Feature Articles

By Bonnie Gangelhoff Sculptor and printmaker Maura Allen was born and raised in the West, and today the Colorado-based artist is known for her fresh, contemporary take on both the region and its people. “What’s not to love about the wide-open spaces and blue skies? It feels like freedom here,” Allen says. “When I see [...]

By Bonnie Gangelhoff Unlike most plein-air painters, Carol Swinney wields a knife instead of a brush. “I am a 100-percent-palette-knife painter,” Swinney says. Hence, it comes as no surprise that she is known for her uniquely textured takes on western terrain, whether she is capturing Wyoming’s Grand Tetons or the Colorado Rockies. Swinney says a [...]

By Bonnie Gangelhoff The multitalented Martha Pettigrew is showcasing both her painting and sculpting abilities in this year’s Cowgirl Up show. Although known for her bronze sculptures, most often depicting women, Pettigrew says that about five years ago she began to return to her two-dimensional roots. She majored in printmaking and oil painting at the [...]

By Bonnie Gangelhoff For decades Elizabeth Black has been traveling to the Grand Canyon to paint one of the great natural wonders of the world. Ten years ago she first saw the Tanner Delta region of the canyon, the subject matter of her painting ANCIENT CROSSROADS, ON THE GRAND, which is featured in the Cowgirl [...]

I was photographing from my car on a cold blustery day in Yellowstone National Park when a raven flew in front of me. I pulled into a parking area and it flew over to a telephone pole. It was very accommodating as it posed for more than 20 minutes, giving me a 360-degree view before [...]

I did Lost in Thought from a photograph using a 6B charcoal pencil. I created the value by overlapping light layers of charcoal without any blending or smudging. I wanted to focus on capturing the subtle value changes, as the light and shadow reveal the structure and anatomy of the back. Creating a sense of [...]

This drawing is from a photograph taken by my daughter on a family trip to Williamsburg. I saw the photo and asked if I could use it. One of the things that attracted me to the image was the repetition of the major elements: the vertical lines of the weapons and the rhythm of the [...]

This bench in my garden is one that I have passed by many times without taking much notice. One winter, however, I became interested to the point of obsession with the tapestry created by a layer of freshly fallen snow. I drew many studies hastily, but nearly frozen fingers finally persuaded me to supplement my [...]

The process started with a photograph, which developed into light sketches, and ultimately the finished piece of work. Though I used only one tone of charcoal, the blending techniques achieved the tonal differences. I paid exceptional attention to the detail of this girl’s eyes, in order to express timidity through the shine of her pupils. [...]