Archives for Wildlife

Drive and Determination

Drive and Determination

June 30, 2022 | by

Crouched behind a wooden fence, tail down, ears perked, heart racing, he watches. His auburn fur blends into the fall grass and vines, a perfect camouflage from the danger galloping across the field, as horses, dogs, and riders in red coats are leaping, yelping, scrambling—all searching for him. A seasoned adversary, he knows not to move a muscle. He stays perfectly still, his eyes watching for clues to his next move—his chance to change his fate. Outfoxed is a spellbinding story of being hunted told by Ezra Tucker with acrylics on a three-foot board. He paints animals with so much
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Boundless Talent, Boundless Energy

Boundless Talent, Boundless Energy

June 30, 2022 | by

Star Liana York’s energy knows no bounds. Neither does her talent. She’s not only been creating award-winning sculptures for more than four decades, she also owns and runs a ranch with her husband and operates an Airbnb. After competing in horse events and breeding and training horses for many years, she has set that aside. There are, after all, only so many hours in a day, most of which York fills with creating magnificent sculptures that have earned her countless awards and are treasured by collectors. York’s monumental sculptures are placed at sites throughout the country that include the Smithsonian
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A Burning Obsession

A Burning Obsession

June 30, 2022 | by

As a child, Susan Eyer-Anderson would sneak into the garage to watch her father paint. He worked long hours as the manager of a silkscreen plant in Los Angeles, California, but he spent his evenings and weekends painting in the family garage in rural Orange County. It was intended to be a quiet sanctuary, and three of his four children respected that enough to stay clear of the space. But Eyer-Anderson was too intrigued by the work he did in the garage to stay away. “I couldn’t help it,” she says. “I was so fascinated by it, so I would
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Sudden Inspiration

Sudden Inspiration

May 1, 2022 | by

Tim Whitworth gets lost in creating. Ideas for a sculpture can overtake him at any minute, setting his mind in motion on every facet of its design. “I can be driving down the highway, and if I see something I’ll ask myself, ’Now, how do I put that into 3D?’” he says. “I’ll go through it in my mind.” That sudden inspiration also has its drawbacks. “Sometimes I get an idea about a piece,” Whitworth says. “I’ll get it designed, go through the process—design what it will look like, create the patina – then maybe won’t do it. I’ll do
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The Beauty of Black and White

The Beauty of Black and White

May 1, 2022 | by

When Rachel Brownlee walked into the Mountain Oyster Club art show in Tucson, Arizona, last November, she couldn’t believe her eyes. There, hanging in a prized spot in the center of the back wall, was her charcoal drawing, At the Ready. “I was speechless,” she says. Things got even better when her drawing won the Best of Show Award and when it sold. Brownlee says that at the time she didn’t know much about pricing artwork. She was left speechless again when the man who purchased that drawing told her that he had walked into the building, saw it, had
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Putting Marrow In The Bones

Putting Marrow In The Bones

March 1, 2022 | by

“I used to sit at Clark’s desk and draw. Who does that?” Acclaimed Western sculptor Richard Greeves is reminiscing about his childhood in St. Louis, Missouri, and yes, he’s talking about that Clark: Captain William Clark, of Lewis and Clark. Greeves’ childhood home, a stone’s throw from the Louisiana Purchase celebration grounds, afforded him the opportunity to serve as an unpaid gofer at the Missouri History Museum where he would rummage through the archives and make himself comfortable on the explorers’ furniture. “Back in those days, nobody thought much about it,” he says with a laugh. “They just thought of
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Beauty Past and Present

Beauty Past and Present

March 1, 2022 | by

“I’m 76, and I’m going to paint what I damn well please.” So says Rock Newcomb, laughing heartily as he does so. In fact, he laughs freely and often during the interview for this article. With a successful teaching career behind him and more than 30 years as a successful artist, he’s earned the right to say what he wants—and to paint what he wants. There is no niche for Newcomb’s art, and that’s exactly how he—and his collectors—like it. He’s earned national and international acclaim for his paintings of subjects that range from wildlife, landscapes and ruins, to cowboys,
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Painting the Air

Painting the Air

March 1, 2022 | by

Cheri Christensen is blessed with the ability to capture the uniquely individual personalities of the animals she lovingly portrays, radiating their charm and joie de vivre as she does so. Her love of animals traces back to her childhood in Enumclaw, Washington, a small farming community, where her family had a butcher shop, and her grandfather raised Herefords. “I spent a lot of time at his ranch, and I idolized the lifestyle of being surrounded by animals—sheep, horses, cows, cats, and dogs,” Christensen says. After graduating from high school in 1979, she enrolled at the University of Washington in Seattle
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The Studio of Adam Smith

The Studio of Adam Smith

March 1, 2022 | by

Adam Smith has an innate talent for drawing and painting cougars, pumas, and mountain lions. There was a time, however, when the only big cats he wanted to draw came with a 428/335 horsepower Super Cobra Jet engine designed by Ford for its Mustang and Cougar cars. “In high school I was drawing cars,” Smith says. “I thought about car design [as a career], so in 2006 I enrolled full-time at Wyoming Technical Institute in Laramie to become a technician.” Read the full article in the March/April 2022 issue. Thunderhead Acrylic 25” by 35” The Stalker Acrylic 19” by 35”
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Sweet Connections

Sweet Connections

January 1, 2022 | by

It was a compliment of the highest order and one that Julie Nighswonger treasures. While exhibiting her paintings at an art show, she watched as a little girl walked up to a painting of a small horse, which was hanging low in Nighswonger’s booth—and kissed it. Sure, awards are appreciated and are validation of work well done, says the Wyoming artist, but a kiss—wow! Nighswonger has won her share of awards. Her first was the Artists’ Choice Award at the Wyoming State Fair in 2003; her most recent was the People’s Choice Award at Cowgirl Up! last year. A member
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