Fur Jacket – Andree Hudson

If there were ever a time to make an acquisition at Waxlander, now would be it. We’re kicking off a very busy year with our annual call-in art auction, running now through February 2. Don’t wait until the last minute to make a move, though. Interest is high, so browse discounted offerings from all 30 of our artists hereand then place your bid at 1-800-342-2202.

Western genre painter Andree Hudson‘s most common subjects are the great beasts that roam the foothills near her home outside Denver. Though you’ll see graceful horses among Andree’s lots in this year’s auction, some of the most stunning works available are of the animals’ riders. The artist’s portraits of Western women, all of whom she knows personally, capture intimate moments in the lives of these rough-and-tumble characters. See the starting bid for “Fur Jacket” and other glowing acrylics here.

Lean in close to your computer screen and study the poetry of Matthew Higginbotham‘s brushstrokes in “Midday Clouds Over Field Grasses II”. Any one section of the golden meadow looks like an abstract painting, but as a whole it’s a thrilling perspectival study of the breathtaking sprawl of the Great Plains. Rest assured it’s even better in person. Browse Matthew’s other lots here.

Montana artist Marshall Noice watches his surroundings carefully, but when brush touches canvas the landscapes that emerge capture sensation and emotion rather than direct reality. If the sun hits an autumn tree, Marshall paints its intersecting branches using only a fiery red. When the first shadows of dusk touch the forest floor, stark bands of dark blue and purple appear behind bright yellow tree trunks. Find out which of Marshall’s paintings are on the block here.

One of Oneida artist Bruce King‘s lots has already sold at our discounted “Buy it Now” price, so make sure to act fast if you’re interested in the post-impressionist’s work. His “Echoes of the Hunt”, a rushing river of bison that plays with the visual vocabulary of prehistoric cave paintings, is just one of the works that’s still available. Check out all of them on his artist page.

Other lots in this year’s auction include works by Chris Turri, Christopher Owen Nelson, Josiane Childers and Justin West, Suzanne Donazetti, Laurel Peterson Gregory and all the rest of our incredible artists. Click here for more information, and ask questions or place your bid at 1-800-342-2202.

Echoes of the Hunt – Bruce King

Seasons change, and so do we. As four of our most adventurous landscape painters know well, the rhythms are often intertwined. Matthew Higginbotham, Bruce King, Christopher Owen Nelson and Marshall Noice find diverse rewards in exploring nature. As November’s chill takes full grip, they’ll show bright meditations on the darker months for our “Holiday Aglow” show.

Rising Storm

Rising Storm Over Juniper Brush – Matthew Higginbotham

Winter starts to settle in slow shifts; the light fades seconds sooner each day, leaves fall one by one, clouds change shape and the sun takes paler tones. It requires a keen eye to capture the transformation, and that’s Matthew Higginbotham‘s gift. The artist captures shades of season’s change, and as in “Rising Storm over Juniper Bush,” the results resonate with emotional power.

Early Snow of Winter Camp – Bruce King

Early Snow

First snow is a change not subtle but spectacular as fall colors compete with a blanket of piercing white. Oneida artist Bruce King‘s subjects find themselves caught in the battle between seasons in “Early Snow of Winter Camp.” His paintings show his people’s fierce independence, and their humility before the natural world.

Pillars of White

Pillars – Christopher Owen Nelson

There’s no place quite so still as a sleeping aspen forest. Denver artist Christopher Owen Nelson freezes the dead of winter in plexiglass in his painted carving “Pillars.” They might be spindly, but these speckled trunks feel solid as cool marble to the eye.

Old Snow – Marshall Noice

Old Snow

Spring’s thaw starts long before the snow is gone. Marshall Noice uses pastels to capture evidence of nature’s awakening in “Old Snow.” Shadows cast blue stripes on gritty, cream-colored snow as the artist plays with texture and color to evoke the first signs of a new beginning.

Visit Waxlander starting November 20 to explore the winter wonderlands of “Holiday Aglow,” featuring new work from all of our artists, and check back for more blog posts about the show. The artists’ reception is Friday, November 23 from 5-7 pm.

