Archives for Wildlife

Realistic Paintings, Idealized Subjects

Realistic Paintings, Idealized Subjects

July 20, 2015 | by

Though France has produced many famous artists, one typically does not think of a French native devoting a distinguished artistic career to the depiction of Native Americans. But such was the case with François Henri Farny (later Anglicized to Henry Farny), who painted a proud picture of a Native American race that already was on the decline. Born in the Alsace region of France on July 15, 1847, Farny was the third child in a Protestant family that sought to escape an atmosphere of political turmoil and religious oppression. Henry Farny The Song of the Talking Wire (1904) Oil 22″x40″
Read More

The Studio of Rosetta

The Studio of Rosetta

July 20, 2015 | by

Loveland, Colorado, for all intents and purposes, is a sculptor’s mecca. The number of expert casting foundries is legion. Well, OK, that’s an exaggeration, but there are a lot of them, especially for a town with about 50,000 residents. The city’s annual Sculpture in the Park, which celebrated its 31st anniversary this year, features hundreds of artists and attracts thousands of visitors every summer. Is it any wonder sculptors and other artists gravitate to the lovely city? Like many other artists, Rosetta was drawn to the artistic community and moved her sculpture studio from California to Loveland in 1987. Rosetta
Read More

Expression and Intuition

Expression and Intuition

May 20, 2015 | by

As an award-winning member of Oil Painters of America, Oklahoma native Derek Penix strongly believes an artist’s ability to paint intuitively is what makes the difference between creating a work that is technically and aesthetically pleasing versus one that has the potential to become a masterpiece. “Watching a recent U-tube video listing the world’s 10 most expensive paintings, I observed that the common denominator for each was that none of the artists painted literally,” he says. “All changed what they saw, making it into their own world.” This type of discernment comes naturally to one who grew up surrounded by
Read More

The Studio of Kent Ullberg

The Studio of Kent Ullberg

March 20, 2015 | by

Wildlife sculptor Kent Ullberg has had a certain amount of luck when it comes to finding just the right studio spaces. When he and his family visited Corpus Christi, Texas, more than 35 years ago, they saw a house for sale and decided to call the realtor. Upon learning that Ullberg was an artist, the realtor quickly pointed out that the house they had seen included a studio, with skylights, as part of the garage. “It was really a guest house,” Ullberg says now, “but that realtor knew the right things to say. And it turned into a great studio
Read More

Quintessential Movement

Quintessential Movement

January 20, 2015 | by

Birds in flight—majestic and powerful, banking, diving, soaring. Fish gliding through water—swift and focused, twitching, darting, frolicking. Each of J. Christopher White’s sculptures personifies movement and grace. Surprisingly, his sculptures are woodcarvings, or bronze-wood meld. Rarely would one quantify wood carving as fine art. White, however, has mastered this craft, turning the traditional stereotype of woodcarving on its head. At his hand, wood carving–intricate and bold–becomes poetry in motion. J. Christopher White The Rest Within the Running Alabaster Bronzewood Meld™ 13″ High “Bronze and beautiful petrified wood alabaster are melded into a single media, bronzestone meld, with a masterful patina
Read More

Still Climbing

Still Climbing

January 20, 2015 | by

How do you celebrate your birthday when you hit 60? If you are Colorado artist Ralph Oberg, you book a trip to Nepal. While it might not be on everyone’s bucket list, Oberg wanted to satisfy a deep longing to see the infamous peaks of that remote country. It was fittingly his first trip off the North American continent. Ralph Oberg Born to Run Oil 28″x36″ “By three weeks of age, pronghorn fawns are on their feet, ready to go. To avoid predators and keep up with mom, this is an important evolutionary adaptation. Soon they can run with the
Read More

Stalking Perfection in the Great Outdoors

Stalking Perfection in the Great Outdoors

November 22, 2014 | by

When Michael Coleman was in kindergarten, his drawings were so intricate that his teacher suspected his mother was giving him art lessons at home. Actually, what his parents were doing was raising their son as something of a free-range chicken. Michael Coleman Geyser Basin Oil 40″ x 30″ Yellowstone in October, when light and vapor is at its turn-of-the season best! Michael Coleman A Gathering of Wolves Oil 30″ x 40″ In a gathering of wolves, a come together call from the heart of the woods and out of the shadows.
Read More

Animals With Attitude

Animals With Attitude

November 22, 2014 | by

If you happen to encounter a pig that has sprouted wings, a galloping hare hovering just above and behind a plodding giant tortoise, hibernating grizzly bears encased in circular dens, or a fish-filled otter snoozing on a cushion of waves, you will know for a certainty that you have arrived in the magically delightful wild world created by sculptor, Tim Cherry. Tim Cherry (Missouri) Mother Goose Bronze 19″ x 32″ “This sculpture was commissioned for placement in the Discovery Garden at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. I wanted to create a design that had a strong maternal
Read More

Answering the Call

Answering the Call

July 22, 2014 | by

You could say that William Alther’s journey to becoming a professional artist was the result of his answering the call of the wild. Although the Colorado-based painter has been fascinated by God’s wild creatures from early childhood, time and other career commitments would intervene before he eventually turned to paint and canvas to bring them to life. Despite making a commitment to art less than a decade ago, the 55-year-old artist says it has always played a significant role in his life. William Alther Crafty One Oil 16″ by 18″ “Red foxes surely have to be high on the all-time
Read More

Back in the Saddle

Back in the Saddle

July 22, 2014 | by

Four years ago, Harold T. Holden wasn’t sure if he should accept any more commissions. He wasn’t even sure if he’d be able to finish the pieces he had underway. “H,” as Holden has been known all his life, was so sick that he couldn’t walk. He couldn’t ride his horses. He could barely stand up. “I was just a couple of weeks away from dying,” he says. Holden has pulmonary fibrosis, a condition that damages lung tissue and makes it difficult to breath. Although medication and therapy can help ease some of the symptoms, there is no cure. For
Read More