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The Cover Art of Louis L’Amour on Display Now

The Cover Art of Louis L’Amour on Display Now

May 19, 2025 | by

“It just seems like [Louis L’Amour] was part of a lot of people’s households,” says Allyson Sheumaker, executive director of the A. R. Mitchell Museum in Trinidad, Colorado. So, when the folks at the museum had the opportunity to display and sell some original cover art and sketches from dozens of Louis L’Amour books, they didn’t hesitate to put together a show.  Gregory Manchess is an award-winning illustrator and artist and has been working on illustrations for advertisements, magazines, and book covers for almost 50 years. One of the authors whose covers he worked on was Louis L’Amour, and he
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An Unexpected “Yellowstone” Co-Star

An Unexpected “Yellowstone” Co-Star

April 22, 2025 | by

Are you a big Fan of “Yellowstone”? If so, keep a lookout for a David Frederick Riley piece in the background of some of the scenes in season five. And this might not be the last time you see a piece of his on the acclaimed TV show or its spin-offs.   The entire process started about six months ago, when Riley got a call from Montana Trails Gallery in Bozeman, Montana, one of the galleries that carries his work. “The [Yellowstone crew members] were shooting around Bozeman,” Riley says. “They went to Montana Trails Gallery, and that’s where they saw
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An Artist Friendship Lasting Decades

An Artist Friendship Lasting Decades

March 18, 2025 | by

“Bob and my relationship goes beyond art, and I think that’s the important thing,” artist Robert Krogle says of his friend, Robert Rodriguez. “It’s art that has drawn us together and kept us together in this really unbelievable, close relationship that I think a lot of people wish they had in their lives.”   Krogle and Rodriguez are both Western artists and will each be showing 15 to 20 available works at the Out West Art Show at the Heritage Inn in Great Falls, Montana, from March 20 to 22. They have known each other since the late 1960s when they
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Sustainable Art from the Fabric of the Cowboy’s Life

Sustainable Art from the Fabric of the Cowboy’s Life

January 22, 2025 | by

Brad and Sundie Ruppert didn’t start out as textile artists. But an on-a-whim experiment with beaver felt hat scraps changed everything for this collaborative artist couple. The artists, based in Norwalk, Iowa, started out doing sculpture with found and thrifted objects, plus wood and metal custom signage. Eleven years ago, they made a custom sign for Greeley Hat Works in Greeley, Colorado, and toured the facility while they were there to install the sign. “While on the tour, Brad picked up the rings that they cut off of the brims of the hats right before they shape them and asked
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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