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Iron Horse Artist Ben Wright

Exposure – for any artist, the fear of the unknown can be debilitating. 

“Growth and true adventure comes from the courage to challenge yourself in the process of exploration,” Ben says.

Because an artist’s life is often one of solitude, Ben Wright values the honor of being chosen as the first “Artist in Residence” at the Frederick Remington Art Museum in Ogdensburg, New York in the fall of 1999.

Not only did the experience allow Ben to be encouraged as an artist, it granted him the opportunity to gather feedback daily from all kinds of people – from the children on tour through the museum, from the seniors from the home nearby and from visiting patrons.

Ben’s work is emotional.  His heritage involves those of his Cherokee ancestors - as a student of his past, he understands the value of his journey and the value of his gifts.

Ben's work was  featured at the Iron Horses of Western Art Exhbition at the Texas Stampede's La Riata Gala Event on Sunday, November 7, 2004 in Dallas, Texas.  For a catalog from the exhibition, call Sonja at (877) 297-5659 or e-mail your address to SonjaHowle@WizardofAds.com
    

Iron Horse Artist Donna Howell Sickles

Imagine getting a box, contents unknown, but in it was a treasure that would open a new door … and take you into a new world. 

Donna traded a painting for a box early in her career, and in that box was a vintage postcard.  The black and white postcard from 1935 was of a woman on a horse – with red lipstick (the woman, not the horse).  It was typical of the Hollywood version of the cowgirl and on the card was "Greetings from a Real Cowgirl of the Ole Southwest."  Donna knows what real cowgirls look like - she grew up on a farm and ranch in Texas.  But, the image haunted and inspired her … she created a collection that extended this magical myth.

Donna’s cowgirls have evolved ever since … they show strong, courageous women surrounded by sisters-in-lore and the animals they love.  They’re doing what they love. 

Donna went deeper into the myth and found reality, as she explains, “My early Cowgirl was a generalized western persona that I never thought of as a specific woman.  As I worked with the image I became curious about the origin of the imagery.  Were there real women behind the Cowgirl image?  To my surprise yes there were.  This discovery of Cowgirls with names and stories brought more detail into my work. And with the detail came faces to better portray the joy I saw in the relationships of the Cowgirl to her life and companions.”

Donna's work was  featured at the Iron Horses of Western Art Exhbition at the Texas Stampede's La Riata Gala Event on Sunday, November 7, 2004 in Dallas, Texas.  For a catalog from the exhibition, call Sonja at (877) 297-5659 or e-mail your address to SonjaHowle@WizardofAds.com

Iron Horse Artist R.J. Pfammatter

Holland, 1951 - Herman Pfammatter was a successful chef on the Holland America Cruise Line when he received a letter from the Fred Harvey Company.  The company was opening a new French restaurant in Chicago and invited Herman, his wife and two children to come to America.

Their son Robert had used the magic of his drawing and painting to escape the reality of World War II’s impact on his home in the Dutch community of De Hague.  As the war came to a close, he’d seen his Grandfather’s strength in running a business alone and Robert’s mother had shown him that his painting, strength and perseverance could take him anywhere.   

In America he became an engineer and took art classes, mesmerized by the form and function of art and design.  Art would become his life when he chose Taos as the place he would live and paint.  The Fred Harvey Company would have a hand in bringing him to Taos to fulfill his destiny. 
 
Robert has a rich legacy with the Southwest, first from his father’s invitation to join a company who helped build an empire, and painting where so many artists have, artists of a century ago who would be known as the Taos Society and would help the Santa Fe Railway celebrate the magical kingdom of desert, mountains and a tapestry of cultures along their ribbon of railroad.

R.J.'s work was  featured at the Iron Horses of Western Art Exhbition at the Texas Stampede's La Riata Gala Event on Sunday, November 7, 2004 in Dallas, Texas.  For a catalog from the exhibition, call Sonja at (877) 297-5659 or e-mail your address to SonjaHowle@WizardofAds.com

Iron Horse Artist J.E. Knauf

Jim Knauf, while studying the technical aspects of drawing and painting at Northern Arizona University, traveled the back roads through the vast Southwestern pueblos, the ranching communities and the landscape.   

