Archives for Portrait

Excellence and Beauty

August 6, 2026 | by Joe Tougas

Named after the French word for studio, atelier schools are where students immerse themselves in an intensive series of training in realism. For months on end, they draw and paint repeatedly, often the same subject—usually still lifes or human models—with a focus on detail. Along with most of the world, Jonathan Noon had some time on his hands during the pandemic, so he decided to seriously explore his interest in drawing and painting. Up to that point in his life, he had set art aside for other pursuits. But, in 2021, he and his wife Katie moved from Scottsdale, Arizona,
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The Drama of Black and White

August 6, 2026 | by Vicki Stavig

When Stephanie Campos was in kindergarten, her teacher gave the class a drawing assignment. She finished her drawing and gave it to the teacher, who then asked her to draw it again. “I think she wanted to know that it wasn’t ‘accidentally’ good,” she says. “Then she called my parents and said, ‘Your daughter is an artist.’” She is indeed. Today Campos is known for her realistic charcoal portraits of Native Americans. Her work has caught the attention of collectors—and other artists. In fact, when asked about the highlight of her career, she quickly responds with two words: Howard
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Celebrating Richard Schmid

August 6, 2026 | by Vicki Stavig

How do you honor the life and work of someone as talented and generous as Richard Schmid? How do you celebrate a master artist who championed the beauty and integrity of representational work through his magnificent paintings? How do you acknowledge an artist who generously shared his knowledge by mentoring countless artists in various stages of their journeys? How do you celebrate and recognize the joy he found in creating art? The answer is this: You gather with others who loved, appreciated, and learned from him. That will be the case in October, when the Palette & Chisel Academy
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Ink, Oil, and Graphite

June 9, 2026 | by Vicki Stavig

You would think that having parents who are successful artists would naturally set their offspring on a path leading directly to fine art. Not so if that offspring is Maia Chavez Larkin. “I was certain that I would never be an artist, because it seemed like a tough way to make a living,” she says. “I thought it also meant being nervous about finances. It seemed like a hard life and a tough way to make a living. I thought I’d have a real job.” After years of working as an illustrator, four years ago Larkin became what she
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The Studio of Krystii Melaine

February 4, 2026 | by Sara Gilbert Frederick

When Krystii Melaine and her husband Michael moved from Australia to the United States 15 years ago, they settled in Spokane, Washington. They had a large, lovely house with a tree-filled backyard that sloped down to a river. They regularly saw moose, eagles, coyotes, porcupines, owls, and many other birds from their windows. “It was fabulous,” she says. Melaine loved that house, but Michael was concerned about keeping it up as they got older. So, he dangled the one thing he knew would convince his wife to move: her dream studio. In Spokane, Melaine’s studio was in the basement
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A New Life

December 8, 2025 | by Sara Gilbert Frederick

When Jerry Salinas turned 50, his wife gave him an unexpected gift. She knew that after more than 20 years as an illustrator for commercial clients, he was ready for a change. But she also knew that she needed to give him a gentle push in that direction. So, on his birthday, she told him to stop doing commercial work. That marked the official start of Salinas’ fine art career, a move he had been itching to make since he started illustrating back in the early 2000s. “I started my career in illustration, mainly to earn a living,” he
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Slow and Easy Does It

October 8, 2025 | by Clover Cameron

Vicki Catapano’s paintings combine a mastery of brushstroke, color, exquisite realism, and authenticity. From the details of hand-braided hackamore of the Nevada buckaroo to the beadwork in Native American regalia, her work displays a passion and carefulness in preserving the ways of the Old West. “I’m such a slow painter,” Catapano says. “Getting the elements of the Native regalia and the hackamore or spade bit accurate are of utmost importance. Every detail in each painting is critical and has to be precise and correct.” Painting in the Old Masters style and technique of applying thin layers of paint, one layer
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Quiet, Peaceful, and Contemplative

April 7, 2025 | by Vicki Stavig

Carmen Drake laughs easily, speaks enthusiastically, and paints beautifully. Her goal is to bring beauty and peace through her art into the lives of others. Her own life hasn’t always been one of peace and joy, however. She has dealt with heartbreak and loss, but she doesn’t dwell on the past—except, of course, when she’s painting an old pair of shoes or umbrella. Drake is curious about the past lives of things, which might sound a little odd since we normally don’t think of things as having lives. Not so with Drake. “I think about the people who might have
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A Love Story

December 13, 2024 | by Mary Nelson

Texas artist Tony Pro is currently preparing paintings he will exhibit at Night of Artists at the Briscoe Western Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas, in March. It’s his third year in the show, and he’s excited about it, calling his works for that event a love story to the American West and to his own artistic trajectory. “The unique component of my art is the narrative depth,” he says. “Each piece tells a profound story, reflecting personal and historical themes. This storytelling, combined with my technical expertise and attention to cultural and historical details, sets my work apart.” Pro
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Beyond the Paint

December 13, 2024 | by Sara Gilbert Frederick

During the past 25 years, Judith Dickinson has painted portraits of hundreds of people—including some for celebrities. She’s painted Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of Colorado, and federal judges. She’s also done three commissions for TV’s Judge Judy who once sent her private plane from Florida to Colorado to pick up a finished work for her son’s birthday party. Dickinson has also painted the African people she and her husband Gary have met on their trips to Uganda and Rwanda and the cowboys and Native Americans they got to know at the South Dakota ranch they visit almost every year. But,
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Archives for Portrait

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