Archives for Portrait

‘How I Got Here’

‘How I Got Here’

December 12, 2019 | by

During a visit last October, Susan Lyon made three admissions. The first is that she never considered herself a natural artist. She hadn’t impressed anyone with her drawings as a child. She wasn’t the student who was always chosen to illustrate the school yearbook cover or design the hallway mural. Later, while studying at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Illinois, Lyon noticed that some of her classmates seemed to be able to see spatial relationships and copy them perfectly. For her, it was a struggle. “I wasn’t someone who had ever been very confident in drawing,” she says.
Read More

Mixing It Up

Mixing It Up

December 12, 2019 | by

As has often been said, timing is everything. This was especially true in the case of Utah artist Jason Rich. As he’ll tell you, the stars aligned, and his time as a career artist came quickly—before he had even finished his college education. But let’s step back and follow the route that took Rich to his art career. His father, an elementary school teacher, owned a small horse farm in southern Idaho, where he raised and trained horses to sell. One of five siblings, Rich was the only one who worked alongside his father, growing not only to love—but to
Read More

The Studio of Mary Ann Cherry

The Studio of Mary Ann Cherry

December 12, 2019 | by

Given the diverse range of her talents and commitments—oil and pastel painter, workshop instructor, novelist, and current President of the Women Artists of the West—it’s not surprising that Mary Ann Cherry loves the opportunities she enjoys by having two working studios. She does the majority of her creative work in a studio at the family home she shares with her husband Bob. Situated on two acres at the edge of the Snake River, just a few miles north of Idaho Falls, Idaho, that studio is informal, with a rural feel that is somewhat of an extension of the outdoors. “When
Read More

The Studio of Jim Rey

The Studio of Jim Rey

December 5, 2019 | by

Jim Rey has painted in a variety of studio spaces: a bedroom, an alcove, a family room, a garage, even a rented room in a country motel. And he happily did so, as he pursued his dream of becoming an artist, after working in commercial art for several years and later in the computer industry. In 2012, Rey finally was able to claim for himself an actual studio at the home he shares with his wife Sharon in Durango, Colorado. It was a long time coming, but it was well worth the wait. Rey had started painting in the early
Read More

What is Art?

What is Art?

December 5, 2019 | by

It’s a question that has been asked for hundreds of years: What is art? While there are several definitions of the word, what one person perceives as art might not be perceived or accepted as art by another person. One of many definitions of art is “an expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power.” Using that definition certainly leaves the door wide open for labeling many different types of creations as a “work of art.” In most
Read More

‘I’m Called To It’

‘I’m Called To It’

November 13, 2019 | by

Tina Garrett credits her best friend, Laura, with giving her the advice she needed to head down the path to becoming an artist. “She said, ‘You are an artist at heart; stop trying to be something you’re not,’ Garrett recalls. At the time, she had quit her job as a freelance designer and illustrator for a publishing company and was trying to decide what to do next. Her husband Adam, a firefighter and registered nurse, suggested she become a dental hygienist so that, when they retired, they could do traveling nursing and dentistry. The thought of being a dental hygienist,
Read More

Aesthetic Visions

Aesthetic Visions

July 14, 2019 | by

Stark rock outcrops towering over desert vistas, waves breaking on a coastal paradise, billowing clouds over serene mountain settings—for many years, those were the images that Glenn Dean most frequently chose to celebrate on canvas. Recently, however, he has expanded his subject matter to encompass the realm of figurative work, as well. “In my early landscapes I avoided painting figures as a way of purifying the landscape,” he says. “People were included on a small scale to show the enormity of a canyon wall, or the size of the clouds. However, beginning in 2012, I transitioned into painting a lot
Read More

‘A Beautiful Medium’

‘A Beautiful Medium’

June 15, 2019 | by

“A pencil drawing is classy. It’s classic; it’s timeless. It’s almost like a little black dress or a nice black suit; everyone should have one.” They should indeed. And if that pencil art happens to have Brenda Murphy’s name attached to it, it’s even more classic. Her pieces are magnificently drawn. The detail and texture are exquisite. There is no need for color. In fact, Murphy says, “It’s a compliment, when someone looks at one of my graphite drawings and says, ‘It doesn’t need color, because I can visualize it.’ They see beyond the black and white. It gives them
Read More

The Joy of Storytelling

The Joy of Storytelling

June 15, 2019 | by

Nothing gets Morgan Weistling’s adrenalin going like telling a story. And, oh, the stories he tells. Focusing on pioneer life in the late 1800s, Weistling’s epic scenes depict the men, women, and children in everyday situations, as they settled the West. Much like a movie director, he carefully stages his characters in scenes that transport time. Through his skillful use of color and light, he leads viewers from one face to another, from one object to another, encouraging them to stop along the way and savor the story. “I’ve always loved storytellers; I liked art that told stories,” Weistling says,
Read More

‘I’m On a Quest of Discovery’

‘I’m On a Quest of Discovery’

April 15, 2019 | by

If it weren’t for a musician cancelling a two-month recording session 17 years ago, today we more than likely would not be enjoying the wonderful paintings Michael Blessing creates at his studio in Bozeman, Montana. Faced with eight empty weeks on his calendar, Blessing, who at the time owned and operated a recording studio, decided to spend that time down in his basement—drawing. “My wife had been an art major and encouraged me,” he says. “I have two daughters, and they would bring me little trinkets to draw. Then my wife gave me an image from a National Geographic magazine
Read More