Archives for Genre

The Studio of Len Babb

The Studio of Len Babb

June 30, 2022 | by

In the almost-darkness just before sunrise, a retired cowboy emerges from his house and silently walks the short distance to a small, tidy log building with a sheltered porch. He takes a seat near the handmade door, easing his old bones onto a bench created from a split log. There, with Oregon’s high desert spread out before him and the sun coming up pink beyond the distant dark mountains, he makes his preparations for the day. Once inside, he builds a fire in the little, round wood stove in the corner, warming his hands before the flames. In the thin
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A Lifetime of Experimentation

A Lifetime of Experimentation

May 1, 2022 | by

If you spend enough time looking at Stan Davis’ art, you will understand who he is. You will understand how he’s evolved as an artist, how his experiences have led him to exactly where he is now, how his artistic influences have converged in his body of work. You will understand why he feels more creatively alive than he has ever felt before. “This is the most creative thing I’ve ever done,” Davis says from his home in Perry, Florida. “It absolutely draws every ounce of creativity out of me.” “This” is the mixed-media collage that is part of the
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Quality Over Quantity

Quality Over Quantity

May 1, 2022 | by

It is no surprise that some people might wonder if R. S. Riddick has retired. He has not. In fact, the nearly 70-year-old artist has been very busy making some of his most meaningful work ever. He has also acquired a new ranch studio and a clear perspective on the messages he wants to pass on through both his art and his life. For more than 40 years, Riddick had made his home and studio in southern Arizona, though he has always had a genuine longing for mountains. “Your faith becomes alive there, nature becomes a profound teacher, and people
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Putting Marrow In The Bones

Putting Marrow In The Bones

March 1, 2022 | by

“I used to sit at Clark’s desk and draw. Who does that?” Acclaimed Western sculptor Richard Greeves is reminiscing about his childhood in St. Louis, Missouri, and yes, he’s talking about that Clark: Captain William Clark, of Lewis and Clark. Greeves’ childhood home, a stone’s throw from the Louisiana Purchase celebration grounds, afforded him the opportunity to serve as an unpaid gofer at the Missouri History Museum where he would rummage through the archives and make himself comfortable on the explorers’ furniture. “Back in those days, nobody thought much about it,” he says with a laugh. “They just thought of
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‘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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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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‘This is My Life’

‘This is My Life’

January 1, 2022 | by

Sculptor Chris Hunt has dislocated each of his shoulders at least four times and broken both clavicles, both scapulae, and a couple of ribs. The Texas-born artist and former Air Force senior airman has always jumped feet first into new things, be it riding in rodeos or introducing a new medium to his repertoire. “‘No fear’ was my mantra, and still is to this day,” he says. Hunt grew up in Damon, Texas, on a ranch on the Brazos River, where he was raised by his father Maurice and had no problem amusing himself by drawing, fishing, hunting, and riding
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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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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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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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