Portfolio | Creatures Great & Small

Meet 6 artists who focus on animals and wildlife

This story was featured in the June 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art June 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

Pokey Park

What inspires you to sculpt animals? My love of the wilderness and my desire to bring attention to the impact of humans on the environment that the wild animals inhabit.
How would you describe your style? My unique style poses animals in whimsical positions that project an attitude. Research is a key element in my process in order to depict correct anatomical details.
How did you first get interested in art? My love for nature and respect for its different moods began in coastal Georgia, where I was born. I observed all the patterns, shapes, textures, lights, and shadows that are found in the coastal woods and marshes.
Where did you study art? I have attended a variety of workshops in different mediums. Observing other artists has been my greatest education. I also attended the Taos Institute of the Arts and the University of Georgia and have a degree in fine art.
What other artists have influenced your work? Leonard DeLonga, my mentor in college. Georgia O’Keeffe and Frida Kahlo, women who followed their passion in a time when it was difficult for women to do so.
What is your creative process like? I use the stories and myths of different cultures as starting points for sculptures. Whenever possible, I observe and photograph in the field for future reference.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? Being chosen to create animal sculptures in 36 areas for the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, CA.
What galleries represent your work? Broadmoor Galleries, Colorado Springs, CO; K. Newby Gallery, Tubac, AZ; Lovett’s Gallery, Tulsa, OK; Slate Gray Gallery, Telluride, CO; Smith Klein Gallery, Boulder, CO; Fredericksburg Good Art Company, Fredericksburg, TX; and www.pokeypark.com.

George Ann Johnson

What inspires you to depict animals? I love the challenge of working to create the detail of the subject.
How would you describe your style? I am a detailed artist. My focus is on replicating the animal but also allowing it to speak to us. This is accomplished by my attention to the subject’s eyes—the mirrors of the soul.
How did you first get interested in art? My interest began in grade school. Later I painted racehorses and developed a commercial art business. All of these experiences enriched my vision and allowed me to pursue fine art.
Where did you study art? At the Danforth Art Museum near Boston, MA. I have also attended numerous workshops with acclaimed artists.
What other artists have influenced your work? Orren Mixer, an accomplished horse painter, gave me the desire to achieve detail. Sally Maxwell’s scratchboards have broadened my technical approach.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? This summer I will be in a special exhibition of the American Plains Artists. I was also invited to have representation in New York City.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? When I’m not working directly on a piece, I enjoy photography. I’m always looking for new subjects.
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be? I have done a lot of things outside of art. I was a nurse for a number of years, and it was always satisfying to help people.
What galleries represent your work? Fredericksburg Good Art Company, Federicksburg, TX, and Two Old Crows Gallery, Pagosa Springs, CO.

Jody Skinner

What inspires you to paint animals? I love animals’ uncensored expressions, through which you see their personalities. Animals are so candid, and when you observe them in different contexts, you can really see the wheels turning in their heads.
How would you describe your style? My goal is to capture an animal’s individual essence by softly suggesting the detail.
How did you first get interested in art? My mother often had a painting on the go, so art was always in the background while I was growing up. I didn’t really begin experimenting with it myself until after university. I had graduated with degrees in math and accounting. But after my daughter was born, I started painting. I never looked back!
What other artists have influenced your work? I love works by Christian Hook, Kevin Sonmor, Howard Terpning, Frank McCarthy, and Jo Taylor.
What is your creative process like? I sketch first, using reference photos, and then start filling in the colors, adjusting the proportions as I go along. I use oils on linen and paint wet on wet, mostly with a palette knife, one painting at a time.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? Receiving multiple awards at the Calgary Stampede Western Art Show and being asked to paint the 2009 poster; it ended up being the first-ever poster painting to sell for over $100,000.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? I enjoy being outside working with our horses and dogs, grooming for my kids at their horse shows, and trail riding with family and friends.
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be? An interior designer, an architect, or an actuary.
What galleries represent your work? Mountain Galleries, Banff, Alberta, Canada, and www.jodyskinner.com.

