You can see Ariana Enriquez’s artwork while driving down a street or riding along a bike path in several cities, including Chandler, Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe, Arizona. That doesn’t mean galleries don’t carry her work; they do, but she’s made a name for herself as a muralist, creating most of her works on outside structures. Enriquez completed her most recent project in March, when she painted four bike paths—each one 30-feet-by-five-feet—in Tempe. “They were next to an elementary school, and I painted them in two weeks while the students were on spring break,” she says. “Each path was inspired
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  How do artists create moods in their paintings—and why is that important? A doctor who has studied emotions for many years identified eight primary emotions, including joy, sadness, surprise, and anticipation. Artists create those moods in their paintings through their use of light and colors. Yellow, for example, conveys a positive, warm feel, while blues are calming and reds are exciting. Artists are well aware of the importance of connecting with viewers, not only by subject and style but by mood. And gallery owners and directors know—and support—those artists. One of them is Elaine Adams, director of American Legacy Fine
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  There always seems to be something exciting going on at the Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, Texas. One of the most recent events was an exhibit of Edward H. Bohlin silver saddles, which ran for three months and closed at the end of January. While saddles might seem to be an unlikely focus for a museum, it wasn’t for this one. “We treat them as art, even though they’re utilitarian,” says Darrell Beauchamp, the museum’s executive director. “We gathered 11 of them and exhibited them along with old movie posters. We painted the walls black so they would shimmer and shine.
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    Aaron Blaise spent three years creating a short, hand-drawn, animated film he titled “Snow Bear,” which was released last year. The film has earned approximately 40 awards at film festivals throughout the world. It’s been nominated for two Annie Awards, including Best Animated Short Film, and has been shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Academy Award nominations will be announced January 22. The Annie Awards will be conducted February 21, and the Oscars will take place March 15. Blaise is justifiably proud of the accolades he’s earned for “Snow Bear,” but what means much more for him
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  Chris Navarro is an award-winning artist who thinks outside the box. Best known for his bronze sculptures that feature everything from cowboys to T-Rex. His latest project is a wind fence constructed from vintage wind turbine blades at the entrance to the 355-acre Wyoming Rescue Missions Recovery Ranch in Esterbrook, Wyoming. Navarro calls the sculpture “Wall of Renewal”, an appropriate title because it will keep a wind turbine out of a landfill by giving it a new purpose, which mirrors the stories of many people who come through the mission’s doors as they struggle with homelessness, joblessness, and drug addiction. The wind
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  “What began as a simple email turned into a journey of creativity, courage, and connection,” says Wisconsin watercolorist Caitlin Leline Hatch. It certainly did—but she almost missed it. Hatch says she considered deleting the email she found in her inbox five months ago, but when she saw that it was from someone connected with Coors Banquet and Wrangler, she opened it. The senders said they were looking for an artist to create a series of original, Western-inspired prints and that they immediately thought of her, mentioning that the tone, texture, and spirit of her paintings reflect the storytelling and sense of American
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  The folks at the Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, Texas, have much to celebrate. In September, True West Magazine ranked it the number one Western art museum in the United States. The magazine evaluates museums based on their exhibits, facilities, multimedia and online accessibility, events, and promotion of historic and cultural resources. “Last year, we were ranked number two, after the Eiteljorg [Museum of American Indians and West Art],” says Darrell Beauchamp, executive director of the Museum of Western Art. “We’re not the ‘big guys,’ and we don’t try to be. We’re a little museum doing a great job.”   Museum of Western Art
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  Lisa Sorrell is a master boot maker with clients throughout the world seeking out her customized cowboy boots. They are drawn to her exquisite, intricate designs and to the quality of her work—and they are willing to ante up a starting price of $10,000 to own a pair of her magnificent boots.     Sorrell’s clients are also willing to fly to her shop in downtown Guthrie, Oklahoma, or to fly her to their locations to have their feet measured and to select a design for the customized footwear she creates. Other shoe makers also turn to her for guidance;
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  Every evening, when 8 p.m. rolls around, Tobias Sauer puts his eldest boy—Cash, who is 6—to bed and follows a routine as he does so. He lies down with him, makes shadow puppets for him, and reads him a book. That routine is followed by another one that Sauer put into practice a few years ago—spending two to three hours each night making accoutrements for Western models to wear during artist photo shoots.     Sauer, who lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, with his wife Andrea Hunter and his children, has been painting full-time for about seven years now.
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  Maynard Dixon would be proud. The master artist, who was considered one of the premier landscape painters of the American West during the early 20th century, died in 1946, but his legacy is alive and well, thanks to Paul and Susan Bingham, founders of the Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts. Dixon’s home and studio in Mt. Carmel, Utah, had fallen into disrepair over the years, but a telephone call changed everything. In 1997, Milford Zornes called Paul Bingham and asked him a question: Would he be interested in buying it? Paul’s response was an immediate and enthusiastic, “Yes!” Zornes, who
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