Archives for Landscape

Big Brushes, Lots of Paint

Big Brushes, Lots of Paint

September 15, 2018 | by

Kim Casebeer has happily spent her entire life in Kansas—and why not? It’s where she was raised, earned her college degree, met and married Shannon, started her family, and began what quickly became a successful career as a landscape painter. That success is apparent in the many awards she has earned, including top honors in the Art Muse Contest’s Master Class Division this past March, an Award of Excellence in the 2015 National Oil Painters of America (OPA) Exhibition, and an Award of Excellence in the 2014 Western Regional Oil Painters of America Show. While she values the honors she
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Big Skies, Big Ideas

Big Skies, Big Ideas

September 15, 2018 | by

If the legendarily big Montana skies look just a little bit bigger in Josh Elliott’s paintings than in real life, that’s by design. “Recently, I’ve been giving myself a little more freedom to interpret, rather than being a strict slave to reality,” says Elliott, whose vivid landscapes depict national parks and other scenic areas. “That would involve changing colors up a little bit. I’m giving myself the freedom to say, ‘This I think would make a better painting.’ That comes with knowledge and years of painting. I’ve fought such a hard fight to stray from reality, but it’s more rewarding,
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Following the Light

Following the Light

July 15, 2018 | by

Light glistening on the snowy banks of a river, illuminating trees, reflecting on water—no matter where he is painting, Tom Lockhart looks to the light, inspired by its brilliant, dramatic impact on the land. “I’m fascinated by the light—soft, warm, or bright—and how it affects the subject,” he says. Exceptionally talented at using light to showcase the natural beauty of the world, Lockhart captures the attention of viewers, urging them to share his wonder at what he sees before him, whether it’s the Rocky Mountains, the Grand Canyon, waterways, or farmlands. “I try to convey a sense of mood, a
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Infusions of Light

Infusions of Light

July 15, 2018 | by

Long before he became an artist, Jim Wilcox juggled three loves: product design, architecture, and painting. Because his high school didn’t have an art program, he funneled his creative energy into drawing horses and later competing in the Model Car Competition. He won third place in the auto design competition, which challenged boys to create the car of the future. “I did that for two years—1959 and 1960—and won the smallest award you could win, which was third place in Colorado, where I lived at the time,” he says, adding with a chuckle that there were probably only three contestants
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Abstract Impressionism

Abstract Impressionism

May 15, 2018 | by

Perched atop the corrals or catwalks above rodeos, artist Howard Post gets a view that rouses his muse. The patterns of cattle huddled together in the corral, or the linear outline of the fences create a vision that spawns his artistic vision and are a strong focus in the Arizona artist’s paintings. Post, once an avid rodeo participant himself, discovered this birds-eye perspective by accident. To get a better look, he clambered up above the activity and discovered patterns and light that hadn’t been evident from his ground-level participation. The new perspective set his contemporary paintings of cattle, cowboys, rodeo
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The Studio of Debra Joy Groesser

The Studio of Debra Joy Groesser

March 15, 2018 | by

Reflecting on how quickly time passes, Nebraska-based plein air painter Debra Joy Groesser is a bit amazed to realize that she celebrated her studio’s 20 th anniversary in December 2017. Her studio and her home are located in Ralston, a one-square mile incorporated town with a population of approximately 6,800 near Omaha that her husband Don has served as mayor for the past 21 years. The upper level of the building, which encompasses approximately 700 square feet, houses Groesser’s studio, framing area, and a small office. It includes four north-facing windows and two more on the east wall that provide
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‘Celebrating God’s Creation’

‘Celebrating God’s Creation’

March 15, 2018 | by

We’re surrounded by it, and yet we don’t see it—the brilliant colors of leaves in the fall, the magnificent glow of a sunset, the snowy banks along a creek. We know it’s there, but we take it for granted, as we go about our busy lives. And we feel it—sun shining on our faces, wind blowing through our hair, crashing waves sending a misty bouquet of shimmering water through the air. Mother Nature beckons us to enjoy and appreciate the wonders she has to offer, but all too often we ignore those offerings, as we go about our busy lives.
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The Studio of Kim Lordier

The Studio of Kim Lordier

January 15, 2018 | by

Until 2004, Kim Lordier created her brilliant paintings in a small bedroom at her home in Millbrae, California, just outside San Francisco. Today, she is happily at work in a structure that is separate from the house but is connected to it by a deck that features a myriad of colorful, potted flowers. The studio—which she refers to alternately as her “man cave” and “the shed”—suits her needs perfectly, offering a quiet, private space in which to work on the landscape paintings that have earned her a host of awards. Lordier has spent her entire life in California; in fact,
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‘Let There Be Light—and Color’

‘Let There Be Light—and Color’

January 15, 2018 | by

“Color and light are everything in a painting.” So says Tom Murray, whose paintings are proof of his belief in that statement. They are alive with color, whether he is depicting sundown over a canyon, spring in the desert, or the majesty of the Grand Canyon. Viewers are immediately drawn to the vibrancy of his work—red clouds, purple mountains, the explosion of color that is both exciting and mesmerizing. It’s no surprise that Murray’s paintings have captured the attention—and enthusiasm—of collectors throughout the country, who eagerly await each new work. Tom Murray Maricopa Point Vision Oil 64″x48″ “The majestic Grand
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Perfect Pitch

Perfect Pitch

January 15, 2018 | by

The thing about Gene Speck’s art is that, although it’s been dubbed realism, it goes beyond photorealism; it becomes your reality. Once you see one of his paintings, you aren’t just looking at a picture; you’re in another time and space. Speck’s heart and aesthetic nature is inured in a simpler time, when fewer people roamed the earth and had the space to do so. As a result, his paintings reach out and touch the viewer with palpable beauty and reality that in our hurried and fragmented lives seem to be long lost. Speck’s ability to immerse himself in his
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