"America is celebrating the bicentennial of
Lewis and Clark's epic journey with events and exhibits over the next two years.Then, as
now, America is still a place of wide open spaces and a pioneer spirit. Art dealers say
that the marketplace for Western art has never been stronger" (Art Business News, September 2004).
The Western art scene has had its highs and lows over the past few years, but
always seems to come back with enough strength to keep artists working. This
doesn't mean that the average cowboy artists is doing well enough to
quit his or her day job, but there's enough ongoing interest to keep artists
hoping - thus painting, drawing, sculpting, etc. Of course, this is nothing new,
and the phrase "starving artist" is oft times too close to the truth.
Alternate markets have to be found by our artists - not everyone is going to make a living
selling large paintings - and there are numerous venues within which the cowboy artist
can sell his or her work.
But it's up to everyday folk who are fans of Western themes - cowboy life who make
the difference. when you need gift items, greeting cards, or household furnishings,
remember the cowboy artist and photographer.
And speaking of celebrations, 2005 is the Centennial year for Las Vegas, NV., and May 15 is the
official birthday o0f this world renown city. If any reader hs photos or other art work showing
Las Vegas's past, let me know. We may be able to do something with the Centennial celebration.
Joe Chernicoff, CAPA Exec. Director
Cowboy Art Makes "Horse Sense"
There are quite a few equestrian artists exhibiting their work, but we just heard about a true
Equus caballus artist.
Cholla, the artist
Kathy Squire, of the Newton, New Jersey based "The Judge's Choice" web site, thought that you might like to take a look at a new web site that displays paintings created by a mustang gelding. Yes, the artist is a horse, and his paintings sell ( for a pretty good price, too!(jc)).
Tony Sesma art
One of two new artists added to the cowboyartshow.com gallery pages, Tony Sesma brings a fresh look to the cowboy scene, especially when the work day is over.
<
Laugh Time
From a recent edition of the Las Vegas Sun
BLM Photos On-line
For 2500 or more images, visit the Bureau of Land Management web site.
Photo from Southeast of Battle Mountain, Nevada.
Cowboy Colorist
The second artist added to the gallery pages at cowboyartshow.com. Mel Dickson is a Cowboy Colorist, and explains just what this work is: "A rabble rousing cowboy spent the night drinking in the town saloon. After managing to irritate everyone in the crowd, he finally staggered outside to find that someone had painted his horse a bright shade of yellow.
The cowboy stormed back into the bar and yelled, "JUST WHO IN THE SAM-HILL PAINTED MY HORSE YELLOW!!!!"
Everyone in the bar rustled around when a giant man in the back of the bar stood up and said, "I did, boy! So what you got to say about it?”
The cowboy looked up at the meanest, toughest man he’d ever seen and said "I was just going to let you know the first coat is dry."
As a self-described Cowboy Colorist, I can definitely relate to this joke. However, my horses tend to be purple and orange rather than yellow. I should begin by clarifying that a colorist is a painter. The difference lies in how the paint is applied. After getting over the hurdle of figuring out what to paint, the next step is to decide how to paint it. It is at this stage that the artist develops a style of painting. Two examples of styles on opposite poles are Tonalist and Colorist. Tonalist painting is likened to what a black and white camera would do with a subject. It reads the different levels of light and dark. The colors tend to be muted, and the range is usually blended. Colorist painting, other hand, is primarily atonal; colors are the prime importance and are used to convey emotion, while light and darkness are relatively ignored. The colors are vivid, with very little blending. Blending is created by the viewer’s eye, depending on the placement of colors and their relationship to one another. In past western art, the difference between Tonalist and Colorist painters can be seen when you compare the work of Maynard Dixon to C.M. Russell. Dixon’s work exemplifies the Tonalist style of painting, while Russell’s demonstrates the Colorist style. Although Dixon used color, and Russell used tone, their importance in the painting is reversed. Like Russell, I describe myself as a Cowboy Colorist. My primary focus is the use of color. For me, the Colorist style best portrays the spirit, character and colorful lifestyle of today’s western subject.
Mark Holt & Kimberlee Holt Tully
CAPA members Mark Holt and Kimberlee Tully continue growing in popularity with their country-bluegrass music, and rightly so. Look for their new CDs, * Mark Holt original song "one last dance" @ www.soundclick.com/markholt * Mark & Kimberlee's cd: "Acoustically Native" now available @ www.cdbaby.com/mhkht
Myths of the West
At-Talk, an interesting and valuable monthly art newspaper, is now online. You'll find the story on myths of the west interesting.