Abigail Gutting puts her own unique spin on traditional western scenes
By Bonnie Gangelhoff
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.
A COWBOY LEANS against a fence, holding a piece of paper, while a horse props its head on his arm. The curious equine pokes its nose over the cowboy’s shoulder, as though the pair is reading a letter together. In the painting MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS, Idaho-based artist Abigail Gutting displays her passion for telling stories about the contemporary West. Her modern tales offer the viewer visual slices of life, often with a dash of wit.
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS is currently on view at Coeur d’Alene Galleries in Idaho, where gallery owner Buddy Le has represented Gutting since 2013. Le notes that the “tenderness and humor” conveyed in MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS is evidence of Gutting’s talent and sensitivity. “She’s fantastic at capturing the unique personalities and emotions of her subject matter,” Le says. “I love how she is able to take a simple moment in time and evoke a variety of emotions we can all relate to. Her paintings grab your attention at first glance, but then your appreciation also grows as you notice her tremendous brushwork.”
An array of four-legged creatures populate Gutting’s canvases, but horses often play the starring roles. Even in MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS, where the cowboy could become the focal point, it’s the steed that steals the show, offering a sweet, comedic touch. Gutting says that anthropomorphism—imparting human characteristics to animals—is not a “dominant mindset” in her creative process. “But sometimes it’s a factor in adding to the title and the line of thought I would like to take the viewer along,” she says. “The title of MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS is directed more toward the attitude of the cowboy than the horse.”
GUTTING WAS born in 1990 in the Arizona desert and grew up in a small northern Idaho town. One of the first things to know about her childhood is that the family did not own a television set, a choice her parents made early in their marriage. Instead, Gutting recalls, her parents read out loud to her and her brother in the afternoons and evenings. “Our way of life was a vibrant environment for the imagination,” she says. “Living without the influence of television at a young age served to stimulate my mind and a creative way of thinking that has carried into every area of my life.”
As she grew older, her parents retired the elementary school fare to the bookshelf, replacing it with, among other things, novels by Zane Grey, such as Forlorn River and The Call of the Canyon. Grey (1872-1939) had a knack for spinning a good yarn and creating a vivid picture of the western frontier. In fact, the author is given substantial credit for helping to shape the romantic myths of the old West through his books and the films based on them. Grey also contributed to Gutting’s affection for the western way of life. “The images from the books are still with me,” she says. “A story has power. An illustration can move you in a way that nothing else can. That’s the fuel for my career as a painter.”
Gutting and her brother were homeschooled. Their mother, Susan Gutting, had earned a teaching degree and had studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. When Gutting was just 4 years old, her mom made room for her in the studio space where she painted landscapes. “That way I could slip in and draw with her in the afternoons,” Abigail says, adding, “She also let my brother and I take jars of paint and decorate the doghouse in the backyard.”
As a child, Gutting drew constantly, often animals. And once she even drew on an animal—the family’s unsuspecting white bull terrier, Billy. In her young eyes, Billy was a walking blank canvas. “It was nontoxic paint. No animals were harmed in the making of my career,” Gutting jokes. Meanwhile Gutting’s father, Randall, also played a part in her future career. As a teenager, the budding artist worked as her father’s assistant in his veterinary practice. She assisted him in everything from performing a C-section on a cat to administering an IV drip to an ailing equine patient in the wee hours of the morning.
By the time she completed her high-school studies, she had more training in art and animal anatomy than the average teenager. It comes as no surprise that she married her two interests together, settling on a career as an artist with an eye on animals—in a sense, joining the family businesses. Instead of applying to art school, Gutting chose to study for the next few years with her mother. “Since I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of moving across the country to go to art school, it was a wonderful way to move forward,” she says.
Her mother turned out to be a tough taskmaster, advising Gutting to wait several years before picking up oil paints. Concentrate on drawing skills instead, she said. Gutting obliged and worked strictly in pen and ink, pencil, and watercolor during those early years. Eventually she enrolled in numerous workshops, including ones with Ray Roberts, Bruce Greene, Phil Starke, and most recently with Greg Beecham. Beecham offered her invaluable advice, Gutting says: “Know your critters.” Indeed, as Buddy Le points out, Gutting is recognized for her knowledge of “critter” anatomy. “There’s an authenticity to her work because of her intimate knowledge of her subject matter,” he says.
SO FAR 2019 has been a busy year for Gutting. She has participated in an array of invitational shows, including the annual American Miniatures show at Settlers West Galleries in Tucson and the Night of Artists event at the Briscoe Western Art Museum in San Antonio, TX. This spring she also added McLarry Fine Art in Santa Fe to her roster of representation. Gallery owner Chris McLarry says he first saw Gutting’s work at last year’s Night of Artists show. “Abi brings to the table a perfect balance between loose impressionism and detailed realism, which I really like in paintings,” McLarry says. “People gravitate toward her work because of many elements. The texture she puts into the work is masterful. You really see the hand of the artist. And the movement she captures brings excitement to her paintings.”
Getting the animal’s anatomy and musculature correct is a key goal for Gutting. But she is quick to point out that capturing a creature’s character and personality are equally important. After all, she is a storyteller, and stories call for characters. In fact, it’s the Golden Age illustrators and artists such as Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) whom Gutting cites as “masters of creating narrative with imagery.” While Gutting’s paintings often emanate a certain nostalgic sensibility, as if the scenes could have taken place in a bygone era, her work also reflects contemporary life. In THREE HATS, TWO HORSES, AND A SODA, for example, she keeps the piece grounded in the present by including a takeout soda cup and straw.
For reference material Gutting often travels to rodeos in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, returning to her studio with tons of photographs. These days the artist makes her home in Coeur d’Alene, a scenic small town perched on a lake and at the edge of a national forest in Idaho, and she shares a studio with her mother. “I have learned how vital it is as a painter to surround yourself with people who know you and understand your goals,” she says. “Fresh perspective and feedback from such people are foundational to moving forward. And I just happen to have most of that in-house.”
In fact, Gutting notes, her mother was the one who shot the reference photograph for MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS at a local rodeo. “My mom said that she had to shoot photos of the scene because she knew I would like them,” Gutting says. Her father pitched in, too: When Gutting hit a creative snag, struggling to depict the cowboy’s hands in a pose she liked, she recruited her dad to moonlight as a hand model. He agreed—no charge.
When asked what she hopes to convey in her work today, Gutting replies, “I would be very happy if the takeaway from my work is an appreciation for a simple, down-home way of life. Good humor, a hearty work ethic, and appreciation for the land, rooted in home and family. When qualities like that are set in the rugged region of the American West, there’s always a great narrative. It never gets old.”
representation
McLarry Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM; Coeur d’Alene Galleries, Coeur d’Alene, ID; Bozeman Trail Gallery, Sheridan, WY; Dick Idol Signature Gallery, Whitefish, MT; www.abigailgutting.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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