Painting of the Day, November 30, 2011

By Donna Poulton

"I paint barns and rural life, not because it may have been or is in vogue, but because my twenty years as a farmer provide me with an essential and intimate knowledge of my subject matter...." –Dale Nichols

Dale Nichols is often thought of as the fourth Regionalist artist after the triumvirate of Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton and John Steuart Curry.  He was raised in Nebraska and spent much of his life painting the rural agrarian life he was familiar with.   His work has received renewed attention with a traveling exhibition organized by the Bone Creek Museum in David City, Nebraska, Nichols home town.

Credit: Coeur D’Alene Auction

Dale W. Nichols (1904-1995), Trail Drive, 1950, oil on board, 20 x 30 in.

Painting of the Day, November 29, 2011

By Donna Poulton

George Catlin (1796-1872) was among the first artists to paint the Plains Indians.  He travelled WITH General William Clark (of Lewis and Clark fame) for two years among the Iowa, Sioux and other tribes.  Later he painted the Blackfoot and Crow on the upper Missouri River.  He took over 600 of his paintings on exhibition throughout Europe to great acclaim. His study Buffalo Chase, A Surround by the Hidatsa will be selling at Sotheby’s Auction for between $800,000 and $1,200,000 dollars on December 1^st.

Credit: Sotheby’s, 1 December 2011 Auction

Sotheby’s New York, Buffalo Chase, A Surround by the Hidatsa, 1830-32, 22 x 27 in. oil on canvas

Painting of the Day, November 27, 2011

By Donna Poulton

W. Herbert “Buck” Dunton (1878 – 1936), The Open Range, 1920s, oil on canvas.  Credit: 1ArtClub.com

W. Herbert  “Buck” Dunton was a successful illustrator working for Scribner’s, Harper’s, and for Zane Grey before settling in Taos and becoming founding member of the Taos Society of Artists. Before his work became more stylized toward the end of his career, Dunton used a softer more impressionistic approach to paint the sun-drenched landscape that surrounded him.

The value range of lights and darks can only be seen on the riders and horses.  There are no shadows because the sun seems to be directly overhead.  The abscence of value is more easily illustrated in this photo-shopped black and white image.

To see more of Herbert Buck Dunton, you might like our prior post on the painting Fall in the Foothills.

Painting of the Day, November 26, 2011

By Donna Poulton

“I say as much as I can about how an animal lives and interacts with its environment and other organisms.” -- Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen

Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen is a Master Member of the Society of Animal Artists. His intricately rendered paintings can be found in natural history and art magazines and although he has received numerous awards for his work, it is noteworthy that biology professors are among his greatest supporters.  

Carel P. Brest van Kempen, Prairie Sentinel—Prairie Rattlesnake, 2002, acrylic on board, 15 x 40 in. Credit: Carel P. Brest van Kempen

Purchase Rigor Vitae at Ken Sanders Bookstore

The Artist’s Studio: Part 1

By Donna Poulton

Even with the familiar smells of turpentine, linseed oil and paint dominating your sense of smell, the artist’s studio can be a mysterious place to visit—an alchemical chamber where elements are mixed, stirred and modeled to become valuable impressions of beauty. Although most studios have high ceilings, towering north facing windows and waxed wooden floors, they can tell a lot about how an artist chooses to work, the props they use and the ambiance they need to be inspired. 

Frederic Remington’s studio at Endion, his home in New Rochelle, New York. Credit: CarterMuseum.org

Frederic Remington Studio recreated and on view at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming. Credit: Buffalo Bill Historical Center 

Charles Russell Studio. Credit: Carter Museum

Joseph Sharp Studio. Credit: Buffalo Bill Historical Center

Joseph Sharp Cabin: The Absarokee Hut, recreated and on view at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Credit: Buffalo Bill Historical Center