At the University of California, Irvine, he studied under contemporary and Avante Garde artists Tony DeLap, Billy Al Benston, Bruce Nauman, Robert Irwin, Vija Clemens and Ed Moses.  Earning a Bachelors Degree in painting, Jim spent his post-graduate year exploring the art and architecture of Mexico, Europe and North Africa.

Jim is co-founder of the “Other Side of the West.”   

Jim's work was  featured at the Iron Horses of Western Art Exhbition at the Texas Stampede's La Riata Gala Event on Sunday, November 7, 2004 in Dallas, Texas.  For a catalog from the exhibition, call Sonja at (877) 297-5659 or e-mail your address to SonjaHowle@WizardofAds.com

Iron Horse Artist Scott Gilsinger

“The pilgrim to the Canyon must not go as one who visits a peep-show or a freak of Nature, but approach it as Moses came to the burning bush.”

- William Allen White

Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, Fernand Lungren … they know this.  A century later Scott Gilsinger, inspired by the Grand Canyon and by the stylistic work of Bierstadt, knows this.

Scott’s wandered and explored the Grand Canyon all his life.  Like so many artists, Scott has drawn and painted since he was young; he began painting professionally about 10 years ago, with the constant tug of his successful gallery and fine art publishing business in Phoenix.

In fact, through his fine art publishing business he met Kenneth M. Freeman, one the guardians of the industry.  Ken helped Scott develop the confidence and courage to paint professionally.  Ken also taught him some of his finesse – appreciated gifts from a friend and painter with nearly 5 decades of experience.

Scott's work was  featured at the Iron Horses of Western Art Exhbition at the Texas Stampede's La Riata Gala Event on Sunday, November 7, 2004 in Dallas, Texas.  For a catalog from the exhibition, call Sonja at (877) 297-5659 or e-mail your address to SonjaHowle@WizardofAds.com
 

Iron Horse Artist Maria Sharylen

“Inspiration is the 'stuff’ of which dreams are dreamed and images are created.  And, here is where I draw mine.  I believe in the art’s capacity to stimulate emotions that transform these beautiful people and hope my work will touch hearts in the special way this land and those who call it home have touched mine.”

- from Maria Sharylen

Maria remembers when she first stepped off the train in Los Angeles as a little girl, she remembers the landscape along the way, the Indians selling their art in the depot and the sights, sounds and smells so unfamiliar to her.

She embraced it easily and has been a student, writer and innovator all her life.  She founded the American Academy of Women Artists and is co-founder of The Other Side of the West.  She has written articles for Cowboys and Indians, American Art Review and has written the book “Artists of the Pacific Northwest to 1970.”

French painter Paul Gauguin and the 17th century painter of light, Caravaggio have influenced her bold, dramatic and contemporary style.  The historic events of Mexico, the Southwest, South America and the South Pacific inspire her work.  Their lifestyles and images of today also are reflected in her vibrant collections.

Maria's work was  featured at the Iron Horses of Western Art Exhbition at the Texas Stampede's La Riata Gala Event on Sunday, November 7, 2004 in Dallas, Texas.  For a catalog from the exhibition, call Sonja at (877) 297-5659 or e-mail your address to SonjaHowle@WizardofAds.com

Iron Horse Artist Howard Post

      

“It was the yellow bulldozer that did it.
        Don’t get me wrong.  The life of an artist is great.  I love it.

But it’s like the song that Willie sings:   ‘I grew up dreamin’ of being a cowboy and loving the cowboy ways.  Pursuing the life of my high ridin’ heroes, I burned up my childhood days.’     

I'd have been one too, if it hadn’t been for that yellow bulldozer.
You see, in third grade I did a little drawing of my Dad, who was a cowboy, of course.   My teacher entered it in a contest down at the city newspaper.  I won first place.  And, a bright yellow toy bulldozer. 

            But, my hereoes have always been cowboys."
 

- by Howard Post

Howard’s Dad had a feed store in Tucson and a small ranch with horses and cattle, stock contracting for the area rodeos.  Howard, his Dad and brother were all involved in Rodeo, and Howard became the Arizona High School All-Round Rodeo Champion, competed in college rodeo and professionally with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

But Howard always painted too.  Everyone told him “you can’t make a living as an artist,” so, with his Bachelors and Masters in Fine Art from the University of Arizona he taught, worked professionally as an Art Director for an agency in Phoenix and then as a commercial freelance designer and illustrator until he was ready to ride solo as an artist in the early 1980’s.  He’s been happily ridin’ solo ever since.

