Archives for Wildlife

It’s A Wild Life

It’s A Wild Life

July 2, 2020 | by

Standing in a place she describes as “bear Eden” on the infamous Katmai Coast of Alaska, Kelly Singleton didn’t realize she was standing between two male bears about to duke it out over a sow. Before she had arrived, her coworkers told her they were sure she was going to get eaten by bears in a place where it had happened before. “You get out there and sometimes you’re just surrounded by bears,” Singleton says. Up until that point, Singleton, who had lived in Maryland for her entire life, had never even seen a wild bear. “When looking through the
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Making Art Sing

Making Art Sing

July 2, 2020 | by

No matter what Cyrus Afsary paints, he makes his subjects sing. The Arizona artist infuses his landscapes, portraits, still lifes, and anything else he paints with head turning beauty that stops you in your tracks. That is his goal with each painting. “My primary objective is to have a viewer stop and wonder how I managed to express the light, color, or composition in the paintings,” he says. “I want them to look at the work in wonder, not pass it by too quickly.” How does he do it? “I don’t know,” Afsary says thoughtfully, going on to compare art
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The Studio of Kyle Ma

The Studio of Kyle Ma

May 4, 2020 | by

Kyle Ma is an art prodigy who began drawing nature scenes at age 4 in Taiwan, where he was born in 2000. Ten years later, he and his family immigrated to the United States, settling in Austin, Texas, where he began his art career in earnest. He astonished the art world by raking in multiple awards and gaining the attention of galleries and museums by the time he was 18. It’s been said he has the ability to create magic from street scenes, still lifes, landscapes—nearly anything he chooses to paint. Where does Ma work his magic? He does so
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A Dream Come True

A Dream Come True

May 4, 2020 | by

David Fink considers himself one of the luckiest men on earth. That’s especially true at night when he turns off the overhead lights and turns small spotlights on low to highlight his 13-piece collection of wildlife portraits painted by Ken Carlson. “They just come alive,” he says. “It’s a grand collection.” It is indeed. The result of a commission that took two years to complete, it consists of 12 10” by 13” paintings and one 16” by 13” of a wolf that serves as a centerpiece to the others. Those paintings are a source of amazement and joy for Fink.
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The Studio of Luke Frazier

The Studio of Luke Frazier

March 2, 2020 | by

For more than three decades, a working studio located in the serene Cache Valley of northern Utah has provided inspiration for Luke Frazier’s magnificent paintings. It’s a homey space filled with a plethora of items that he knows and loves and that gives visitors the opportunity to know him on a more personal level. “When my wife Angela and I built our home, its design included a great room, which was intended to serve as my studio,” Frazier says. The room’s footprint measures approximately 20’ by 30’, and its 18-foot high ceiling easily accommodates his sculptures as well as large
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Hitting Their Stride

Hitting Their Stride

March 2, 2020 | by

Maybe it’s using complementary colors. Perhaps it’s painting in black and white or sepia tones. Maybe it’s diving deeply into one subject matter to capture it perfectly. Artists go through phases of work, improving their techniques and finding their places in the art world. Whether it’s at the beginning, middle, or later in their careers, something just ‘clicks’ when artists find the subject matter, medium, or technique that allows their creativity to shine. Meet three artists who are hitting their stride, and who are being featured in Art of the West for the first time. They are worthy of your
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The Power of the West

The Power of the West

March 2, 2020 | by

“I was born a storyteller.” So writes Mark Kohler in his book titled “Going West.” And he tells those stories brilliantly through his paintings of everything from working cowboys, bronc riders, and ropers to remudas, escaramuzas, and still lifes. “My art mirrors my life and experiences,” he writes. “We paint what we are.” Kohler loves what he paints and goes to great lengths to capture scenes—and people—that captivate and inspire him. He visits ranches in several states and takes a myriad of photographs of the people who work them and the animals that inhabit them. It took awhile for Kohler
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Monumentally Magnificent

Monumentally Magnificent

February 28, 2020 | by

On the night in 1987 that Bill Nebeker announced an edition of 25 castings of his sculpture If Horses Could Talk, he sold all 25 of them—and had another 75 collectors wanting to buy it as well. “It was the most popular piece I ever made; people just loved it,” he says. “You’ve got the cowboy looking for the deer, the deer sneaking away behind him, and the horse looking at the deer. It’s happened to every hunter out there. And people who don’t care for hunting love it, too, because the deer is getting away.” During the following years,
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Winter Wonderland

Winter Wonderland

December 13, 2019 | by

Something magical, almost mystical occurs with a snowfall. It brings with it great joy, which is readily apparent when you watch a young child seeing snow for the first time, or attempting to swallow the flakes as they fall. They also seem compelled to lay down in it, swinging their arms and legs to and fro as they create snow angels. Snow evokes a myriad of emotions. It can carry with it a sense of peace and wellbeing that for some involves sitting inside by a fire and watching the snow gently falling outside. On the other hand, it can
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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
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