Blogs

Welcome to our art blog page. Here you can read posts from our main fine art blog and also from the art blog written by Kristin Hoerth, Southwest Art magazine’s Editor in Chief. Whether you are an avid art collector, an artist, or simply an admirer of fine art, our art blogs are a great way to stay informed about the western art scene. Follow these fine art blogs to learn about art events, art collecting, emerging artists, and more from the editors at Southwest Art magazine—the collector’s choice for over 40 years!

Balls of Sunshine by Judd Mercer.

Plein Air Passion | Judd Mercer

For Judd Mercer, plein-air painting provides a perfect escape from his day job staring at a computer screen as a graphic designer in downtown Denver. Whenever he can, he’ll head into the Rockies, or further afield to favorite scenic spots like Canyonlands National Park in Utah or Laguna Beach, CA. He’ll...

Maggie and Jack on the Way to Work by Mary Lois Brown.

Plein Air Passion | Mary Lois Brown

From her home near Sedona, AZ, Mary Lois Brown enjoys “almost a 360-degree view” of hills, mountains, and the area’s renowned red rocks, all of which are perfect inspirations for her plein-air painting efforts. A two-hour drive to the north is her “all-time favorite subject,” the Grand Canyon, which she knows...

High Dunes by Sara Jane Reynolds.

Plein Air Passion | Sara Jane Reynolds

In 1984, Sara Jane Reynolds, her husband, and their five young children moved from San Marino, near traffic-jammed Los Angeles, to “a more rural life” on John’s Island along the coast of South Carolina. Reynolds had painted avidly during her school years, including advanced studies at the Pacific Asia Museum, Art...

Nancy Silvia at work on location.

Plein Air Passion: Painting On Location

Over the past several decades, plein-air painting has enjoyed a vibrant new heyday across the nation, championed by local, state, regional, and national societies and enthusiastically supported by museums, galleries, magazines, and collectors.
The Golden Hour by Paula B. Holtzclaw

On Location

This month’s issue features several artists whose paintings also benefit from time spent on location, even if they later return to their studio to continue working.
Makeshift Ambulance by Bill Anton.

A Western Tradition

For almost half a century, the Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition & Sale has been one of the premier annual events in the western art world.
Waiting at Acoma by Melvin C. Warren

Western Art on the Block

Sponsored by Austin Auction Gallery Austin Auction Gallery in Austin, TX, is presenting a three-day auction event that begins on Friday, August 28, and wraps up on Sunday, August 30. The auction is being conducted remotely, with a variety of options: absentee bidding, telephone bidding, and online bidding via multiple platforms....

Search Party by Brent Cotton.

The Shows Go On

With events canceled or modified, travel restricted, and the economic outlook uncertain, the art world has been dealt some significant blows.

My Process, My Portfolio: Watercolor Painting

  By Norman Kolpas When you think of watercolors, what image first comes to mind? Is it a childhood memory of a small tin with a hinged lid, holding a single row of colors, one tiny brush, and an empty compartment for water? Memories like that give us the false impression...

My Process, My Portfolio: William Ressler

  By Norman Kolpas Growing up in rural Lancaster County, PA, during the Great Depression, William Ressler “had a lot of time to myself to draw,” he says. After high school and service in the Philippines with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he entered the Philadelphia College of Art, earning...