Emerging Artist | Collin Bogle - Southwest Art Magazine

A feast for the eyes

Collin Bogle, Snow Leopard, mixed media, 14 x 11.

This story was featured in the March 2013 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Order the Southwest Art March 2013 print issue, or get the Southwest Art March 2013 digital download now…Or better yet, just subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss a story!

As a child, Collin Bogle recalls, he was busy looking under rocks and chasing butterflies while other kids his age were playing baseball. Many years later Bogle realized that these moments were a harbinger of things to come. Nature continues to hold a strong allure for the Washington-based wildlife artist. “I strive to create magical moments in nature where attributes such as composition, lighting, color, and animal expression come together in perfect harmony,” he says. “I want to show the viewer something lively and spectacular they wouldn’t normally get to see.”

Collin Bogle, Curious Cub II, mixed media, 10 x 10.

Although he didn’t have a formal art education, his father, Lee Bogle, a well-known figurative artist, taught him everything he wanted to know about drawing and painting. While his father has focused on humans, Collin trains his artistic eye on four-legged creatures. Using sharp edges, high contrast, and vivid colors, he portrays a menagerie of animals but is particularly drawn to predators such as wolves and tigers. “I’m not only fascinated with their physical capabilities like speed and power but also their beauty,” he says. “I enjoy the challenge of painting the fine hair and details you never dare see in person.”

After doing an initial sketch, Bogle creates his mixed-media works with watercolors, colored pencils, and water-based pastels. Even though his pieces are thoroughly planned out at the start, the works go through many stages of creation, the artist says. At times his pieces are more about abstract shapes like random clusters of sunlit branches, and at other times the piercing blue eyes of a tiger may inspire him. No matter what the subject, Bogle says his main goal is to create a feast for the eyes. “It’s comforting to know that when I pass on from this world, I’m leaving behind something positive for people to appreciate and be inspired by,” he says. —Bonnie Gangelhoff

representation
www.collinbogle.com

Featured in the March 2013 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
Southwest Art March 2013 digital download
Southwest Art March 2013 print issue
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