Posts from ‘Western Traditional Art’
Paul Bransom (1885-1979) -Jackson Hole, Wyo- 13 x 17″ Oil
You think you’ve seen everything, and suddenly a gem crosses your path. This gem is an oldie, but it shines. It’s history, and a wonderful window into our valley’s arts and wilderness tradition. We are a plein air paradise. A few days ago I paid a visit to Astoria Fine Art and visited the collection of plein air paintings of the Tetons currently in house. The collection is not a true show, but viewed together these works afford an excellent “view” of the many ways artists have painted this valley.
For me, the most exciting find was a scene painted by Paul Bransom (1885-1979). Bransom, notes the gallery (and the gallery credits the National Museum of Wildlife Art), “was a prominent early-American illustrator, having completed covers for the Saturday Evening Post, Ladies Home Journal, Country Gentleman and Good Housekeeping. Beginning in 1947, Bransom spent 16 summers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He met many other artists and illustrators in Jackson, and together they taught classes and started Teton Artists Associated.” Another source says Bransom’s commissions included illustrations for Kipling’s “Just So Stories” and Grahame’s “Wind in the Willows.”
Teton Artists Association, circa 1947, Jackson Hole.
Astoria’s Bart Monson was kind enough to provide an historic photograph of plein air artists painting in the valley; the photo dates circa 1947. The image, from the Archives of American Art, is assumed to be a photograph of Teton Artists Associated members painting en plein air. Phenomenal!
Astoria, says owner Greg Fulton, recently acquired four historical paintings depicting the Teton Range. Those and other contemporary works are available to see; artists include Conrad Schwiering, Scott Christensen, Carol Swinney, Jim Wilcox, romantic landscape painter Linda Tuma Robertson, and more. www.astoriafineart.com
Welcome back! Let’s do some warm-ups.
It will be so interesting to see if Culture Front’s next gathering, entitled “Making It: Commercial Success in the Arts,” picks up where last month’s discussion left off. That discussion, about interpreting the West, became a forum on how to survive making art in the West. Shari Edwy Brownfield, Natalia Duncan Macker and September Vhay are this month’s guest artists, appearing at The Rose on Wednesday, April 24th, 5:30 pm.
Lots of consideration, lately, of professionalism, compensation, selling work and feeling good. We love doing work we love, but in these challenging times it is so important to pay anyone for their services. Hey, it’s just good karma, an “inescapable spiritual law.” Trade can work when it fills a need; but fee compensation buys the bread. Support your supporters! Freelancers and contract workers are jumping through hoops to attain what should be instantly offered. This applies not only to artists, but to those working professionally in the fields of social media, p.r., marketing, technology, graphics, hospitality and other arenas. If you request assistance from someone and they agree to help out, offer something in return that honors their gift to you. Dinner, house-sitting, promotions, car detailing, barn raising, dishwashing, conservation duty, babysitting, art, gardening, a job reference, a title or…money.
Cross my heart and can’t wait to do it again, one of the great highlights of my 2012 arts summer was the culmination of the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters’ (RMPAP) “Plein Air for the Park” National Paint-Out & Show. Last July, approximately 40 plein air artists converged in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) and the Jackson Hole area, painting their hearts out for two weeks. All paintings completed were exhibited and sold in a three-day event at GTNP’s Craig Thomas Discovery Center (CTDC), in Moose, Wyoming.
The place was PACKED. And there are those who missed last year’s event still notifying me they wish they’d been there. Recently, a senior Park employee confided to me that the Park, as a collective, loved the event. It all went off so beautifully that RMPAP is returning this summer, July 8 – 21st, 2013. The event benefits GTNP and is hosted by the Park and the Grand Teton Association (GTA). This year’s opening reception, at the CTDC, takes place Thursday, July 18th, beginning at 7pm. Awards will be presented at 7:45 by this year’s Judge, Chris Moran.
