Archives for Genre

The Evolution Continues

A few years ago, Jason Rich was invited to visit some of the people who had started collecting his work early in his career. He hadn’t seen the paintings in almost 20 years. and he admits that he was surprised when he looked at them again. “Day after day, as you’re working at your easel, the changes in your work are so subtle that you don’t even notice them,” he says. “But when you look back at your early work, you see the evolution. You see the changes that you don’t see day-to-day.” Rich was in his mid twenties, when
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Billy Schenck

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

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

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 Joy Of Being Alive

Donna Howell-Sickles has been making her way as a fine artist for four decades. She’s earned numerous awards for her paintings and has been inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas. But, if you think she’s settled into a comfortable routine, you would be sadly mistaken. While the past has been pretty darn spectacular, the future for this award-winning artist promises to be more than a little exciting. Donna Sickles Soul Searching—The Pick of the Litter Mixed Media 36″x36″ “You can never have too many dogs or enough protective footwear, albeit the symbolic kind, because you
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Relationships Are Key

After running a successful veterinary practice in Pennsylvania for 20 years, John Fawcett decided to cash it in and forge a new career as a fine artist. It was not a decision he made lightly, however. After all, his first love has always been animals (he bought his first horse at age 10), and leaving his practice behind hadn’t even been a consideration, until he and his wife Elizabeth happened on a Western art show in Arizona. John Fawcett Savvy Watercolor 23″ x 14″ “During gatherings and brandings, it is essential for cowboys to have a good horse that knows
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I Have Enjoyed Every Minute

John Moyers says he is a lucky man. As a young boy, he was surrounded by art and art supplies, thanks to his father, award-winning artist William Moyers. As a teenager, he was mentored by distinguished painter, Robert Lougheed. And, as an adult he met and married his soul mate and fellow artist, Terri Kelly, and the two have happily traveled the world, painting as they go. He is modest about his accomplishments, grateful for the opportunity to spend his life doing what he loves, and excited about the future. John Moyers Return From Blue Lake Oil 30˝ by 48˝
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Addicted to Painting

Don Weller always intended to make horses his career—but he wasn’t planning on painting them. His goal, he says, was actually to be a rodeo cowboy. It was an obsession that started when Weller was 7 or 8 years old and reading cowboy stories by Will James. He says he whined enough that his mom bought him a horse of his own, which he started riding around his hometown of Pullman, Washington. Don Weller (Utah) A Culdesac of Conjecture Watercolor 18″ x 24″ “These guys are discussing where the cow might be. Nobody knows for sure, but the debate goes
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Home is Where the Horses Are

When Jim Rey’s mom died a few years ago, he found some of his childhood drawings that she had saved in a box. The pencil drawings, which Rey had done when he was just 4 or 5 years old, were of horses and cattle. Which is what Rey, now 74, is still drawing and painting. “It’s not something I’m going to outgrow,” he says. “I just really like the subject matter. I like painting the Western experience, so that’s what I’ll keep doing.” Jim Rey (Nebraska) Point Rider Oil 36” by 24” “I vacillated between choosing to do this painting
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Taking Risks

If things had gone differently, Tammy Garcia might be operating her own beauty salon instead of creating award-winning art that sells as quickly as she can create it. Although she has been making and selling pottery since she was a teenager, at one point she enrolled in a beauty school, but quit because she couldn’t afford to continue. The beauty world’s loss was the art world’s gain. One of the most collectible Pueblo potters today, Garcia creates unique ceramic pieces that include traditional effigies, water jars, and storage jars. Tammy Garcia (New Mexico) Elk Hunter Natural Clay “These pots are
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