Winter Assembly by Dan Robinson |
Dan Robinson
Dan Robinson answers the phone, steps into his studio, and the tiny, high-pitched voices of his children fade away. Robinson the family man becomes Robin-son the painter, whose career started in 1988 after he graduated from the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA. Robinson believes in the equal importance of outdoor and studio painting, sometimes completing entire works on-site, other times putting the finishing touches on a piece indoors. “I try to get the benefit of both sides. Inspiration and motivation to paint something is important,” says the artist, who often travels to the California coast or the mountains of Colorado or New Mexico for subject matter. “But then getting away from the scene and back into the studio allows me to do a slight bit of interpretation.” Robinson is represented by Overland Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ; Simpson Gallagher Gallery, Cody, WY; and Wickenburg Gallery, Wickenburg, AZ. —LB
Oto Expresso by Brent Greenwood |
Brent Greenwood
Of Chickasaw and Ponca heritage, Brent Greenwood draws upon his culture and experiences to create works in a variety of media, from painting and printmaking to beadwork. “It is my intent to express the beauty of my heritage and the world we live in,” he says. Greenwood studied art at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM, and at Oklahoma City University.
His painting Oto Expresso depicts his wife, Kennetha, who is a member of the Otoe-Missouria tribe. “Her clothing is traditional, with designs handed down from generations,” he says. “As coffee beans float in the background, she enjoys a cup of espresso.” Greenwood explains that at powwows, “offering coffee to a relative or friend who comes by your camp is as common as it was to offer a pipe and tobacco in the old days.” Greenwood is represented by Kiva Contemporary Gallery, Santa Fe, NM; American Indian Contemporary Arts Gallery, San Francisco, CA; and Design Life Studio, Oklahoma City, OK . —MB
Round Bales in Morning Light by Mary K. Forshagen |
Mary K. Forshagen
Mary K. Forshagen’s inspiration comes from the landscape. “I am stimulated by the challenges of outdoor painting,” she says. “There is a unique relationship between the artist and nature that I love.” The Texas artist has traveled to Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico looking for inspiring subject matter, sometimes riding on horseback in her search for remote, dramatic vistas.
Yellow Flowers in Cobalt Pitcher by Mary K. Forshagen |
Forshagen hasn’t always been a landscape painter, though. She studied art throughout her childhood but went on to work as a CPA for 10 years. In the 1990s, however, she decided to return to her love for art and began painting pastel portraits and still lifes. A major turning point came in 1994 at a plein-air painting workshop in Taos, NM, where she discovered the unique perspective of plein-air painting. Since then her impressionistic landscapes have proven popular with collectors. “It’s the act of painting itself—of pushing the paint around on the canvas like thick icing on a cake—that I love,” Forshagen says. “The successful painting is just an added bonus.” She is represented by Whistle Pik Galleries, Fredericksburg, TX. —KB
Featured in “Artists to Watch” October 1999