Archives for Portrait

A Universal Language

A Universal Language

April 15, 2019 | by

Utah artist Robert Duncan’s motto could be this: Explore the depth of your surroundings to mine the beauty at hand. Meanwhile, his catalyst seems to be Andrew Wyeth’s artistic philosophy. “[Wyeth] never wanted to travel much, he just wanted to dig deeper into the things close around him,” Duncan says. “He’d talk about how just a footprint in the snow, as he walked across a field, would trigger a feeling that he could dig into for days and weeks. I think that digging deeper into the things we care most about, and to appreciate the things that we pass by,
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‘I’ll Never Retire; I’ll Always Paint’

‘I’ll Never Retire; I’ll Always Paint’

April 15, 2019 | by

For most of the past decade, C. Michael Dudash has been ramping up his annual schedule of shows. In the coming year, he’ll participate in at least half a dozen major art events, from Quest for the West at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, to the Prix de West Invitational at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. That means that Dudash paints between 40 and 50 pieces a year. Some are small, and some are larger, but each one requires dedicated time at the easel in his Rathdrum, Idaho, studio. “It is a lot
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Poetry in Paint

Poetry in Paint

February 15, 2019 | by

“I search for ways to create a sense of emotion and a heightened sensitivity to those moments that too often pass by unnoticed. Whether capturing an introspective moment of a figure, or the quiet stillness in an arrangement of treasured objects, I find an honesty and poetry in the story that each has to tell.” So says Cynthia Feustel in describing what she strives to achieve with each of her paintings, whether she is depicting a horse or fox, fruit or flowers, an old man carving a piece of wood, or a cowgirl sitting on a rock, lost in thought.
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Transcending the Image

Transcending the Image

February 15, 2019 | by

When John Coleman was 43 years old, he received a phone call that changed his life. That call was from a client, who had asked Coleman to do a construction project for him. Just as work was about to begin, however, the client received a lower bid and was going to use a different vendor. Suddenly, Coleman had three full months with nothing to do. “It was a sign,” he says now. “I knew exactly what I had to do. It was what I had always wanted to do, but I never had time to do it. Now I had
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Bridging Cultures

Bridging Cultures

February 15, 2019 | by

For California artist Mian Situ, 2016 and 2017 were banner years. In 2016, he met, courted, and married Gloria. Their romance began on the Internet and Gloria, a resident of the Yunnan Province in China, was a little reticent, when Situ made his first long-distance overture. Situ, who was familiar with the Yunnan Province from many trips he had taken to the province to garner resource material for his art, felt a kinship with her. Eventually, his knowledge of the area, combined with how much they had in common and proof of who he was as an artist won her
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The Power of Two

The Power of Two

November 15, 2018 | by

When we find someone with whom to share our lives, we are fortunate. When artists do so, they are especially blessed. At least that’s the case with the four artist couples we interviewed for this article. For most of us, we were attracted to our spouses, or significant others, for a variety of reasons: their physical appearance—which might simply be a great smile—their sincerity, sense of humor, intelligence, talent, or kindness. For the artists we talked with, there are other, equally important attributes, including respect for each other’s work and a shared passion for art. Couples Featured: – Sherrie McGraw
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‘Art Must Have Soul’

‘Art Must Have Soul’

November 15, 2018 | by

As an accomplished artist with more than 30 years under his belt, Jove Wang has a theory that presides over his art. Roughly translated, it’s to know what you’re doing so well that you don’t need to be a slave to technique. It’s no understatement to say that Wang knows what he’s doing. Rather than offer up a painting that is merely a rendering, his intention is to involve viewers; he wants to elicit a response with his paintings. “I do not intend to paint extreme realism,” he explains. “I like the myriad variety of edges, as well as the
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Frederic Remington Treasures

Frederic Remington Treasures

September 15, 2018 | by

Few would argue that Frederic Remington is the most well known name in Western art. And yet, not many people realize the full breadth of his career and how much he accomplished during his life, before he died at age 48. That is something the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, hopes to help change. The museum will pay tribute to Remington when it hosts Treasures From the Frederic Remington Art Museum & Beyond from September 8 to January 13, 2019. Described by Seth Hopkins, the museum’s executive director, as “the largest Remington exhibition ever to come to the
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Reaching New Heights

Reaching New Heights

September 15, 2018 | by

Martin Grelle was a very nervous young man when, in 1974, just a year after he graduated from high school, he had his first art show at a gallery and frame shop in Clifton, Texas. “I had no idea what to expect,” he says. “It’s hard to remember, but I probably had, at most, eight or 10 pieces for the show, and we sold almost all of them the first evening. I had a combination of oils, charcoals, and pastels in the show, and the largest piece was probably an oil painting about 24” by 36”. It probably sold for
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Heart and Soul

Heart and Soul

July 15, 2018 | by

Exquisitely detailed and vibrantly personal, the imagery of Denver-based artist Jie Wei Zhou radiates the passion he feels for his subject matter, as he fulfills his mission to preserve the history and traditions of his Chinese homeland—one image at a time. From his earliest days, it was obvious that the young Shanghai native was destined to become an artist. With a sketchbook as his constant companion, the daily entries he made helped him to refine his understanding of form and light. When he was 14, he was one of only a few students singled out to receive individualized instruction at
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