Archives for Oil

‘I’m Just A Vessel’

‘I’m Just A Vessel’

March 1, 2022 | by

Nathan Solano took the long way to becoming an artist. He spent years working in restaurants, shooting photos, and working in graphic design before finally settling down as an artist when he was 40. And, for the past 30 years, that’s what he’s been. From his studio on the second floor of an historic building in downtown Pueblo, Colorado, Solano paints Western landscapes, cowboys, and Native Americans—and sometimes the simple scenes that unfold on the streets below his windows. He recently took a break from painting to talk about the path he took to get to where he is now—and
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Walking With Grace

Walking With Grace

March 1, 2022 | by

Walking with grace has become a way of life for landscape artist Jennifer Moses. “I have always had an affinity for the word,” she says. “For me, grace encapsulates so many other words. It exists in all things that are in their purest, natural state.” Moses’ fascination with things in their natural state might have begun in Virginia. She and her family moved there from Kansas when she was 3 years old. Her father Mike was in the Army Reserve and was assigned to Fort Eustace Army Base for advanced training. There, Moses and her sister Krista enjoyed spending summers
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Classical Realist

Classical Realist

March 1, 2022 | by

Joshua LaRock will turn 40 in August. Artistically, however, he’s a bit of an old soul. Inspired by the 19th century painters, he is a classical realist. Brilliantly executed, LaRock’s paintings have earned him designation as a living master by the Art Renewal Center and have been exhibited at prestigious venues that include the Autry Museum, the Beijing World Art Museum, and the National Portrait Gallery in London. LaRock’s paintings have been described as “classic nostalgia with a masterful touch.” That’s quite a compliment considering the fact that he began to study art just 16 years ago. Read the full
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Sweet Connections

Sweet Connections

January 1, 2022 | by

It was a compliment of the highest order and one that Julie Nighswonger treasures. While exhibiting her paintings at an art show, she watched as a little girl walked up to a painting of a small horse, which was hanging low in Nighswonger’s booth—and kissed it. Sure, awards are appreciated and are validation of work well done, says the Wyoming artist, but a kiss—wow! Nighswonger has won her share of awards. Her first was the Artists’ Choice Award at the Wyoming State Fair in 2003; her most recent was the People’s Choice Award at Cowgirl Up! last year. A member
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Peaceful Feelings

Peaceful Feelings

January 1, 2022 | by

When Paul Dykman steps outside his rural Montana home, his first instinct is to look up. “I look up, and I see the mountains; I see the amazing sky,” he says. “And I think, ‘Lord, how did you do that? Will you please show me how to do that?’ “It’s so beautiful. I look around and wonder how to get that certain color in the sky or the hue of the mountain. It’s not easy to emulate what God finds so easy to do.” Dykman has spent the past 20-plus years trying to do just that. Read the full article
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A Sense of Joy

A Sense of Joy

January 1, 2022 | by

Terry Cooke Hall is a bit of an enigma in that she doesn’t check any of the traditional art boxes you might have in mind for a master artist. For instance, she chose to study art at Palomar College in San Marcos, California, rather than at the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. That decision had more to do with fear than fundamentals. “Not enough strength of character,” she says lightly. “If I think back to that time, it was fear of moving to the big city by myself.” Read the full article in the January/February 2022
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Capturing the Human Experience

Capturing the Human Experience

January 1, 2022 | by

An elderly woman in her Sunday-best hat, a father carrying his son on his shoulder, a man waiting at a bus stop, another asleep in his favorite chair. These evocative images of humble, hard-working people who are often overlooked by the world at large are so powerful in their simplicity that they motivated one New York art critic to describe their creator, Dean Mitchell, as a “modern-day Vermeer.” “My work is primarily about the human experience,” Mitchell says. “I want it to be a commentary on the reality of life as lived by the ordinary people in this country.” Read
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A Master In His Prime

A Master In His Prime

January 1, 2022 | by

George Carlson has never subscribed to any “ism.” As the only person in history to be honored with the Prix de West Purchase Award—the top prize in Western Art—in two different media, he also has never seen himself as a “Western artist,” at least not in the way it has celebrated iconic landscapes, cowboys, and indigenous people. But Carlson does believe in a way of seeing that is articulated by many, going back to the ancient Greeks. It is embraced by American master realist Andrew Wyeth and by Carlson’s friend, painter Robert Lougheed. Their maxim is this: Nature provides all
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Painting Nature’s Majesty

Painting Nature’s Majesty

January 1, 2022 | by

Like her landscape paintings, Jan DeLipsey is a breath of fresh air. She’s wonderfully witty, laughs freely, and is an open book when talking about her life and struggles. It’s not quite what you would expect of a psychologist. A what? Yes, you read that correctly; DeLipsey is not only an award-winning artist; she’s a psychologist. “I’m 68,” she says. “I retired when I was 60 and started painting for fun. One thing led to another, and here I am. It’s the most interesting, fun thing I’ve ever done.” Read the full article in the January/February 2022 issue. The Homestead
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A Promise Kept

A Promise Kept

November 1, 2021 | by

During his 16 years of formal art training, Valeriy Kagounkin has studied everything from painting and sculpture to Italian fresco, mosaic, and stained glass. While he now focuses on capturing the American West on canvas, he also feels a duty to serve the community with his other skills. One of Kagounkin’s most recent projects—painting a mural on an eight-story building—has seen him perched atop a lift in 90-degree temperatures, breathing in smoke-filled air from the wildfires raging near his home in Sacramento, California. “It is what it is,” he says. “This is real artwork.” Except for a few difficult times,
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