A Quick Draw takes place Saturday, July 20th, beginning at 9:00am, at Menor’s Ferry in GTNP. The public can watch paintings being created from start to finish; they then may purchase paintings right off the easel at the fixed-price sale immediately following, 11am – 12 noon. Approximately 44 professional, recognized artists will participate in this, RMPAP’s 12th Annual National Show.
The GTA began collecting works of art on behalf of the Park over 50 years ago; the collection has become a valuable part of GTNP’s legacy. Last year, two works were purchased by GTA for the Park’s permanent collection; two more were purchased by patrons and donated to the Park. AND, last year’s event raised close to $21,000 for GTA!
“It is a thrill and a pleasure to be back in GTNP and working with Grand Teton Association again this year,” says RMPAP President (and participating artist) Stephen C. Datz. “We welcome the opportunity to continue the artistic tradition at the Park, expand public awareness and appreciation of plein-air painting, and in so doing benefit the exceptional efforts of the GTA on behalf of the Park.”
Jason Rich's Winning "Fall Arts Festival" Poster Artwork
“Jackson is one of the top three Western Art Markets: Santa Fe, Scottsdale, Jackson. It’s not quantifiable, but we may even be outpacing Scottsdale for both Western and Contemporary Western art. What other great Western art markets could there be?” ~Astute J.H. Gallery Owner.
Last year’s Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival poster artist Amy Ringholz expanded Fall Arts Festival artist parameters. This year, Legacy Gallery’s Jason Rich has been selected~~his composition falls into the illustration-based genre of painting, a more traditional choice. But I must say I think the work reflects a deep joy and pride Westerners take in being a part of a very specific culture and region: our region. Rich’s light is gold-warm, his painting dimensional, and the way Rich has painted the Tetons, softly but with a strong distant profile, reminds me of the best kind of nurturing mother. Mother Nature. Tenderness and togetherness are expressed. Congratulations, Jason! And congrats to Legacy Gallery, where Rich hangs his artistic hat. www.legacygallery.com
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Dear Erin O’Connor~~How I wish I could accompany you on your painting trip to Morocco! To be as intrepid as you, what a joy! Thank you of thinking of my two bunnies~~~they don’t wear fancy hats for Easter, but they will eat one if the hat’s made of straw.
Jackson plein air painter Erin O’Connor is off to Marrakesh, where she will explore the narrow passages of the old city, Medina, easel on her back. She’s looking forward to “acquainting herself with the local bacteria” and plans on enjoying as much local, spiced fare as possible. She’ll then head off across the Marrakesh Plain, into the High Atlas Mountains. She’ll “4×4″ it, she’ll hike it, and she plans on reaching “remote villages, waterfalls, springs and shrines to saints.” Plein air artist Aaron Schuerr, of Livingston, Montana, will accompany her on part of the trip; this arrangement was made by the Atlas Cultural Foundation. They’ll stay with a local sheik.
Payne, Edgar, (1882-1947), Sardine Boats, Chioggia, Italy, oil on linen, 25 x 30"
The Seventh Annual Jackson Hole Art Auction is taking shape and scheduled to commence on Saturday, September 14th, 2013 at Jackson’s Center for the Arts! The auction is produced in partnership by Trailside Galleries of Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Scottsdale, AZ and the Gerald Peters Gallery of Santa Fe, NM. This year also marks Trailside Galleries’ 50th Anniversary!
You know how quickly this event has become a premier “destination” Western Art auction. Though independently produced, the highly anticipated auction takes place during the final weekend of Jackson’s annual Fall Arts Festival. Fall Arts, long Jackson’s most successful, continuing event, is now regarded as a model by other entities wishing to extend Jackson’s tourism season. Western art, sometimes overlooked as a significant factor of Jackson’s economic pulse, still rules. Western art tells America’s stories and history, and in the Greater Yellowstone Region that is particularly significant. It’s our artistic bedrock.
Dixon, Maynard, (1875-1946), Remuda, 1921-1945, oil on canvas
