Indholdsfortegnelse for February/March 2025 i Southwest Art

AT A GLANCE, the paintings of artist Francis Livingston are notable for their beautiful colors and thought-out narratives. Exploring them further—and again and again—one notices the nuanced details that live throughout each canvas. There is a sense of discovery at every turn with a patch of layered color here and a swift brushstroke there. Livingston has become a mainstay as an artist depicting the American West. His connection to the region begins with his origins—born in Colorado and raised in Oklahoma—but a visit to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum (then the National Cowboy Hall of Fame) as a teenager helped get the wheels spinning. “There was a work by Ernest Blumenschein on display, and I distinctly remember seeing it and thinking ‘what is this?’” recalls Livingston. “At the…

THE TITLE Night of Artists is somewhat misleading, as this Texas-sized annual event includes a weekend’s worth of activities plus an art exhibition running for six weeks at San Antonio’s Briscoe Western Art Museum. The museum’s largest fundraiser, this year’s 24th annual event—with opening festivities March 28 and 29—includes several new aspects. For one, the show welcomes 13 new artists to the mix of 84 participating in the exhibition and sale. The fresh talent owes, in part, to another new development: For the first time with Night of Artists, the museum has hired an outside curator, Tim Newton. Liz Jackson, president and CEO of the Briscoe, says, “What makes Tim such an appealing choice is his strong network of relationships with artists and collectors. Bringing him on is exciting, and we…

TOURISTS TYPICALLY FLOCK to Charleston, South Carolina, for its colonial scenery and Atlantic beaches. However, when that salty air cools and Valentine’s Day nears, many travelers to the city and locals alike open Charleston’s tourist season with the spectacles of the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition. Celebrating 43 years, the event establishes multiple venues across the city to showcase the best in wildlife art while raising awareness for wildlife conservation and the environment. Running from February 14 to 16, this renowned show is the largest of its kind both in the American Southeast and beyond. Visitors are afforded a diverse selection of activities including live music by singer-songwriters during the Lowcountry Lyrics event, a Ducks Unlimited auction in the expanded Sporting Showroom at the Charleston Marriott, and a presentation by outdoor adventurer,…

ONE OF THE most anticipated art festivals happening during the first part of every year is the four-day La Quinta Art Celebration in California. The event, taking place in 2025 from February 27 to March 2, is recognized for its abundance of fine art categories like paintings, sculpture, jewelry and photography. More than 150 artists from across the globe are juried into the show, allowing every attendee to find something that they will enjoy. Missouri-based painter Annie Flynn is one exhibitor to watch. She has a unique point of view, as she focuses on “figures and light through the waterscape” like the four boys submerged in water in BEACH BOYS. The focus is on the light and shadows created through reflections, but the removal of their faces from the image…

EARLY ONE EVENING in November 2023, an approaching thunderstorm gripped Dane Chinnock’s attention as he drove north on Interstate 17 toward the rugged Bradshaw Mountains just south of Prescott, Arizona. “For 20 miles, I’d been watching it build and grow,” he recalls. “The sun was getting low, and all along the horizon edge was this golden yellow light, while the thunderhead cast its shadow across the landscape as the rain came down. It just took my breath away.” He pulled off the highway near Cordes Junction, grabbed his camera, got out of his car and snapped “maybe 50 photos, saying to myself, ‘Aw, man, someday I’ll paint that.’” Someday came this past fall when Chinnock began to paint a sweeping 30-by-60-inch landscape. He recalls, “I was in my studio”—which occupies…

“I SEARCH FOR the idealized scene or subject and distill it down to the essentials to be a strong image in the end,” says Tad Retz, an up-and-coming impressionist and plein air painter. Retz likens his paintings to dreams, where his art is the main subject and everything else just supports it. Retz gets inspiration for his art from his travels, though he says he feels most expressive when he’s painting landscapes. “The ease of accessibility is probably what drew me to painting [landscapes] from the start,” he says. “I wanted to get good at painting and the most interesting thing to me was just going outside and observing natural light. I also like exploring new places and seeing how one place differs from another.” Retz also notes that painting…

THE AUTRY MUSEUM of the American West in Los Angeles is at the forefront of promoting contemporary Western artists through unparalleled exhibitions and events. For more than 25 years the museum celebrated the genre through its Masters of the American West art show, but this year it is pivoting to an event that combines curatorial expertise with an auction. Romance Reimagined, on view February 8 through March 23, is a retrospective featuring 44 works primarily from the Autry’s collection. Many are past Masters award-winning pieces that highlight the breadth of what is Western art. The show is curated by Amy Scott, the Autry’s Executive Vice President of Research and Interpretation, who focused on “romanticism in art that still permeates the [images of the] American West.” Scott continues, “It’s an imaginative…

ONE OF THE major annual events of the Western art circuit, the C.M. Russell Museum’s The Russell: A Western Art Experience, will be held from March 20 to 22. The Art Preview Party on Thursday, March 20, will offer prospective buyers the opportunity to view artworks featured in First Strike and The Russell auctions. On the next day, Friday, March 21, renowned artists will be on hand, bringing new works to life while interacting with guests during a paint out. The event will end with a live auction—artists will donate all of the proceeds from pieces sold to the museum. The First Strike Friday Night Auction caps the day, with a sale of the finest in contemporary Western art. Attendees can enjoy music, delicious food and a spirited auction in…

