January 2023
Hi, there!   

Hope you and your family had an enjoyable holiday season. After Christmas, my family loaded up two vehicles and we headed south to visit Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. The caverns are an amazing sight to behold and have inspired me to design a very unique artwork. I have spent the past week thinking about how to depict them in an artowork and feel pretty good about my solution. I will be starting this piece in the near future.
Nano Nano
After visiting the caverns, on the way back home we drove through Roswell, NM. Because Roswell is well known for its UFO activities, so we stopped and visited the UFO Museum, located in the middle of town. Very interesting place. Then, on the way out of town, we saw a couple of hitchhikers, but we decided not to pick them up!
Another Critter
As mentioned in December’s newsletter, I am working on a “Critter” series. The most recently completed critter is titled Mountain Lion and it measures 8” x 8”, just as all of the "Critter" series will be.
(click on image for larger view)
Currently, I am working on another critter, titled Mama & Baby Mountain Goat. The finished artwork will be in next month’s newsletter.
The latest portrait created by Malaya was a commissioned piece of a happy couple enjoying their time together. If you would like to have a commissioned portrait created by Malaya, please let me know. She is happy to draw either people or pets. I only ask that you provide plenty of time for the portrait to be completed because she is finishing up her senior year in high school and is working a part-time job as well.
Inquiries: [email protected]
For Christmas, Malaya created another drawing for her dad, depicting a scene from a number of years ago in Hawaii, as he was walking her down the beach. For this artwork, she used colored pencils that can be treated to look like watercolor. 
Speaking of Hawaii
Since it’s been so cold outside, just to help warm your mind, the following are a number of artworks depicting Hawaii that I have created over the past several years. Enjoy…along with a Mai Tai!
(click on an image for a larger view)
Hula Hawaii
Honu the Sea Turtle
Surf's Up
Kauai South Shore
Maui Sand & Sunset
Road to Hana
Most Anything Goes…
Life in the West Art Gallery will host the ARTIST’S FAVORITE Special Event, Feb. 17-19, 2023. This exciting art show and sale will feature a wide range of artworks that are the participating artists' favorite pieces. There is no theme for this show, so most anything goes!

The objective of this exhibition and sale is to showcase beautiful, intriguing, interesting, exciting, or mystic artworks. The artworks may be traditional, contemporary, abstract, or….? The subject matter is up to the artist. All styles of 2D and 3D artwork will be available in the following categories: Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Mixed Media, Photography, Digital Art, Glassware, Ceramics, Wood Carving, Stoneware, and Metalwork.

Call for Artists: Please apply for this nationally juried art show at CaFE (callforentry.org). Simply look for the title of the show to apply… ARTIST’S FAVORITE Special Event.
Dennis Bennett’s photo, taken near the top of chair #6 at Loveland ski area in Colorado, was recently featured with a double-page spread in Landscape Photography Magazine.

Dennis and I were skiing there when he spotted this scene as we were riding up the chair. He saw this picture in his mind, so in order for the sun and shadows to be what he envisioned, we took several more trips up and down the mountain.
When the sun and shadows were what he pictured, he was able to get this great shot. It goes to show that a good photograph is truly an artistic endeavor.
Cowboy Lifestyle Magazine
It is a great honor to be featured in a short article in the Winter issue of Cowboy Lifestyle Magazine. This unique magazine caters to people who love the western lifestyle and this issue is highly distributed during the National Finals Rodeo, held in Las Vegas, NV every December. The NFR is the Super Bowl of the rodeo world.
If you are interested in subscribing to this great magazine or would like more information about it, please go to: CowboyLifestyleNetwork.com
The Beginning of It All
It was this time of year, about 25 years ago, that I first began my style of creating artwork. After getting very tired of watching TV at night, I decided to go to the garage and try carving a picture from one of my wilderness packhorse trips.
It came out good enough to try again, so eventually, I taught myself how to create bas-relief, fine art in wood.

Following are a few pictures that were the inspiration for my artworks. These pictures were taken in the Flat Tops Wilderness, located in Northwestern Colorado.
(click on an image for a larger view)
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading and I hope to see or hear from you soon. 


Don