The Standard Bearers | Len Chmiel

Len Chmiel, Afternoon Matinée, California Coast, oil, 21 x 41.

Len Chmiel calls a sleepy mountain town on Colorado’s Western Slope home. The main attraction in Hotchkiss is the great outdoors, and from his perch atop a mesa, Chmiel has a view of mountains in every direction. Not a bad place to call home for a landscape artist. The esteemed painter is a master of composition and is known for bringing an abstracted vision to a representational genre. He’s also known as “an artist’s artist” and has chalked up numerous Artists’ Choice awards over the years, including five of them at the Masters of the American West Art show.

Earlier in his career, Chmiel took a more studied approach to the landscape, but these days, spontaneity rules. “I ponder less and intuit lots more,” he says. “It surprises me what quirkiness oozes out of that.” He is also more likely to concentrate on large studio paintings than he used to be. On his easel at press time was a 35-by-40-inch depiction of a lily pond that he created on his property. It’s part of a water series the artist has worked on this past year. “Painting the water and the plants grounded me during these weird times,” Chmiel says. “They lend themselves to rich color and texture. Mushing paint around to mimic something luscious is a continuing challenge.”

The painting is destined for the annual Prix de West Invitational at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Chmiel also looks forward to participating in the Western Visions show at the National Museum of Wildlife Art and possibly working on a second edition of his 2012 book. And finally, he plans on expanding that series of water paintings. “They are about as much fun as I can stand,” he says. Chmiel is represented by Maxwell Alexander Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Simpson Gallagher Gallery, Cody, WY; and Wood River Fine Arts, Ketchum, ID. —Bonnie Gangelhoff

This story appeared in the May 2021 issue of Southwest Art magazine.