Archives for Genre

A Compelling Medium

A Compelling Medium

June 15, 2023 | by

With its mix of pigments and powders, pastel preceded all other mediums. The proof is on the walls of caves painted with mineral oxide pigments. Pastel is the only medium for painter and mountaineer Nori Thorne, a longtime collaborator with nature and paint. From the gritty, finger-staining application to its flexibility and even its fragility, pastel is the mode of choice for Thorne, who finds herself celebrated in a genre often associated with large-format oils or bold acrylics. “We’re really the red-headed step-children of the art world,” she says. “But pastel has been around since we were humans. That’s what’s
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A Journey Through History

A Journey Through History

June 15, 2023 | by

“I love where we have come from,” says Brian Bateman. “History is the catalyst for all of my work—the men, women, machines, and how they intertwine.” That love of history took hold when he was a young boy and continues to drive him as he captures the past in paintings that feature everything from the West and Native Americans to mountain men and military aircraft. What makes those paintings unique is that he often combines two or more subjects in one painting, and he looks forward to combining aircraft within his Western work. Growing up in Dayton, Ohio, Bateman’s initial
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Looking to the Skies

Looking to the Skies

June 15, 2023 | by

Canadian artist Ross Buckland developed his love of the land while growing up on a farm in Ontario. “I was always looking at the sky or at the colors on the ground,” he says. He’s still looking at the sky and the ground but now he’s sharing what he sees through his paintings of landscapes, wildlife—and airplanes. “Aviation became a passion for me, and so did drawing,” Buckland says. “For summer vacations we would go to visit our grandparents in Calgary. The airplane flight was the most exciting part of it. I wanted the window seat so I could see
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The Adventure Continues

The Adventure Continues

June 15, 2023 | by

Last fall, Lee Alban took a trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Although he and his family had traveled through the Tetons back in the 1970s and had explored some of the National Parks out West in the early 1990s, he hadn’t yet been to Jackson Hole. The purpose of the trip was to participate in the National Oil and Acrylics Painters Society’s Best of America exhibition. It was Alban’s first trip to Jackson Hole, and he was eager to see the city and gather photographic reference materials he could use in future works. But it wasn’t just the quintessential beauty
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Beautifully Authentic

Beautifully Authentic

March 4, 2023 | by

Monte Moore describes his art career as a large tree. After so many years as an illustrator—and so much more—he says, “I started growing another branch.” That new branch is his career as a fine artist who captures the people and wildlife of the West in a myriad of mediums, including acrylics, pencils, oils, bronze, and mixed media. The Colorado artist, who was born in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1971, considers himself blessed to have had parents who encouraged him and instilled in him a love of art, particularly Western art. A year after Moore was born, his father bought a
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‘I Will Always Have My Art’

‘I Will Always Have My Art’

March 4, 2023 | by

If you walked into a particular Coeur D’Alene office building at 4 a.m., you would find Western artist Tobias “Toby” Sauer already hard at work. He faces an easel, surrounded by beaded moccasins, feathered headdresses, and a bear claw necklace that hang from the walls. Sauer began to make his own Native American accoutrements in late 2020 in order to correct inaccuracies he saw at reference photo shoots. “They would have women’s clothes on a man—and artists would paint it,” says Sauer, who conducts extensive research to ensure his creations are faithful to the cultures he depicts in his paintings.
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The Studio of Mark Maggiori

The Studio of Mark Maggiori

March 3, 2023 | by

During the past two years, Mark Maggiori has found himself setting up his studio in two different garages. One is the studio of his dreams, located in Taos, New Mexico, and renovated to meet his exact specifications. The other is a more temporary arrangement, with his workspace nestled into a garage in Los Angeles, California. While both have been productive places for Maggiori to work on paintings for his upcoming one-man show at Legacy Gallery, it’s the Taos studio he wants to talk about. He, his wife Petecia, and his daughter Wilderness moved to Taos in 2020. They had found
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Drive and Determination

Drive and Determination

June 30, 2022 | by

Crouched behind a wooden fence, tail down, ears perked, heart racing, he watches. His auburn fur blends into the fall grass and vines, a perfect camouflage from the danger galloping across the field, as horses, dogs, and riders in red coats are leaping, yelping, scrambling—all searching for him. A seasoned adversary, he knows not to move a muscle. He stays perfectly still, his eyes watching for clues to his next move—his chance to change his fate. Outfoxed is a spellbinding story of being hunted told by Ezra Tucker with acrylics on a three-foot board. He paints animals with so much
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Boundless Talent, Boundless Energy

Boundless Talent, Boundless Energy

June 30, 2022 | by

Star Liana York’s energy knows no bounds. Neither does her talent. She’s not only been creating award-winning sculptures for more than four decades, she also owns and runs a ranch with her husband and operates an Airbnb. After competing in horse events and breeding and training horses for many years, she has set that aside. There are, after all, only so many hours in a day, most of which York fills with creating magnificent sculptures that have earned her countless awards and are treasured by collectors. York’s monumental sculptures are placed at sites throughout the country that include the Smithsonian
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A Burning Obsession

A Burning Obsession

June 30, 2022 | by

As a child, Susan Eyer-Anderson would sneak into the garage to watch her father paint. He worked long hours as the manager of a silkscreen plant in Los Angeles, California, but he spent his evenings and weekends painting in the family garage in rural Orange County. It was intended to be a quiet sanctuary, and three of his four children respected that enough to stay clear of the space. But Eyer-Anderson was too intrigued by the work he did in the garage to stay away. “I couldn’t help it,” she says. “I was so fascinated by it, so I would
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