The setting sun paints dramatic colors on the nearby 7,000-foot peaks as Karin and Wayne Hollebeke wrap up their ranching chores. Pumping water by hand from their well, they are both reminded of the pioneer lifestyle that was once prominent in this part of rural Utah. The Hollebeke ranch is certainly quieter since Wayne retired from law enforcement nine years ago. The cattle are gone and only three horses remain. But gardening and canning are still high on the list as summer winds down, and after that there might be a little daylight left for fly-fishing. With fewer ranching responsibilities,
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Archives for Oil
Answering the Call
“As I step in front of my easel, I make every effort to elevate my painting to art.” So says landscape painter John Burton, who has traveled the world and captured its natural beauty with remarkable skill. He is quick to point out, however, that his artistic talent is the result of dedication and determination. “I think part of any success I have enjoyed in painting has been from working extremely hard at the craft of painting; for example drawing, observation skills, color theory, composition, and design,” he says. John Burton (California) Dallas Divide Oil 16″ x 20″ “Recently I
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Their Walls are Alive
To describe Bob and Curtice McCloy as avid art collectors would be a gross understatement. The couple shares a voracious appetite for art, one they have satisfied during more than three decades by amassing a collection of almost 300 paintings. That collection—or rather a portion of it—is featured in “Patrons Without Peer,” a 240-page, hardcover book that was published in 2009 by Collectors Covey with text written by Tom Davis. Included within its pages are reproductions of more than 260 paintings and sculptures by a myriad of artists. Bob Kuhn Fox in the Ferns Acrylic 13.25″ x 18″ William Acheff
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Let There Be Light – And Shadow
The last time we featured Kyle Polzin in the pages of this magazine, it was in an article we titled “Young Guns.” That was five years ago, when he was 34. He’s still going strong, and his paintings continue to sell at an almost unheard of pace. Polzin has never had a show that hasn’t sold out. Kyle Polzin The Offering Oil 23˝ by 35˝ “I love the atmosphere of this painting. There is a slight haze to the air that gives the feeling that the pipe had just been smoked, and the incense of tobacco is in the air.”
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Poetic Glimpses
When K. Gavin Brooks, who recently relocated to California, sits down to paint, she reorganizes scenery to omit elements that don’t serve the emotion she wants to capture and convey. True art, she’ll tell you, is in the editing. And in her estimation, less is more. K. Gavin Brooks (Maryland) Eucalyptus Dusk Oil 12˝ by 16˝ “Eucalyptus was painted in Laguna at Moss Point where some old growth trees still stand. I eliminated some infrastructure and tried to keep the painting in keeping with old Laguna and focused on just the relationship between the light and the trees at dusk.”
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‘The Pioneer Spirit is Alive and Well’
Sheep wandering through Aspen groves in their high mountain pasture, knee high snow drifts blanketing hillsides and valleys, a cowhand working a herd of cattle, youngsters doing their daily chores. These scenes are familiar to artist Grant Redden, whose paintings celebrate the pioneer traditions and unspoiled beauty found in the southwestern corner of Wyoming, where the 53-year-old artist was born, raised, and still resides. Grant Redden (Wyoming) Gathering Potatoes Oil 16˝ by 20˝ “Pioneer girls and their mothers worked hard—as hard as men—to carve out a life and survive. My daughter had to go out and pick potatoes anyway, so
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‘It’s Always an Adventure’
Charles Warren “C.W.” Mundy’s art career began during vacation Bible school. At 7, he already had a reputation as a bit of a troublemaker. He had been kicked out of kindergarten for making too much noise, getting in fights, and objecting loudly to the idea of a mid-day nap. But that summer, the teacher at vacation Bible school in Mundy’s hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana, where he still lives today, tried a new idea to keep him under control: She assigned him to make a poster for the daily program and hang it in the church. C.W. Mundy (Indiana) Portrait of
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The Language of Painting
Sherrie McGraw is in the midst of preparing for what she says will be the highlight of her career. The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, will host a solo show for the talented artist September 14, 2014. The event will showcase 50 to 60 of McGraw’s paintings and drawings—including approximately 35 new pieces—and by April of this year, she already was hard at work creating new pieces for the show. Two days after our visit, McGraw was heading out to teach a workshop, then was to teach a portrait drawing class and judge the portrait competition for
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‘Let’s Just Paint’
When she was a senior in high school, Barbara Edwards met a recruiter from Utah State University, who had brought with him original artworks created by several of the professors there. Included was what Barbara describes as a “gorgeous painting by Glen Edwards.” Today, whenever she wants to view one of his paintings, all Barbara has to do is turn her head. She and Glen have been married for 37 years now and happily paint in the same studio at their home north of Salt Lake City, Utah. “We paint side by side,” she says. “Our easels are about five
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Tenacity and Talent
Edward Aldrich, or Ned as anyone who spends more than five minutes in his company calls him, has been an artist, mostly a wildlife artist, for the past 25 years. It is all that he ever aspired to do. It’s the only kind of work he’s ever done. “If the economy doesn’t turn around pretty soon, I may be in trouble, because art is all I know,” Aldrich says with a laugh. Although he always loved art, and it was always his focus, the defining moment came for Aldrich during adolescence. When models were brought into his art class, his
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