Greg Newbold is a fine art painter and illustrator based near Salt Lake City, Utah. Greg says that for him, “art is a soulful expression.” His hope is that a piece of him comes out at the end of his brush onto the surface of a painting and connects with the spirit of the viewer. Greg’s compelling visions of the American West are distilled through the filter of his own life experiences. Building upon that, he applies his own unique creative filters of simplification, light, color, shape, and texture. This creative alchemy results in paintings that feature bold composition, strong value structur ..read more

Kim Lordier is an extraordinary pastel painter whose works are cherished by collectors from around the world. Her path to becoming a full-time painter took flight in unexpected ways. Beginning with earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree she became – a flight attendant! Soon, though, she returned with firm resolve to making fine art her life’s work. For the first two decades of her painting career, she focused primarily on the landscape – both from life in and in her studio. Filled with rich color, her landscapes demonstrate her unique spirit of mark-making. In time, her love of horses began to ..read more

Brian Buckrell is a full-time Canadian painter. After a long, successful career as a Professor of Veterinary Medicine, he made the decision to switch to a career doing one of the hardest things known to humankind: painting fine art. The transition wasn’t easy - especially doing so much later in life while in his sixties. He admits there were times he felt like quitting. However, he stuck with it. Brian doggedly continued developing his painting skills. Recognizing the importance of learning the fundamentals of the craft, he attended many workshops and enrolled full-time at the highly acclaimed ..read more

Robert Henri's book The Art Spirit inevitably makes it in any artist's top ten artbook recommendations. As passionate students of Art, we know Robert Henri. His paintings make up an extraordinary body of work. He is considered the "father" of the Ashcan School - a loose alliance of artists whose approach to painting had more in common with journalism than stuffy, academic Traditionalism. Henri taught in many art schools. By some estimates, he taught more than a thousand students – including Edward Hopper and George Bellows. He was universally beloved as a teacher by his students. Today we cont ..read more

Scott L. Christensen must paint - it is core to his very being. His keen eye and probing curiosity of nature reveal a deep love of not just being outdoors – but, rather, immersed in it with all senses engaged. His response to the landscape is visceral. He wants the viewer to feel a deep emotional connection with the landscape. The viewer is not a mere passing observer of a Christensen painting, but is also a participant in the scene – curious, seeking answers to their own internal questions. Nature's beauty presents a cacophony of options. This excites Scott – he looks forward to the process o ..read more

Britt Snyder focuses on capturing memories and feelings on canvas. Though influenced by late 19th century impressionism, Britt's paintings are clearly a modern take of impressionistic figurative, still life, and landscape painting. His portrayal of the human figure resembles a character who once inhabited our dreams of the night, and now their features slowly dissolve from our waking memory.  His paintings reference classical painting, photography and pop culture with an emphasis on capturing and presenting moments in time and presenting the core essence of the portrayed subject. Just as ..read more

Frank Serrano's paintings have a sense of atmospheric depth that seem to extend far beyond the two dimensional surface of a canvas. As you look at one of his Western landscape paintings, it's as if you can feel the summer heat enveloping California's Owens Valley. You feel a breeze gently tugging at your soul as you gaze in awe upon the purple glow of the fading light of the setting sun cast upon the immense Eastern Sierras. This is Edgar Payne country.  Inspired by Payne as well as artists Sam Hyde Harris, Frank Tenney Johnson, Maynard Dixon and others, Frank's paintings reflect his own ..read more

Kevin Kehoe began his remarkable career as a fine art painter just a little over eight years ago. Though he had attended Art Institute of Boston, it would be another 30 years before he would pick up his paint brushes again. With the loving support of his wife, he abandoned a successful career in advertising to pursue fine art painting full time. Kevin refers to himself as a painter with a camera. However, his thoughtfully composed photos are merely a jumping off point for his exquisite, expansive paintings that stir the heart. His goal is not to simply render a photo into a painting ..read more

Denise LaRue Mahlke paints with soft pastels - which are to her the purest form of artist color. Unfettered with complicated materials, she is free to respond spontaneously to the unfolding spectacle of the big skies and ancient geology of the American West. I first saw her beautiful, atmospheric pastel works of art in person at the Booth Museum. It was at a show called Painting Red Rocks Country, Past and Present. Her work was displayed alongside the works of G. Russell Case, Matt Smith, and Ray Roberts.  Denise says “Painting allows me to communicate the celebratory beauty of God’s ..read more

Eric Bowman could never have imagined the path his life would take for him to become a fine art painter. He wanted to go to art school but the prospect of spending two years in a junior college taking courses that had nothing to do with art - well, that was something he couldn't stomach. And so began a surprising journey with many side trips and destination stops and the serendipitous meeting of people who would forever shape the way he creates art today. In this edition of the Artful Painter, Eric talks about his choice of subject to paint: often a solitary figure or two situated in a vast, c ..read more