Jeremy Bradshaw

What inspires you to sculpt animals? The constant rhythm of nature, with each character fulfilling its role, is the story I want to tell through my art. I feel personally connected to the subjects I sculpt, and my hope is to fulfill someone else’s desire to feel closer to something wild.
How would you describe your style? I would say my style is expressive representation.
How did you first get interested in art? I’ve always been artistically inclined. I was constantly drawing and doodling as a kid.
Where did you study art? I am largely self-taught. My art is a product of experimentation and a commitment to honing my craft.
What is your creative process like? Every morning I walk to a local coffee shop and spend time sketching. I explore potential subjects and work out anatomy and possible compositions. From there it’s straight into the studio to get to work building armatures and putting down clay.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? Becoming a signature member of the Society of Animal Artists and having a sculpture accepted into the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum’s Birds in Art exhibition.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? I have been a falconer for 26 years. Spending time in the field with my hawks and falcons provides a genuine connection with wildness that plays a large role in inspiring my art.
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be? I would have some kind of small business. I prefer working for myself so that I have the flexibility to create my own schedule.
What galleries represent your work? Manitou Galleries, Santa Fe, NM; Dick Idol Signature Gallery, Whitefish, MT; and Horton Fine Art, Beaver Creek, CO.

Tracy Miller

What inspires you to paint animals? Their form is so appealing to me. And I’m envious, sometimes, of the freedom in which they exist.
How would you describe your style? Contemporary western expressionism.
How did you first get interested in art? I can’t remember a time that I wasn’t interested. As early as 4 or 5 years old, my parents bought me pencils and a paint set.
Where did you study art? I have a bachelor’s degree in art from Metropolitan State University in Denver.
What other artists have influenced your work? Pop artists such as Peter Max and Andy Warhol, as well as Native artists John Nieto and Earl Biss.
What is your creative process like? I create my paintings in many layers. I often have five to seven canvases in process in my studio at once. I work up the layers on one while others are drying.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? Owning my own gallery in Manitou Springs, CO, from 2011 to 2018. Being in the Mountain Oyster Club Show for seven years straight.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? Being outdoors! I own a vintage camper and love to camp and fish. My husband and I also own vintage wooden boats and love to be on the water.
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be? I’ve never considered anything else. But in my wildest fantasy, I’d have an amazing singing voice and front a band!
What galleries represent your work? Seaside Gallery, Pismo Beach, CA; Western Stars Gallery & Studio, Lyons, CO; 45 Degree Gallery, Colorado Springs, CO; Cowbells Western Interiors, Cave Creek, AZ; and Rebel Rebel Gallery, Taos, NM.

Mary Ann Cherry

What inspires you to paint animals? I’ve been an animal lover since I bottle-fed my first bum calf, and I’ve been a bird lover since I pulled eggs from under the old hens at my parents’ homestead in Montana. To me, animals and wildlife, including birds, are the “last best things” on the planet.
How would you describe your style? My paintings are very traditional. The realism of fur and feathers is something I strive to create in both my oil and soft-pastel paintings. Correct anatomy and muscle structure are important, but so is capturing the personality of a living creature.
Where did you study art? Montana State University, where Ben Steele taught life drawing, gesture drawing, and design. After that, I devoured as much knowledge as possible from numerous workshops.
What other artists have influenced your work? Oleg Stavrowsky and Harley Brown were both big influences on my art when I first began painting as a professional. Their strong compositions and color usage still thrill me.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? Winning Best of Show, the Foundation Award, and Best Pastel at the Phippen Western Art Show; the bronze medal at the Western Regional Oil Painters of America show; and Best of the Masters at the Women Artists of the West show.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? I write the Jessie O’Bourne art mystery novels.
What galleries represent your work? Eagle Rock Art Guild, Idaho Falls, ID, and
www.maryanncherry.com.

This story was featured in the June 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art June 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

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