Intrigue by Kathryn Ashcroft
16 x 20 in.
Oil on Belgian linen
Available from Horizon Fine Art, Jackson, Wyoming

A beautiful red fox hunting on a winter evening. It’s winter coat keeping it warm the fox travels many miles during the course of a day in search of food. It is a life and death trek.

This particular fox has seen something high in the branches of a tree, what is it? That is an intriguing question and it is up to the viewer of the painting to decide.

KATHRYN ASHCROFT – THE ART OF NATURE

Kathryn Ashcroft was born in a small, Northern Utah farming town in 1961. She was raised on the family dairy farm where animals were fed before people were and a strong work ethic was instilled in her at a young age. Many hours were spent on the back of a horse and riding was her favorite pass time. Her Mother, also an artist, created beautiful paintings in oil and this was a great source of inspiration. Kathryn began drawing animals early and was encouraged and taught by her Mother and by Nature.

Striving to convey the essence of the animal, as opposed to a detailed depiction, she uses a loose, painterly style. The result is a beautiful rendition of what the viewer would see if they were viewing the animal in the wild. Abstract backgrounds bring the focus of the painting to the animal itself.

As a child, Kathryn had ample opportunities to view wildlife in its natural environment. She continues observing and studying animals every day and her paintings are based on personal experiences that she has had. She will not paint an animal unless she has seen it and studied it in the wild. Countless hours are spent outdoors and in nature capturing reference material for her artwork.

The use of light, color, shape and value are important to Kathryn and she is constantly striving to bring all dimensions of her paintings to a higher level.

Her work can be found in collections across the country and internationally. It is her desire that all who view her work will have a greater appreciation for the natural world.

Kathryn is regularly invited to participate in the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, South Carolina and she has had her work accepted into the prestigious Birds In Art international competition in Wausau, Wisconsin.

Gallery Representation
Horizon Fine Art Gallery, Jackson, Wyoming
Summit Gallery, Park City, Utah
Sorrel Sky Gallery, Sante Fe, New Mexico

For more of Kathryn’s work you can follow her on Instagram and Facebook as Kathy Ashcroft.

She can be reached through email and by phone 435-890-0912.

View more of Kathryn’s work at KathyAshcroft.com.

Next to Kevin’s by Steven Walker
Oil

The oil painting titled Next to Kevin’s is just one of many nocturnal paintings that I have been experimenting with over the course of the past three years. This one in particular was selected to be a part of the Oil Painters of America National show. The show will be in Fredericksburg, Texas, at the RS Hanna Gallery.

Born in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Steven discovered his love for art at a very early age. After earning his bachelor’s degree in fine arts at Virginia Commonwealth University and a masters in fine arts from Marywood University, Steven turned his focus towards nature by way of painting landscapes.

Since delving into the gallery world, his work has been well received by collectors.  Steven’s paintings are part of several private collections such as Airstream Inc., Hilton Hotels, the Boy Scouts of America, Dominion Resources, Virginia State Department, the National Parks Service, the Columbus Convention Center and the United States Air Force.

Steven has been included in several local and national juried competitions including the Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional show (Award of Excellence), Richeson 75 Landscape Competition, Plein Air Salon, the International Salon Competition, the Oil Painters of America Salon (Award of Excellence), Oil Painters of America National (Honorable Mention) and the Art Renewal Center. Steven also had the privilege of being a part of a statewide traveling exhibition with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

He has participated in several artist in residency programs in Michigan, Indiana, Iowa and Colorado. In 2014, he was selected to create the Ohio Governor’s Art Awards by the Ohio Arts Council and in 2015 he received honorable mention in the Southwest Art Magazine’s Artistic Excellence Competition.

Steven now lives in Hahira, Georgia, where he continues to work hard on the advancement of his career, with the assistance of his lovely wife Evelyn and studio assistant/daughter Poppy. Currently, his work is represented in Kentucky, Washington State, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Oklahoma and Washington, D.C.

“I should have quit years ago but that would have proven so many people right.” – SW

A New Day by Jill Banks
24 x 12 in.
Oil on linen-lined panel
$2300
Available from the artist

Capturing Life in Oils

After so many months of life on hold and canceled events, September brought fresh air, plein air opportunities and a good bit of the thrill of creating that makes Banks’ impressionistic art sparkle.

A New Day came to life over two days at a friend’s farm during Paint Great Falls (in Virginia), a friendly regional plein air competition sponsored by the Arts of Great Falls, through which Banks teaches regular classes. The organization devised innovative ways to ensure the competition could go forward with artists’ safety in mind.

Paint Great Falls was immediately followed by a more challenging excursion to Telluride Plein Air for the artist’s seventh time participating in this top-notch Colorado competition as a juried artist. She repeated her #1 Top Seller status from 2018 in this year’s event that had been postponed from its usual July 4th dates. See her work from Telluride Plein Air by clicking here.

There’s joy in A New Day and the paintings created in Telluride. Actually, there’s joy to be found in the rest of Banks’ paintings – she just had to dig deeper to find it during these more isolated times.

The artist says, “I’ve always had an appreciation for the magic in life but now that’s grown tenfold. Painting at the farm, I ducked into my car during a thunderstorm, marveling at the raindrops on the windshield, then the fog, then sun bursting through glistening on puddles … and finally this. I painted all those layers over many hours so it would be there, hidden evidence of time passing and hope arriving.”

Southwest Art chose Banks as one of the “Artists to Watch…The Editor’s Choice for Up-And-Coming Talent”. She is a recently elected Signature Member of American Women Artists (AWA), Women Artists of the West (WAOW) and the Washington Society of Landscape Painters (WSLP).

She also teaches hands-on online classes via Zoom through the Arts of Great Falls with the next sessions starting the first week in October.  She was selected as one of the Top 8 Painting and Drawing Teachers in the Metro DC area by Expertise.com. Get more info on class offerings here.

To view more of Jill’s artwork and events schedule, visit www.JillBanks.com. The painting A New Day may be found here and seen at Jill’s studio/gallery at the Artists’ Atelier, 756 Walker Road, Great Falls, Virginia, by appointment via email: [email protected] or phone: 703.403.7435.

Join the adventure with her. See her website to sign up for her newsletter for her latest paintings, news, tales and fun.

You can also follow Jill on Facebook and Instagram.