SOMETIMES, BECAUSE OF the allure of plein air, new realism and abstraction, we can overlook impressionism, even though, in its way, it is what gave rise to all of the above. To remind us of the particular beauties of this special “-ism”, however, the American Impressionist Society and the more than 200 paintings that comprise the 9th annual Impressions Small Works Showcase will open on February 14 at Fallbrook Art Center in Fallbrook, California. Founded in 1998, the American Impressionist Society boasts over 2,400 active members and sponsors a host of exhibitions, workshops and educational programs. Of the 200 available works, some 50 will be brand-new from the Paint Out, when select artists will set up their easels to paint in this picturesque region. The fruits of their labors will…

FROM GLORIOUS MOUNTAIN RANGES TO SERENE WATERS, THE IMAGES THAT APPEAR IN PAINTINGS OF LANDS AND SEA ARE DYNAMIC, VIVID AND COMPELLING. THEY TELL STORIES OF places but with the individual depiction of the artist. Some focus on the emotions and atmosphere, while other artists are all about the light and shadows. Often there is a combination of ideas to create an ideal composition that resonates with any viewer. This special advertising section features just a sampling of the landscapes and seascapes being painted today. Brad Teare Inspired by Rockwell Kent, Brad Teare studied fine art and illustration before working as a New York illustrator. Now a full-time landscape painter, he captures the West's rugged beauty with bold, expressive strokes and richly textured color, creating works that resonate with energy…

BLUE RAIN GALLERY in Santa Fe, New Mexico, will exhibit 20 paintings by Tony De Luz in a solo exhibition titled Hit the Road on view January 31 through February 11. De Luz plans to attend an artist reception in the gallery opening night from 5 to 7 p.m. “This is my third show with Blue Rain Gallery, and our opening is part of the Last Friday Art Walk in Santa Fe,” the artist says. “For me, an art opening is gratifying and fun. I really enjoy how the gallery looks and the excitement and the buzz surrounding an opening. It’s fun to see everybody enjoying the artwork and to talk to people about my art. And it’s always exciting seeing one of those red dots that mean a painting…

LEGACY GALLERY AND Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West will host its second Western Horizons Show & Sale on February 21 and 22 in Arizona. Last year’s inaugural event featured 34 artists with 96 works of art that resulted in $1.4 million in sales. Dan Corazzi, the Western Horizons event director, says this year it will feature a greater diversity of artwork by even more artists including Tony Abeyta, William Acheff, Thomas Blackshear II, S.M. Chavez, Glenn Dean and William Haskell. The artwork represents the artists’ individual interpretations of various subject matters that express the “essence” of the American West. Corazzi adds that each artist has been invited to participate in Western Horizons based on their medium, subject matter, style and the quality level of their art. The range…

FOR THREE DECADES, the LA Art Show has served as the largest and longest-running art fair in Los Angeles. Happening February 19 to 23 at the city’s Convention Center, the show is continuing its tradition of presenting an international cohort of artists, collectors, museums and galleries as they display their best work. Visitors to the show will experience a diverse showcase of global talent, including exhibitors from Europe, North America and parts of Asia, such as Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. “At LA Art Show, diversity is our strength, and art is most impactful when it transcends borders,” explains Kassandra Voyagis, producer and director of the LA Art Show. “It’s essential that the fair reflects the interwoven multicultural influence unique to our host city, too.” Diversity is also present in…

THE ANNUAL Indian Fair + Market at the acclaimed Heard Museum in Phoenix is a celebration of creativity, tradition and community. Each year more than 600 Native artists from over 100 tribal nations participate in the event showing off their artistry. This year’s 67th edition takes place March 1 and 2 with everything from jewelry and basketry to paintings and sculpture on display and available to purchase. Kicking off the event, organized by the Heard Museum Guild, is the awards ceremony at 5 p.m. on Friday, February 28. This is when winners of the juried competition—that includes the coveted Best of Show and Best of Division categories—are revealed for the first time. These award winners are among the best of the best in their respective mediums, and their works often highlight…

SWIRLING, WHIRLING, TWIRLING and curling are all words that can describe the vibrant, curvilinear brushstrokes that inhabit the landscape paintings of Phyllis Shafer. The rounded lines depict the flora and fauna that live in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Viewers can expect to see the gnarly trunks of juniper trees, cheatgrass bending in the wind, and the North Upper Truckee River snaking through South Lake Tahoe, California, not far from her front door. Shafer is known for her unique visual voice that captures the sense of place in her part of the world. A self-described “stylized realist,” as the artist is fond of saying, her style is more about painting what she feels rather than what she sees. Some observers could easily label Shafer a sensual painter, too, though she’s not…

THE ADOBE FINE ART Ruidoso, NM (575) 257-5795 | theadobefineart.com Robert Ugalde is known for his impressionistic oil paintings that breathe unique life into the landscape and figures. He was classically trained in the tradition of the Old Masters at Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes in Queretaro, Mexico—the same city where he was born. For the artist, perspective and mark-making are important to his compositions. Many of his landscapes take on views looking up to the treetops as seen in BEAR VIEW, while his experiments with tools—like palette knife and liquid industrial oil paints poured and mixed on the surface—gives his work signature paint strokes and shapes. BLUE RAIN GALLERY Santa Fe, NM & Durango, CO (505) 954-9902 & (970) 232-2033 | blueraingallery.com Born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in…