

January 20, 2015 | by

In 1985, David Mann was a librarian at the Utah State Library in Salt Lake City. He had four kids under the age of 5—and he had a nagging notion that he wasn’t doing the right thing with his life. Mann already had changed careers a couple of times. He started out as an art teacher, but that only lasted for one school year. David Mann White Buffalo Robe Oil 48″x36″ “The robe of the rare white buffalo is truly big medicine to the members of this Buffalo Society, who view it with awe and reverence.” David Mann Kiowa Smoke
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Stalking Perfection in the Great Outdoors

Stalking Perfection in the Great Outdoors

November 22, 2014 | by

When Michael Coleman was in kindergarten, his drawings were so intricate that his teacher suspected his mother was giving him art lessons at home. Actually, what his parents were doing was raising their son as something of a free-range chicken. Michael Coleman Geyser Basin Oil 40″ x 30″ Yellowstone in October, when light and vapor is at its turn-of-the season best! Michael Coleman A Gathering of Wolves Oil 30″ x 40″ In a gathering of wolves, a come together call from the heart of the woods and out of the shadows.
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