Archives for Landscape

‘I Paint to Listen’

‘I Paint to Listen’

July 18, 2017 | by

Montana artist John Potter does more than paint lovely landscapes and realistic wildlife. His art invites viewers to listen to the voice of the earth inside them. “The deeper message I hope to convey is this: Take the time to nurture and nourish your senses, your heart, and your spirit in the quiet dignity to be found in wild places and wild things,” he says. Potter isn’t a household name—yet—but he probably should be. His paintings ostensibly portray wildlife and nature. But, look closer. He’s not handing out trophy images of animals, birds, or benign landscapes; he’s offering a revelation.
Read More

Living an Artist’s Dream

Living an Artist’s Dream

May 18, 2017 | by

“Every painting I start I hope is going to be the best painting I’ve ever done. That doesn’t necessarily come true, but it can, so I keep going.” Spoken by some artists, these words might scan as overconfident, even boastful. Coming from Dennis Doheny, though, they sound like a simple statement of possibility, offered up in a playful spirit of optimism and a willingness to stretch as an artist, even after 40 years in the business. Doheny’s artistic outlook and philosophy are as sunny as the warm California landscapes he’s best known for painting. He wakes up in the morning
Read More

Lighting the Way

Lighting the Way

May 18, 2017 | by

Peter Adams admits to being somewhat of a rapscallion in his early years. When he was a junior, the military school he was attending instituted an art program. Unimpressed with the artwork created by the teacher and students and displayed in the cafeteria, he took action. “I took it all down, stole some paints and put my paintings up under the nom deplume Von Seitz,” he says. “I put my paintings up all over campus. About five years later, I was back at the school for some event, and there was a sign that said, ‘Von Seitz, come back; we
Read More

Balancing Art and Life

Balancing Art and Life

May 18, 2017 | by

Unlike most artists, who claim to have been born with a Crayon in hand, Utah artist G. Russell Case came to his avocation a bit later, even though he was surrounded by art from a young age. His father, Garry Case, a watercolor artist of some renown was also an illustrator. He had a studio in the family home and his young son, seemingly impervious to art, was just a normal kid with interests any young boy would have. Sure, he might have dabbled in drawing and coloring, but what child doesn’t? Things changed for Case, when he was a
Read More

The Stuido of Lorenzo Chavez

The Stuido of Lorenzo Chavez

March 18, 2017 | by

At the end of December, as landscape painter Lorenzo Chavez walked along Cherry Creek near Parker, Colorado, he held his cell phone to his ear. He was multitasking, as he visited with this writer, while enjoying the day’s mild weather and scouted the area in search of scenes that might eventually find their way into a painting. He’s outside, where he belongs, where he finds inspiration for the colorful landscapes he composes, much to the delight of his many collectors. A portrait painter turned landscapist, Chavez is equally at home painting the desert, the ocean, mountain, or the foothills near
Read More

I’ll Paint Anything, Within Reason

I’ll Paint Anything, Within Reason

March 18, 2017 | by

Barron Postmus can’t find much to complain about. He lives in sunny Southern California with his wife Jane Skeeter, who he describes as “the love of my life.” He has enjoyed a long career as a successful artist. He’s strong and healthy, thanks to his daily trips to the gym. And he has four happy children and six grandchildren, all of whom help keep him young. “I’ve been so lucky,” he says. “What a life I’ve had. I’m married to the girl I love, my kids are all doing well, and I make a living painting.” Even so, there’s one
Read More

Romance and Reality

Romance and Reality

March 18, 2017 | by

Acclaim comes when artists paint what they know best, and for Utah-based watercolorist Ian Ramsay those subjects are harbors and boats. “The love of ships is in my blood,” he says. “I am almost convinced the source of my passion is genetic, because I can trace it back to both sides of my family. My paternal grandfather serviced vessels docked in Woolwich, a naval shipyard on the Thames River in London. He often took me along with him to work, and we spent a lot of time in the engine room. To this day, I can still recall the smell
Read More

Truth, Beauty, and Happy Accidents

Truth, Beauty, and Happy Accidents

March 18, 2017 | by

Ask Eric Bowman what he does for fun, when he isn’t painting and you might get a long, slightly self-conscious silence, followed by this sheepish admission: “When I’m not painting, I’m thinking about painting.” Bowman spends long days in his backyard studio in northwest Oregon, patiently creating richly textured oil paintings in a style he describes as “not as tight as realism, but not as abstract as impressionism.” Sometimes he paints figures, sometimes he paints landscapes, and occasionally he does a still life. On the rare days Bowman feels uninspired, he attends to the busywork that goes along with being
Read More

King of the Canyon

King of the Canyon

March 18, 2017 | by

Curt Walters is a man on the move, geographically as well as artistically. He has traveled to, and painted in, several countries—Spain, England, Italy, France, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Jordan, Mexico, and Switzerland—and, although he has made a name for himself with his magnificently rendered landscapes, he also now is painting some figures, but more about that later. Now living in Sedona, Arizona, Walters grew up in New Mexico, the son of a dentist, who also painted on occasion. When the elder Walters gave his daughter a paint set, his son quickly stole it and began to follow a
Read More

‘Painting is a Spiritual Thing’

‘Painting is a Spiritual Thing’

January 18, 2017 | by

It’s not unusual for Grace Schlesier to get up before the sun rises, grab a cup of coffee, and head outside to her gardens, still wearing her robe, set up her paints, and begin to capture the beautiful flowers she lovingly tends to on her one-acre property in San Diego, California. “If I’m going to paint my flower garden, I decide the day before what I’m going to do and get everything, except the paints, set up for the next morning,” she says. “I have no preconceived ideas. I want to be flexible; I want to let the scene pull
Read More