Archives for Uncategorized

The Studio of Lori Putnam

The Studio of Lori Putnam

October 9, 2024 | by

Nestled on a five-acre plot of land in rural Charlotte, Tennessee, Lori Putnam is living the dream in her 1,800-square foot studio. The open design of the studio’s structure also boasts a 700-square-foot loft that serves as living space for Putnam and her husband Mark. Looking at the building from the outside, you would assume it’s just another house but, once you walk through its doors, you realize how wrong that assumption is. The openness of the home and studio gains perspective when Putnam says there is only one door inside: the one that leads to the bathroom. Putnam and
Read More

Hear the Train Blow

Hear the Train Blow

August 8, 2024 | by

John Coker loves to paint trains—their power and strength, whistles and rumbles. He places those trains in their natural environments, including the rail line it had traveled, and does extensive—and hands-on—research. Before tackling a painting a year ago, he traveled to Colorado, where he took photographs of an empty field where no rails were visible but where he knew the Colorado Southern had once run. He also took photos of the position of the sun and shadows and made notes of the time of day, the way the wind was blowing, the height of the grasses, and the flowers that
Read More

Storyteller With a Brush

Storyteller With a Brush

August 8, 2024 | by

Patrick Saunders has worked at a variety of jobs, from marketing and teaching to a stint as a Hallmark artist. Today he is a fine artist who paints everything from pet portraits to landscapes to florals. It took quite a while for him to get to where he is today but the route was well worth his effort. One thing that    hasn’t changed over the years, however, is his focus on telling stories with his art. Saunders, who lives in San Antonio, Texas, has earned a myriad of awards for his work, including a gold medal from the Oil
Read More

Where Function Meets Fine Art

Where Function Meets Fine Art

March 20, 2024 | by

Functional art, artwork that is both attractive and practical, is nothing new to the art world. Art glass vases, clay vessels, and even bronze door knockers or bookends apply. But these works don’t seem to be included in many shows. Last year, artist Eric Bowman made a splash at the Prix de West with his tetrapycht screen—and he’s doing it again at the Night of Artists at the Briscoe Museum this year.   Bowman, known for his stylized Western scenes, got the idea for the original screen from his love of craftsman furniture. “The idea just popped in my head one
Read More

A Family Affair in Great Falls

A Family Affair in Great Falls

February 19, 2024 | by

Fifteen shows, hundreds of artists, and dozens of events —that’s what makes Western Art Week in Great Falls, Montana so appealing. This year, there’s another key stat for the Winborg family: three generations of artists from the same family, who share the same studio space, all participating in Western Art Week. Larry C. Winborg, his son, Jeremy Winborg, and Jeremy’s daughter, Swede Winborg, will all be in attendance. “We’re a family of artists,” Larry Winborg says. The patriarch of this art family, Larry has been an artist for over 60 years, and has been participating in Western Art Week for
Read More

A Celebration of Color

A Celebration of Color

February 8, 2024 | by

Erin Hanson has an energy that mirrors the paintings she creates. She shares the story of her life—and her work—and injects both with vibrant colors and textures that have captured the attention of collectors throughout the world. That’s no exaggeration; during the past 15 years she has sold 3,000 original paintings and countless prints. Collectors purchase her paintings as quickly as she completes them. One collector says that, every time he looks at the painting he purchased from Hanson, “it gets more and more beautiful” and that it will be his “get-out-of-husband-jail-for-free-card” for years to come because his wife loves
Read More

That Belongs in a Museum!

That Belongs in a Museum!

January 29, 2024 | by

The eye of an artist allows them to see things others may not. This leads to beautiful work, inspired insight, or — in the case of Crystal Orlando — becoming a modern day Indiana Jones (minus the snakes and guns, luckily). In 2016, Crystal Orlando was working and drawing at a framing shop in Temple, Texas. There was an estate sale happening in the area and she had a feeling there was a reason she needed to be there. “I’ve always had a knack for finding things that I was supposed to find,” she says. “I don’t know if that
Read More

‘Brain Power, Creativity, and a Healthy Appetite for Problem Solving’

‘Brain Power, Creativity, and a Healthy Appetite for Problem Solving’

January 29, 2024 | by

Wildlife artist Mark McKenna woke up before dawn one day with his mind racing. An idea for a card game had come to him and he couldn’t wait to try it with his family. Within a few weeks, he had worked up a prototype to see what his wife and kids thought. After enjoying the initial concept and a few years of play testing, rule tweaking, and family fun, McKenna and his family released Royal Turmoil under the company name McKenna Games. Royal Turmoil is a turn-based, head-to-head card game where the goal is to claim, steal, settle, and unite
Read More

Cowboys, Yodeling, and Watercolor

Cowboys, Yodeling, and Watercolor

January 24, 2024 | by

Art comes in many different forms. While at Art of the West we primarily focus on visual fine arts, the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering encompasses many of the different art forms central to Western life. Founded in 1985, the Cowboy Poetry Gathering is a week-long coming-together of people rooted in the poetry, music, and arts of cowboy country. Historically, the Gathering has focused on the performing and written arts. With dozens of  musicians, poets, and special guests, as well as workshops in rawhide braiding, yodeling, and traditional Cowboy cooking, Elko transforms into a haven for the history and culture of
Read More

Simplicity and Complexity

Simplicity and Complexity

December 11, 2023 | by

Rick Kennington grew up in environments much like those he paints: seemingly endless spaces, mountain backdrops, blue skies, and the steady resolve of cowboys and others whose lives are quietly, solidly entwined with the West. A lifelong resident of Utah, living near the Wasatch Mountains, Kennington’s parents were both from Star Valley, Wyoming, and he spent much of his childhood visiting his grandfather in that area. That’s when the painting began. From his first painting, when he was 18, of his grandfather on a horse, it’s been an ongoing pull toward portraying that life and lifestyle that has kept Kennington
Read More