Articles & Interviews

Here you’ll find art articles and art interviews on some of your favorite painters and sculptors of the West as well as upcoming artists. The editors of Southwest Art bring you in-depth art interviews and profiles, as well as behind-the-scenes tours of beautiful art studios and stories about current art events. Search for artists we’ve covered in the past, or discover new and emerging artists by checking back often to see the art articles we’ve added most recently!

Emerging Artist | Nathaniel Skousen

Nathaniel Skousen, Three Onions, oil, 8 x 10.

There aren’t a lot of artists who can say they know human anatomy intimately, both inside and out. But Nathaniel Skousen is one of them. While Skousen was studying art at Southern Utah University, he took a number of anatomy classes and spent countless hours dissecting and drawing cadavers…

Emerging Artist | Jennifer Johnson

Jennifer Johnson, Fall Lilies, oil, 30 x 40.

When Colorado artist Jennifer Johnson was in second grade, she learned that she was dyslexic, which explained why she had such difficulty expressing herself in writing. A creative child, Johnson soon looked for another artistic outlet and turned to painting…

Xiao Song Jiang | Touching People’s Hearts

Xiao Song Jiang, Tide, oil, 30 x 40.

China-born painter Xiao Song Jiang 
reflects on his artistic journey and goals

Z.S. Liang | Visual Literature

Z.S. Liang, Transferring the Bear Knife, oil, 44 x 70.

Chinese-born painter Z.S. Liang creates historical scenes of American Indian life

Dianne Massey-Dunbar | Random Acts of Artistry

Dianne Massey-Dunbar, Jeep, oil, 5 x 7.

Artist Dianne Massey-Dunbar lets spontaneity be her muse

Marc Hanson | Passport to Nature

Marc Hanson, Wellfleet, oil, 14 x 18.

For landscape painter Marc Hanson, art is everywhere his travels take him

Emerging Artist | Michael DeVore

Michael DeVore, Pork Chop and Poblanos, oil, 16 x 14.

Michael DeVore has come a long way from his childhood interest in drawing cartoons. These days the Colorado-based artist is known for still-life and figurative works that evoke the spirit of the old masters…

Emerging Artist | Melissa Gann

Melissa Gann, Gentleness, oil, 9 x 12.

Melissa Gann couldn’t attend the Oil Painters of America’s National Juried Exhibition, held in June at Evergreen Fine Art in Evergreen, CO. But the day after the awards ceremony, she opened up a laptop in her Atlanta-area kitchen to see if anyone she knew had won an award. When she saw that her painting GENTLENESS had received an Award of Excellence from juror Quang Ho, she let out a squeal of delight…

Emerging Artist | Greg Gandy

Greg Gandy, Morning Rain in North Beach, oil, 24 x 36.

When artist Greg Gandy, 32, moved to the City by the Bay for graduate school at the Academy of Fine Art University, he didn’t own a car. Gandy has walked many, many miles absorbing San Francisco’s nooks, crannies, and charms, which has given him a special appreciation for the ever-changing textures and 
flavors of the city he now calls home…

Portfolio | Line & Shadow

Allison Cantrell, Learning to Give, graphite, 14 x 21.

10 artists share their joy in the fundamentals of drawing