Southwest Art Blog

Hear directly from the editors of Southwest Art in this art blog. Discussions of how to begin an art collection are found here as well as reflections on the latest contemporary American artists creating landscape paintings, still life paintings, and more. We delve into cowboy art and Native American art too, plus updates on art competitions, art shows, art exhibitions, and more.

Trappings of Texas Show Returns

By: | | Comments 0

The Museum of the Big Bend at Sul Ross State University, located in Alpine, TX, is excited to welcome visitors to the 35th annual Trappings of Texas sale and exhibit in the cattle country of far West Texas. The opening weekend of events is September 16-18 at the museum. The artwork...

Margaret Dyer, Laundry Day, pastel, 18 x 24.

Figuratively Speaking | Margaret Dyer

By: | | Comments 0

By Allison Malafronte The figure has been Margaret Dyer’s passion since her first life-drawing class at the Atlanta College of Art in 1970. “At that moment, I found something I loved—the challenge of drawing the living, breathing, continuously moving landscape of the human body,” she says. Ten years after that class,...

Emiliya Lane, Memory Lane, oil, 30 х 30.

Figuratively Speaking | Emiliya Lane

By: | | Comments 0

By Allison Malafronte Emiliya Lane is a Russian artist who has been living in America for more than 20 years and who has built an extensive résumé. Many artists discover a love of drawing at a young age but don’t pursue it seriously until they’re much older. Lane, on the other...

Helen Bouchard, Equanimity, oil, 36 x 24.

Figuratively Speaking | Helen Bouchard

By: | | Comments 0

By Allison Malafronte At the young age of 17, Helen Bouchard found her creative calling and the style she would pursue for years to come on a high-school trip to Florence, Italy. Suddenly in the epicenter of Renaissance art and architecture, the young artist stared with wide-eyed amazement at Old Master...

Alex Bostic, David, oil, 18 x 18.

Figuratively Speaking | Alex Bostic

By: | | Comments 0

By Allison Malafronte Alex Bostic grew up in Brooklyn, NY, received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration from Pratt Institute, and spent 40 years as a professional illustrator before turning his attention to portrait and figure painting. Working in a variety of drawing and painting media, Bostic now paints...

Margaret Dyer, First Day at the Beach, pastel, 18 x 24.

Figuratively Speaking: Figure Paintings to Collect

By: | | Comments 0

By Allison Malafronte For as long as artists have been drawing and painting, the figure has been a central subject. In classical academies and ateliers, students spend years painting live models, using sight-size or other measuring methods to learn anatomy, structure, and form. Illustrators and animators sketch the figure daily to...

Great Results at John Moran’s Western Art Auction

By: | | Comments 0

On Tuesday, May 25, the spirit of the West was alive and well during the Art of the American West sale presented by John Moran Auctioneers. The auction took place at Moran’s showroom in Monrovia, CA, with bidders participating enthusiastically via multiple platforms. When the bidding concluded, both historic and contemporary...

A Hidden Gem: Plains Art Museum

By: | | Comments 0

There’s a hidden gem of an art museum in Fargo, ND, that’s not as well known as it should be. The Plains Art Museum is the largest art museum—and the only accredited one—in North Dakota, and it’s been bringing the community together through art for some 45 years. The museum’s permanent...

Nancy Balmert, Multi Hibiscus II, oil, 38 x 38.

Welcoming Spring | Nancy Balmert

By: | | Comments 0

By Allison Malafronte In 2017, Nancy Balmert’s goal of becoming a professional painter was realized when she joined her first gallery in Scottsdale, AZ, followed shortly by additional gallery representation in Chelsea, NY. Although Balmert always had an interest in art, in a sense, painting chose her. After having a near-death...

Monique Chartier in her Kansas studio.

Welcoming Spring: Floral Paintings to Collect

By: | | Comments 0

By Allison Malafronte It’s hard to imagine a more welcoming sight after a long winter than the first buds blooming on a cherry tree, a bright-yellow daffodil stretching toward the sun, or a magnolia tree flaunting its magnificent shades of magenta and pastel pink. Flowers signal life, rebirth, and of course...