Born in 1954, and raised on southern California ranches, John DeMott’s comfortable painting people of the West in magnificent Western settings. He’s experienced the demanding work required in ranching and has developed an enduring appreciation for Western heritage.
Like father, like son. So it is with artist Teal Blake and his father, Buckeye Blake, well-known western artist.
Most parents would be horrified if their son threw knives at his sisters. But, having a knife-thrower in the family is par for the course with Canada’s Bishop clan – father Tom, mother Jan, son Tom Jr., and daughters Sally and Sarah – a hard-riding group for whom risk-taking is a family enterprise.
Carl Joseph Shinkaruk’s portfolio is richly steeped in his childhood roots on the Canadian prairies, and his birthplace – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Russian-born artist Andre Kohn identifies similarities between the life of a Native American, a true cowboy and people in his homeland. The common element, he says, is their love for land and their appreciation for nature.
Phil Stadtler might be in his mid-80s, but at 6 feet, 2 inches, he still looks like he could buck a few bales of alfalfa with little trouble. Each of his hands is as broad as an iron skillet. One eye is sky-blue, the other blind, cloudy from a long-ago ranching accident.
Charles Dayton inherited a strong connection to the American West. His ancestors, part of the Mormon migration, colonized high-mountain valleys in Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. His great-great-grandfather was a missionary to Chief Washakie and the Eastern Shoshone.
Ten years ago, Jason Rich took a chance on an art career. That gamble paid off, and today the Utah artist’s work has earned the respect of collectors, galleries and working cowboys.
Kim Ragsdale focuses on faces – character faces with wrinkles, broken teeth, no teeth and older faces. Her first drawings were of dogs, horses and cows because they’re so important in western ranch life. They weren’t child-like drawings, but were so accurate anatomically as to be mistaken for photographs.
