Archives for Portrait

An Independent Spirit

An Independent Spirit

September 22, 2014 | by

As a fifth generation Oklahoman and a member of the Sweet Potato Clan of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, sculptor Paul Moore has long been fascinated by stories depicting the history of his home state. Many of those stories document the involvement of family members in significant events such as the Trail of Tears, cattle drives along the Chisholm Trail, and the Oklahoma land rushes. Paul Moore Hopi Snake Dancer Bronze 42″ High “Back in the late ’80s, I was fortunate enough to witness the Snake Dance at the Hopi’s first mesa. It was an amazing experience that has remained permanently
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The Softer Side of the West

The Softer Side of the West

July 22, 2014 | by

Spring in the Midwest can be a fickle. One it’s day warm, the next day cold, the next day a blanket of snow settles on the daffodils. Snow is exactly what thwarted a painting trip Montana artist Loren Entz had planned with Alise, his 6-year-old granddaughter, last April. On his way to Kansas, via Omaha, Nebraska, he had stopped to visit his daughter, Rebecca, and was planning to take Alise plein air painting, after hearing a comment she had made not long before. Standing before her mother, Alise had announced, “I don’t know if I want to be a mommy
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I Have Enjoyed Every Minute

I Have Enjoyed Every Minute

May 22, 2014 | by

John Moyers says he is a lucky man. As a young boy, he was surrounded by art and art supplies, thanks to his father, award-winning artist William Moyers. As a teenager, he was mentored by distinguished painter, Robert Lougheed. And, as an adult he met and married his soul mate and fellow artist, Terri Kelly, and the two have happily traveled the world, painting as they go. He is modest about his accomplishments, grateful for the opportunity to spend his life doing what he loves, and excited about the future. John Moyers Return From Blue Lake Oil 30˝ by 48˝
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‘I’m Doing What I Love’

‘I’m Doing What I Love’

May 22, 2014 | by

In Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” Polonius counsels his son Laertes, “To thine own self be true,” offering a sage bit of wisdom that remains relevant four centuries later. In the case of Montana-based landscapist Greg Scheibel, defining and responding to his deep inner “self” became an evolutionary process that required more than two decades to come to fruition. Although Scheibel was born in Minnesota, the 53-year-old artist has been a Montana resident since he was 12, when his father, a contractor, relocated the family to Bozeman in order help build the Big Sky ski area. “As a hockey player on our local
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For the Love of Oils

For the Love of Oils

May 22, 2014 | by

Thankfully, there are men and women who eagerly, although admittedly somewhat fearfully, stand in front of blank canvases and gather their courage—and summon all of their skills—to transform them into wondrous works of art. Before they reach that point, however, they have settled on a medium that they feel is best suited to them and their subjects. The artists we feature here have found, for the most part, what they need in oil paints. Nancy Howe Heliotrope Oil 18˝ by 24˝ “I paint because this is the ‘gift’ I was given, the means for me to grow, appreciate, and navigate
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Addicted to Painting

Addicted to Painting

March 22, 2014 | by

Don Weller always intended to make horses his career—but he wasn’t planning on painting them. His goal, he says, was actually to be a rodeo cowboy. It was an obsession that started when Weller was 7 or 8 years old and reading cowboy stories by Will James. He says he whined enough that his mom bought him a horse of his own, which he started riding around his hometown of Pullman, Washington. Don Weller (Utah) A Culdesac of Conjecture Watercolor 18″ x 24″ “These guys are discussing where the cow might be. Nobody knows for sure, but the debate goes
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Fine Art and Freedom

Fine Art and Freedom

March 22, 2014 | by

It’s been an interesting ride for Michael Dudash, an award-winning illustrator who, early in is career, occasionally spent nights locked in a cadaver room at the University of Minnesota, as he sketched illustrations for a medical magazine. Those days are long behind him, and today Dudash is a fine artist, who paints everything from portraits and landscapes to still lifes and Western scenes. C. Michael Dudash (Idaho) Sheriff, A Deputy, A Day’s Catch Oil 28″ x 42″ “As with a lot of my work, this painting tells a story by only telling part of the story. The viewer has to
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The Art of Breaking Rules

The Art of Breaking Rules

March 22, 2014 | by

Dan Bodelson is a rebel. Not a James Dean kind of rebel, not a rebel without a cause, but rather one whose focus is art. You see, so much about art, according to Bodelson, has to do with defying the rules—in essence, rebelling. “In fact, there are no rules,” he says. “Because, if someone says ‘You can’t do that and don’t mix that color with that [other one],’ the first thing an artist will go and do is just what you said not to. Dan Bodelson (New Mexico) Too Cold to Ride Oil 40″ x 30″ “I came across this
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Home is Where the Horses Are

Home is Where the Horses Are

January 22, 2014 | by

When Jim Rey’s mom died a few years ago, he found some of his childhood drawings that she had saved in a box. The pencil drawings, which Rey had done when he was just 4 or 5 years old, were of horses and cattle. Which is what Rey, now 74, is still drawing and painting. “It’s not something I’m going to outgrow,” he says. “I just really like the subject matter. I like painting the Western experience, so that’s what I’ll keep doing.” Jim Rey (Nebraska) Point Rider Oil 36” by 24” “I vacillated between choosing to do this painting
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Making Them Proud

Making Them Proud

November 25, 2013 | by

Artistic talent cannot be taught; rather it is birthed by a passion that lies deep within the heart and soul. There is no more shining example of this truism than reflecting on the prolific oeuvre created by Arizona-based sculptor Bill Nebeker during an amazing career that has spanned nearly four decades. Born November 13, 1942, in Twin Falls, Idaho, Nebeker’s early values were shaped by life in the small ranching and farming community. Although he spent many youthful hours whittling images of dogs, horses, miniature saddles, and even small sailing ships from unused wood he found on the family farm,
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