If all the world’s a stage, then Canyon Road is a particularly lively one. On any given day you’ll see excited collectors on art pilgrimages, gallery directors hanging works behind wide windows, enormous delivery trucks trying to navigate the narrow passage, and that ever-changing cast of sculptures in everyone’s yards.

On October 20, the plot will thicken considerably. This year’s Historic Canyon Road Paint Out includes a parade, choir concerts, face painting and even a chance to pet a burro. Of course, with more than 100 artists from 25 galleries painting en plein air, the real drama will play out not on our legendary street but on the surfaces of the canvases.

Waxlander’s troupe this year comprises nine of our brilliant artists, four of which you saw in act one of this blog post. Get to know the rest of the ensemble below, and then meet them—and their work—at the Paint Out on Saturday.

Marshall Noice - Deep Evening Sky

MARSHALL NOICE

Marshall was born in North Dakota and lives in Montana, where he’s owned Noice Studio & Gallery for more than 30 years. The artist takes cues from Expressionism and Impressionism to create abstracted landscapes that have a gripping emotional power.

“My work’s greatest pleasure comes when I’m in the thick of battle to let a painting emerge,” he says. “I have my issues. What color next to that? Another line there? Take that out?”

When he’s at work, Marshall often loses himself in the process of “simply painting, watching, concentrating…” When you stop to watch him, be prepared to take the same internal journey.

Patrick Matthews - Above Hyde Park

PATRICK MATTHEWS

If anyone’s ready for the Paint Out, it’s Patrick. The neo-impressionist from Arkansas has wielded his brush along the highways of the United States, France, Spain, Italy and Mexico. Canyon Road? No problem!

Patrick was a successful design architect when he came to a crossroads and decided to go wherever his lifelong passion for the outdoors took him. The transition from shaping a space to painting one seemed natural for him—you can sense his keen awareness of his surroundings in his impeccable landscapes.

“Painting outdoors… my very vision changes and paintings appear on my canvases,” says Patrick. This weekend, you’ll have a chance to look through his eyes.

Tracee Gentry-Matthews - Historic Santa Fe

TRACEE GENTRY MATTHEWS

Tracee is quite accustomed to painting urban locales- she does depictions of city skylines, from Santa Fe to Manhattan. Whether she’s painting adobe or skyscrapers, all of her works have something in common: a bright, joyful color palette.

“I hope the viewer of my works can step inside the paintings and see the sights, feel the changing sky… and simply smile with happiness,” Tracee says. She’ll surely be in her element at the event.

Paul Cunningham - Natural Captivity

PAUL CUNNINGHAM

Paul spent most of his career painting cowboys and the Wild West, but now he spends his time exploring abstract worlds. His traveling companions are curious fish and busy hummingbirds, who often play among his vibrant color fields. Paul is eager to introduce them to you.

Sharon Markwardt - Happy Birthday, Sweet Thing

SHARON MARKWARDT

Animals are also a big part of Sharon’s oeuvre. The Texan artist lived in the Metroplex until 2005, when she moved to the countryside to accommodate her daughter’s horse. Sharon’s own decision to ride had a fateful impact on her art—she likes to joke that her horse “threw her” into Western art.

“I look for the beauty in each of my subjects and strive to leave my viewers in an upbeat mood,” she says. Who wouldn’t smile at works like “Split Decision”?

Come delight in this artistic theatre of sorts and meet nine of Waxlander’s artists from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm on Saturday, October 20. The parade, featuring several local marching bands, will begin at 12:00 pm at the bottom of Canyon Road headed to the top, and students from the Santa Fe Public Schools Education Program will perform in front of various galleries from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm. See our event page for more information.

If purchasing a piece off the blog, mention that you found the piece on the blog and get a special discount!

You could say that to step across the threshold of our gallery is to enter the great outdoors. Many of our artists take nature’s beauty as inspiration, whether they’re in the High Plains of Colorado, the prairie lands of Oklahoma or the Rocky Mountains in our backyard.

On October 20, you’ll have a chance to see nine of Waxlander’s artists in their element at this year’s Historic Canyon Road Paint Out. Learn about the featured artists in our next two blog posts, then take a hike on Canyon Road and meet them en plein air!

