Archives for Landscape

Renaissance Western Art

Renaissance Western Art

October 8, 2025 | by

  You might describe Colorado artists Olga and Aleksey Ivanov as contemporary Western art pioneers. Why? Because their partnership, medium, and technique stand out among Western artists. Their creativity is formed by intuition and collaboration—they paint together on the same canvas—storytelling, whimsy, symbolism, and a Renaissance art technique. Their harmonious paintings could be called the artistic equivalent of perfect pitch. “We are using one of the oldest techniques,” Olga says. “We are modern artists trying to connect the old medium to the modern vision of the West.”  Vivid colors are the hallmark of the couple’s art—the result of using the
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The Studio of Josh Clare

The Studio of Josh Clare

October 8, 2025 | by

  Light plays a major role in the art and life of Josh Clare. The big-picture light is his strong Christian faith. Light is also the element he knew he wanted to harness and infuse throughout the 4,000-square foot studio he built near his Utah home in 2018.  The three-level structure has six 4-by-4-foot skylights above his painting area, and the way the lights works—illumination without direct sunlight—is the studio’s strongest asset. “It’s a beautiful, pleasing light to paint under,” Clare says. A Utah native who studied art, he met Cambree, a horticulture major, on the Brigham Young-Idaho campus. The
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‘I Let the Land Speak to Me’

‘I Let the Land Speak to Me’

October 8, 2025 | by

  Landscape artist Scott Christensen doesn’t let a painting go out the door until he is convinced that it is as perfect as it can be. And he doesn’t rush the process.  “I’ve had some of my paintings for six to eight years,” he says. “I save them to see what the problems are.” He puts them away or turns them to the wall until he can look at them with a fresh eye and change anything that might need changing. Christensen’s self-imposed standards are high—and he paints because he loves to do so, not to win awards. “I don’t
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The Magic of the Desert

The Magic of the Desert

October 8, 2025 | by

  Canyons erupting from the earth. Cotton candy clouds looming over sunbaked cacti. Cowboys defying gravity, their weathered hands gripping the reins as their horses catapult them into the air. To landscape artist Josh Gibson, the desert Southwest is a powerful place. “It seems like, in terms of the geological formations and the kind of weather, there just aren’t other places that have that sort of thing going on,” he says. “The sunsets every day are a 10 out of 10. There are mountains that are huge blocks of rock coming out of very desolate desert plains. I haven’t really
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Poetic Landscapes

Poetic Landscapes

August 7, 2025 | by

  June Dudley’s vibrant paintings capture a moment in time, an emotion, a ghost of memory. Combined with dynamic lighting and design, her attunement with color creates a mood that is sometimes whimsical, sometimes majestic, but is always inviting and approachable. “One of my collectors told me, ‘I have not seen anyone painting in the vivid and vibrant colors and detail you do, and at the same time being able to capture and convey such powerful moods,’” Dudley says. “That pretty well sums up my goal in art.” The Texas artist has always had one goal: painting. Life doesn’t always
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The Excitement of Plein Air Painting

The Excitement of Plein Air Painting

August 7, 2025 | by

  “I look at the world as color notes.” So says Michele Usibelli, and to realize the truth of that statement, all you have to do is look at one of her paintings. Splashes of color and bursts of light jump off the canvas, almost daring you to look away. You can’t do it, however; her brushstrokes sweep you into and around the painting, creating a visual journey that you don’t want to end. Usibelli’s own journey began when she was a young girl growing up in Seattle, Washington. By the time she was in second grade she knew what
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Guiding Light

Guiding Light

June 5, 2025 | by

Jim Wodark is inspired by light. His vibrant paintings are studies in divergent values and hues, and he isn’t afraid to experiment to get what he’s after. Of course, it isn’t possible to paint only light, so he allows the contrast and brilliance—or lack of color and shadow—to guide how he uses light to make his paintings come alive. “Light is a huge part of my painting process,” he says. Wodark creates his subjects with contrasting soft and hard edges that focus on the darks, lights, and values to draw in the viewer. Using a dark value against a light
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Driven by Intuition

Driven by Intuition

June 5, 2025 | by

People, places, and painting—those are the things Robert Goldman loves. His award-winning, nuanced landscapes not only capture light and color, they have captured the attention of a growing roster of collectors throughout the world. Goldman’s life is punctuated with drawing classes, degrees, studies with other artists, and participation in critique groups as he challenges himself to develop new skills and new ways of seeing. He seeks out the opinions of others and pays attention to their advice. And he credits much of his success to the teachers and artists who have influenced him along the way. In the early ‘80s,
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Plein Air Ambassador

Plein Air Ambassador

April 7, 2025 | by

Colorado Springs-based oil painter Kathleen Hudson’s hands are full. She has a thriving art career with a shelf of awards and a loyal following of collectors to show for it. She’s a mother of four children and takes joy in introducing them to the natural wonders that inspire her work. She’s also an avid traveler, continually on the lookout for new seas, skies, and mountains to depict in her epic landscape paintings. Hudson’s love for exploration is woven into both her personal life and her artistic vision. In college, she led backpacking trips through the White Mountains of New Hampshire,
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Dogs, Landscapes, and More

Dogs, Landscapes, and More

April 7, 2025 | by

Every now and then, James Swanson, who lives in LaGrange Park, Illinois, likes to spend time at a lake near his cottage in Michigan. He takes his two dogs—Bjorn, an English cream golden retriever, and Fenrir, a golden retriever—with him and throws tennis balls for them to chase. For them, it’s purely fun. For Swanson, however, it’s all work. Every time he throws the ball, he aims it in a different direction or to a different depth. He throws it from the dock. Sometimes, he gets into the water himself. He does whatever it takes to to get a new
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