Collector’s Focus: Wildlife Art
Nicholas Coleman’s lifelong experience with hunting, fishing and trapping as well as growing up in an artistic household (his father is Michael Coleman) brings a high-level of reality to his paintings both in the skill of their execution and the scenes he depicts. In addition to his historically accurate paintings of Native American encampments, he paints the life of the hunters and fishermen whose campsites are often invaded by bears and their cubs.
Uninvited Guests depicts the rummaging guests distracted by a noise in the distance.
Although the bears bring danger into our lives, in their own environment they are often playful, an aspect that Dan Ostermiller portrays in his sculptures. He learned animal anatomy from observation and from working with his father, a renowned taxidermist. He has studied animals in their natural habitats, the way they move, and the way they interact with each other. The whimsical Playful
Cubs is one his many humorous bronzes of bears at play. Ostermiller is a storyteller. “My subjects are selected because they possess the closest features and character to illustrate my point,” he explains. “If I have a trademark, it’s the character I put in pieces. I incorporate, I hope, strong design. I give people something they can relate to and a good piece of sculpture.”
John Nieto (1936-2018) said, “I employ a subject matter that is familiar and express it the way I see it.” His bold brush strokes of unblended colors express the energy he
saw in his Native American and animal subjects. His innate attraction to bright color was validated when he saw an exhibition in Paris of the Fauve painters of the 1920s who were led by Matisse and André Derain. Paul Gauguin wrote, “How do you see this tree? Is it really green? Use green, then, the most beautiful green on your palette. And that shadow, rather blue? Don’t be afraid to paint it as blue as possible.”
Foreground, middle ground and background in Nieto’s Grizzly Bear appear as three horizontal bands yet the bear appears to charge out the space, its eyes, nose and claws emerging from the suggestive brush strokes.
Robert Mccauley addresses contemporary issues with a 19th century romantic technique. His bears are none other than playful cubs or energetic forest creatures. They gaze at the viewer as if they are trying to determine what this human creature is all about. They already know, however, as their habitat diminishes around them. In an essay, Mccauley mused about his fellow travelers messing with their phone cameras as the brief moment of a bear sighting passed unphotographed. “Shorter and shorter, fewer and fewer glimpses are we allowed by nature. But is it nature as an omnipresent force, or as a word that allows us to shift the blame, when it is we who have set the timer shorter and shorter.”
In Trained to Only See the Picturesque,a bear examines a field camera similar to those that captured majestic scenes of the West in
the 19th century. The mountain peak is framed in the camera’s ground glass focusing screen. Focused on the picturesque, the viewer misses the wonders all around him.
Throughout this special collector’s focus, readers will find works depicting the country’s majestic wildlife creatures from some of the West’s leading artists and galleries, as well as learn more about the inspiration behind the works.
Born and raised in rural Kansas, Chip Brock has always had a love for the outdoors. “I never tire of spending time in the field and love that each painting presents a completely new challenge,” says the wildlife and sporting artist. “I’m very blessed to be able to make a living at something I never want to retire from.”
“I am fortunate to live in Sonoma Wine Country, with stunning skies to inspire my large wildlife and nature paintings every day,”
says Jackie Lee. “Divine guidance provides the vision which flows through my mind to my hand and brush, and I rarely know in advance how a painting will turn out—it’s always a surprise. My collectors say they feel at peace living with my art on their walls, and that’s probably because I leave a part of my soul in each one.”
Johanna Lerwick’s passion lies with wildlife and she employs a high level of realism with mastered elements of light and shadow to depict the subjects in her oil paintings. “With a deep love and passion for wildlife and nature, my oil paintings are a reflection of the spirit of the animal, bringing out the emotion and mood through their eyes and expressions,” she says. “When I create a painting, it is more than paint on a brush. To me, it is bringing an animal or scene to life.” Lerwick’s work can be found at Kelly’s Collectibles and Online Art Gallery, owned by wildlife art enthusiast Kelly Shaeffer.
When discussing her oil, Moose Crossing, Teresa Johnson says, “Pictures express a thousand words and moose, when moving peacefully through their day, are a picture of grace to me. I was fascinated by the graceful movement and the lighting on this moose crossing through a stream of water. The play of light and contrast of colors always provides inspiration for painting and this moose, in this environment, had it all.” When purchasing wildlife art—or any type of art, for that matter—shiloh Thurman, museum director of Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve, is “a firm believer in purchasing art that you can connect with.” He adds, “With how quickly the art market can fluctuate, the idea of purchasing art as an investment has never resonated well with me. Art is created to be seen and enjoyed, not stored away in a dark room for a future sale.”
Elizabeth Lewis Scott believes that creating artwork is “a lot like training a horse.” “There are no shortcuts,” she explains. “The same type of vision and faith that reveals and develops the potential in a green horse brings ideas hidden in an artist’s heart (and head)