Portfolio | Artists of Utah

Meet Six Talented Painters Who Hail from the Beehive State

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.

Ron Larson

What inspires you to paint? I’m inspired by the beauty around me—the changing colors and the contrasts between light and dark or warm and cool. I have been given a gift; sharing the beauty I see and feel by creating a painting is a way to give back.
How would you describe your style? My style is brushy and bold. I try to capture the essence of subject matter and don’t get too concerned with a lot of detail.
Where did you study art? I have an artistic legacy from my grandmother, but beyond that, I am pretty much self-taught. In fact, I was using oils when I was in elementary school.
What is your creative process like? Mainly it takes finding a place that speaks to me, that gives me the feeling of being part of nature.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? Becoming a signature member of the National Watercolor Society was really great, and putting together an exhibit on the art of the Colorado Plateau—which has traveled throughout Arizona and Utah, and about which a book is coming—was a wonderful undertaking. Yet my very favorite moments have been simple, like when someone tells me they have felt something or have been moved by my art.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? I like anything outdoors, but it usually combines with my art. I have traveled thousands of miles on land and water—in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, in a motorboat, in a kayak, and on foot—as I search for new locations to study and paint.
What galleries represent your work? 11th Street Gallery, St. George, UT; www.ronlarsonfineart.com.

Steven Heward

What inspires you to paint? I’m inspired by the quiet colors of distant cliffs and faraway mountains against nearer, bolder colors. Reflections in rivers, unusual lighting, and an overcast day with a break in the clouds are special inspirations. The simplicity and drama of dust rising over wild horses is aesthetically pleasing.
How would you describe your style? Somewhere between spontaneous realism and early California Impressionism, with influences from Velázquez, Hals, and Sargent in the mix.
How did you first get interested in art? The bedroom I shared with my two brothers had walls covered in my father’s drawings. I was amazed how my dad could make beautiful drawings with so few lines. I would spend hours looking through his large library of art books, drawing on the chalkboard in my closet, and filling rolls of newsprint with sketches.
Where did you study art? Weber State University and the University of Utah. I studied figure drawing and painting under Alvin Gittins (1922-1981). He was very influential to my style and career.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? Winning Best of Show and first-place awards in plein-air competitions always motivates me. Also, having my work featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! was pretty cool.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? I love survival camping in the desert or mountains with my two sons and friends. I find joy in restoring pioneer log cabins and relocating them to our cabin property in southern Utah.
What galleries represent your work? David Ericson Fine Art, Salt Lake City, UT; Bristlecone Gallery, Sandy, UT; www.stevenheward.com.

Aaron Memmott

What inspires you to paint? The beauty and familiarity of my local surroundings and the amazing places I find in my travels. My paintings represent my personal vision of modern life.
How would you describe your style? Contemporary representational with a painterly quality.
How did you first get interested in art? I spent a lot of time drawing animated characters and skateboard graphics as a kid. I always knew I wanted to be an artist and had encouraging art teachers along the way.
Where did you study art? I earned my bachelor’s degree in fine art from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and my master’s in fine art from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA. I continued my studies while teaching at the Academy of Art University and at Savannah College of Art and Design. I am always learning.
What is your creative process like? I paint from life, photos, sketches, and my imagination. I lay in the painting directly and glaze along the way, building the light and unifying the color palette. I am interested in the line between abstraction and representation, chaos and control. I like to respond to the painting throughout the process. The final product is essential, but the process is what’s most important to me.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? I enjoy hiking in the Utah mountains with my girlfriend and my dog, traveling, and cooking.
What galleries represent your work? Gallery Mar, Park City, UT; 15th Street Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT; Anne Jespersen Fine Arts, Helper, UT; www.aaronmemmott.com.

Kate Kilpatrick-Miller

What inspires you to paint? I find great joy in making time stand still. As part of my artistic journey, I strive to tell stories. Each painting is an event, and I capture moments of movement.
How would you describe your style? My work is representational but painterly, with splashes and flecks of paint. Often, I take the items I paint and place them in an atmospheric background, giving the impression that the objects are in motion.
How did you first get interested in art? My parents noticed I was always drawing, coloring, and painting and decided to get me into art lessons when I was 10 years old.
Where did you study art? I received a bachelor’s degree in art from Westminster College in Salt Lake City. After that I studied art at the University of Utah and then interned with and assisted painter David Dornan.
What is your creative process like? I approach each canvas as an expression of my experience with mobility. My technique varies depending on subject matter—sometimes it is loose, splashing paint across the piece, or tight when constructing a moment in time.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? The Faces of Helper project I created. I live in Helper, UT, a historic mining and railroad town. I heard a few of the personal histories of our residents and decided to digitally record these histories and paint portraits of the individuals who were giving them.
What galleries represent your work? Mary Williams Fine Arts, Boulder, CO; Trove Gallery, Park City, UT; K2 Gallery, Helper, UT; www.katekilpatrickmiller.com.

A.D. Shaw

What inspires you to paint? The desire to tell the story of my fellow beings in their everyday lives. Our Creator has given us this beautiful world and the capacity to hold it in awe. For me there’s a painting in everything I see.
How would you describe your style? A Utah art historian labeled me a neo-regionalist, one who draws upon their agrarian upbringing for inspiration. My style is impressionistic realism.
Where did you study art? My first studies were through a correspondence course in commercial art and at a community college, which led to an 18-year career in graphics and illustration. I learned to paint through the tutelage of two of Utah’s finest artists, Ken Baxter and Kathryn Stats.
What is your creative process like? My figurative work is usually designed in my mind, then I recruit the models and do a drawing with a brush in thin paint. Less complicated pieces I do alla prima.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? The hundreds of paintings that people from around the world have purchased is my greatest compliment. I did commissioned work for a governor of Utah and was the recipient of the Governor’s Mansion Art Medallion. One of my paintings was given to George and Barbara Bush from their friend as a housewarming gift. A number of museums have my works in their collections.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? Gardening and fly fishing are my hobbies, and spending time with my family is my blessing.
What galleries represent your work? Southam Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT.

Bonnie Conrad

What inspires you to paint? I am inspired by nature, people, beauty, color, design … you name it! Life is beautiful. I see opportunities to record an experience into brushwork everywhere.
How would you describe your style? My style has been described as painterly and bold. The longer I experience the world of art, the more I am drawn to the more creative and spontaneous styles of work.
How did you first get interested in art? As a teen I was very moved by beautiful art. I would stand in front of a piece and study it and wonder how it was created.
What is your creative process like? I tone my canvas with either burnt sienna or alizarin crimson to get rid of the white value. Then I draw directly on the canvas with either pencil or a Degas filbert brush and olive green tempered with lots of turpentine. Using the largest brush I can for any given area, I begin blocking in the darker values and then start building in middle values. Then I switch to a walnut-oil medium and continue to correct the drawing as I work back and forth from background to foreground. If I keep my brush loose where I can, some “happy accidents” may happen.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? The first show I entered as a professional artist brought me a Best of Show award. I’ve won quite a few more prizes along the way. I was accepted as a Signature Member of American Women Artists in 2004 and Oil Painters of America in 2008, winning their Zhiwei Tu Color Award.
What galleries represent your work? www.bonnieconrad.com.

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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