Despite the diverse creative avenues and mediums showcased in each issue of WA&A, this issue, and every issue, is about place. And while it’s generally accepted that the territory lying west of the 98th meridian defines “the West” in terms of geography, the identity of...
Erin Hanson portrays the Western landscape with bold, gemlike colors and bravura brushstrokes that fully immerse viewers in her large-scale paintings. So expansive are the scope and spirit of her works that the 38-year-old artist — who lives in San Diego’s northern suburbs — has...
Through his vividly realistic watercolors, Mark Kohler distills the very essence of the West and its people. Whether his subject is a cowboy astride a bucking blue roan, a young Latina aswirl in floral skirts as she rides in the traditional Mexican rodeo called a...
Sally Maxwell’s images of animals in the wild seem almost aglow with inner light, thanks in part to the less-than-usual medium in which she creates them: scratchboard. She’s a true master of the medium, one of only 12 people officially acknowledged as such by the...
JC Spock first fell in love with the West almost three decades ago as a teenager on a six-week cross-country family vacation. “I was so amazed by the magic of the landscapes, which were entirely different from my upbringing in deciduous New England,” she recalls....
Elizabeth Devereaux is playing a major role in redefining the concept of stained-glass windows as most people think they know them today. In fact, she refers to her creations — which can be found in both spiritual and secular settings — not by that old-fashioned...
Joel Ostlind’s subject matter reflects the glorious diversity of the Rocky Mountain West, encompassing cowboys, horses and cattle, wildlife, fly fishing, and the great outdoors itself. So it stands to reason that his ideal studio would offer a literal window into that expansive world, a...
In the years following World War II and into the Cold War era, an edge of existential uncertainty clouded the collective American mind in a way that it hadn’t before. Then along came a sprightly, witty, self-assured but humble old lady who painted cheerful scenes...
Years ago, I was lured to Walla Walla, Washington, by its emerging national profile as a worthy wine region. It was a fine day trekking through vineyards with visionary producers and tasting mostly reds at L’Ecole No. 41, Pepper Bridge Winery, Seven Hills Winery, Dunham...
“I never like the way our buildings are photographed,” says Kevin Alter, founder of Alterstudio based in Austin, Texas. “Architectural photography is mostly trying to describe a form. You never get a sense of how a room is sculpted by the way light comes into...