The peaceful West
Julie Nighswonger, The Working Triangle, oil, 16 x 30.
This story was featured in the August 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art August 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
USUALLY, FOR Julie Nighswonger, it’s the quiet, unhurried scenes around her home in rural southeastern Wyoming that inspire her to put brush to canvas or charcoal to paper. A mare nuzzling her foal, early-morning fog drifting over a creek, or a couple of ranch hands silently driving a herd of cattle forward—all of these sights have been worthy of the artist’s attention as a firsthand observer. “I won’t paint anything I don’t know or haven’t seen,” notes Nighswonger, who routinely works en plein air. “I feel like you have to see it or feel it—the warmth of the sun, the smell of the horses. Without feeling it first, I don’t think you could portray the emotions you want to get across.”
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- Julie Nighswonger, Mother’s Touch, charcoal, 40 x 40.
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- Julie Nighswonger, Painted Paint, oil, 10 x 10.
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- Julie Nighswonger, Just the Way You Are, charcoal, 22 x 35.
This year has been a busy one for the artist. Her oil paintings and charcoal drawings have traveled the circuit of top western art exhibitions like the Mountain Oyster Club Western Art Show, Settlers West Galleries’ American Miniatures, and Cowgirl Up!, to name a few. Meanwhile, Nighswonger also garnered an award in American Women Artists’ spring online show. “This year has been unbelievable,” says the artist, thrilled for the prestigious exposure but also relieved to be settling back into her routine at home after many weeks on the road.
Nighswonger fondly refers to her local surroundings as her office. On any given day, she may set up her pochade box in a horse pasture, or she may ride alongside her cowboy friends and neighbors to snap photographs as they tend to their ranch work. The artist is no stranger to the world she draws and paints. She grew up on her family’s farm in Minnesota, where she formed an intimate connection to the land and the animals. Later, she worked on a ranch in Jackson, WY, where she fell in love with the mountains, wide-open spaces, and the cowboy lifestyle. “The West just pulled me in,” she says.
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- Julie Nighswonger, Stand by Me, oil, 30 x 30.
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- Julie Nighswonger, The Goalposts of Life, oil, 24 x 30.
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- Julie Nighswonger, The Frat Boys, oil, 12 x 12.
Horses make a notably strong appearance in Nighswonger’s oeuvre. She studied veterinary technology in college, and today her affection for horses and other animals carries over into her sensitive, often moving renderings of them. “I want my work to be emotional or spiritual,” says the artist, whose influences range from Bob Kuhn to Andrew Wyeth. “And I usually want it to be calm and colorful, but in a subdued, tonal type of way.” —Kim Agricola
representation
Deselms Fine Art, Cheyenne, WY; www.julienighswonger.com.
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- Julie Nighswonger, Wild Blue Yonder, oil, 30 x 40.
This story was featured in the August 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art August 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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