Howard's work was  featured at the Iron Horses of Western Art Exhbition at the Texas Stampede's La Riata Gala Event on Sunday, November 7, 2004 in Dallas, Texas.  For a catalog from the exhibition, call Sonja at (877) 297-5659 or e-mail your address to SonjaHowle@WizardofAds.com  

Iron Horse Artist Greg English

Greg English became a profession painter on Memorial Day weekend 1998 in Prescott, Arizona.

He had left his jobs behind – customer service and retail had taught him well – but he was ready to see if he had what it took to be a painter.  He had grown up with it … he’d accompanied his Mom, successful painter Cheryl English, on road trips to Santa Fe where she would meet with her galleries and deliver new pieces.  He had understood the magic of meeting an old man on the plaza of the Laguna Pueblo and being invited into his humble home to hear his story.

As a kid growing up in Phoenix, Greg had gone on field trips to the Heard Museum and seen his breath on the glass that housed the pottery of centuries ago from the Fred Harvey Fine Arts Collection.  The detail intrigued him and sometimes his drawings would mimic the designs he remembered.

Greg took 6 months to prepare for that Memorial Day weekend show in 1998.  He was anxious before the event … he’d been working hard on his painting for 6 months, under the guidance and support of someone he respected. 

That weekend he sold 17 paintings, won two awards, galleries began calling and his career had begun.  The only person more proud than Greg was his instructor.  She still loves telling people of his success after only 6 months of painting … but the truth is, Cheryl had begun teaching him decades ago.

Greg's work was  featured at the Iron Horses of Western Art Exhbition at the Texas Stampede's La Riata Gala Event on Sunday, November 7, 2004 in Dallas, Texas.  For a catalog from the exhibition, call Sonja at (877) 297-5659 or e-mail your address to SonjaHowle@WizardofAds.com

Iron Horse Artist David DeVary

David grew-up in the 1950's in the Midwest - Bloomington, Illinois.  Since it was a small town and BTV (Before TV) he went to the movies a lot.  His Mom took him to see all the glamorous musicals, and every Saturday morning he and the guys plopped down their 24 pennies to see all the serials.

Hollywood’s 1950’s western was so romantic and ideal.  The good guys always won and they always got the girl.  It was a time when a Hero was a Hero and a man's word really meant something.  He loved all the Cowboy Westerns and fantasized about all the beautiful ladies from the musical comedies.

David attended the Art Institute of Chicago and Wesleyan University.  After graduation, he began his career in Chicago advertising, becoming Creative Director/Senior V.P. at J. Walter Thompson in Chicago.  David’s clients included McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Hallmark Cards and Kraft Foods.  For his creative work, he’s earned Clio awards and the prestigious Gold Lion at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.

David's work was  featured at the Iron Horses of Western Art Exhbition at the Texas Stampede's La Riata Gala Event on Sunday, November 7, 2004 in Dallas, Texas.  For a catalog from the exhibition, call Sonja at (877) 297-5659 or e-mail your address to SonjaHowle@WizardofAds.com

Iron Horse Artist Thom Ross

Victory from Defeat … The Alamo, The OK Corral, and The Battle of Little Bighorn … Thom Ross has been a student of this century-old theme for decades.

His compassion for the men and women “in the game” – bold enough to step from behind the sidelines and fulfill their destiny – invites us to know more intimately American myths like Wyatt Earp, Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, Sitting Bull and General George Armstrong Custer.

He knows them better than most.  Thom’s an avid historian and his paintings are inspired by truth.  When I asked him about one of my favorites, “Buffalo Bill in Venice,” he told me it was based on an actual photograph.    

Through his paintings, the grace, simplicity and courage of the warrior shine through.  He reminds us of the hope of  “Victory from Defeat.”  Today’s warrior may be a woman fighting the final stages of cancer or the timid boy on the sidelines with a dream; he reminds us, “This is about you - and it’s beyond you.”

“Let us approach these records with awe and awakened vision; we are on holy ground.”

Thom's work was  featured at the Iron Horses of Western Art Exhbition at the Texas Stampede's La Riata Gala Event on Sunday, November 7, 2004 in Dallas, Texas.  For a catalog from the exhibition, call Sonja at (877) 297-5659 or e-mail your address to SonjaHowle@WizardofAds.com