ANDREE HUDSON

Andree at the 2011 Paint Out

Andree Hudson paints in her studio near Denver, but her creative process begins outside in the foothills of the Rockies and on the High Plains.

“I get my energy from the cowboys and the horses out here,” she says.

Andree roams with a camera in hand, taking thousands of pictures that she later uses as inspiration for her acrylics. Back in the studio, she allows memory and emotion to influence her color choices, bringing out the personalities of the big characters and majestic animals she’s come to love.

The artist works hard to delve into contemplative moments in her subjects’ lives, so don’t be surprised if, after a single conversation, it seems like she already knows you.

MATTHEW HIGGINBOTHAM

Ode to the Great Prarie Lands - Matthew Higginbotham

Matthew Higginbotham was the owner of Northwest Pottery and Fine Arts in Spokane, Washington for a number of years before new inspiration struck and he decided to try oil painting. At first he experimented with many subjects, but when he moved to Chimayo, New Mexico in 1995, the wild crept into his oeuvre.

“It just seemed natural for me to want to study the nuances of what I was seeing in the fields and skies,” he says. “The more I painted them, the more I began to understand how they made me feel.”

Matthew has since planted the legs of his easel in some of our nation’s most beautiful landscapes. They’ll land in the soil of our sculpture garden for this year’s Paint Out.

BRUCE KING

Echoes of the Hunt - Bruce King

It’s natural that Bruce King’s paintings would be closely tied to the outdoors—that’s where grew up.

“We were in the woods. It was kind of a hardscrabble existence,” he says of his childhood spent roaming the Oneida Reservation of Wisconsin. Bruce later moved to Chicago and New York, but he never forgot those early years that taught him about his people.

Bruce’s works cast Native American figures into harsh landscapes that are interwoven with ribbons of brilliant color. Don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with Bruce—his multicolored pallet attests to his personality. He took up improvisational acting in New York, and is sure to get you laughing.

BERNARD MARKS

Marks at the 2011 Paint Out

Like Matthew Higginbotham, Bernard Marks was primarily a figurative painter until New Mexico’s skies filled his eyes. He started painting plein air when he moved to the Southwest in 2003.

Bernard says his painted worlds exist in an “idealized reality.”

“If you compared one of my paintings to the actual scene that inspired it, you would have no trouble making the connection,” he explains. “But I believe you would also recognize what I’ve brought to the scene.”

You can do just that at the Fifth Annual Historic Canyon Road Paint Out on Saturday, October 20th from 10 am to 3 pm. Check back here soon to learn about the five other artists who will be painting in our sculpture garden, and see the Canyon Road Merchant Association’s blog for more information on the event.

 If purchasing a piece off the blog, mention that you found the piece on the blog and get a special discount!

Tatonka - Bruce King

“We were in the woods,” says Bruce King. “It was kind of a hardscrabble existence.”

This was Bruce’s first impression of the world. He spent his early years on the Oneida Indian Reserve of eastern Wisconsin, a place that his mother was trying to flee.

“She wanted something better than what was going on at the reservation, which was nothing,” he says.

Bruce spent his teen years in Chicago art museums and studied impressionism in Santa Fe, but it is perhaps that brief time on the reservation that most influences his work. The paintings in “Life Rhythms,” Bruce’s mid-August show here, are acutely in tune with nature’s beauty but always remind us that we’re dwarfed by its incredible power.

“If there’s one thing that is constant, it’s that things change all the time,” says Bruce. “If we can somehow find a way to go along with that, then we can understand our reality.”

The Kit Fox - Bruce King

Bruce’s impressionistic style falls in with this philosophy. He starts canvases by applying great splashes of paint and working with the resulting cascades to tease out bright, fluid landscapes. Then come the Indians on horseback, definite forms who meet their hazy surroundings with weary awe.

“I try to let the paint speak to me,” says Bruce. “Let the paints run, and then see what you can see in them.”

“Life Rhythms” runs August 14th to August 27th. Join us for the artist reception on Friday, August 17th from 5-7 pm.

 If purchasing a piece off the blog, mention that you found the piece on the blog and get a special discount!