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Cowgirl

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Laurie — No Comments ↓

I had taken last night’s post down on second thought, but I will repost this painting, as a friend who was up late also last night saw it and asked about it. This is not the way I want to paint – very tight and within the box. (My Scenic Artist roots tugging at me again …) but the thought process is interesting so here goes.

I love painting people but have trouble finding people to paint (maybe because I never leave the ranch!), so I got excited about painting “portraits” of some of our stuff! We have a lot of old toys and memorabilia and I thought this was a great solution to that dilemma.

This has been an eye opener for me though as I’m seeing it’s not going to be so easy. All these toys look like toys, look like cartoons, so to do a serious painting of them is proving to be a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. This is very interesting.

So far, I’ve done three paintings of toys. One is going in the bonfire pit. I’m not sure about the second one yet. This is the one I like the best, just an 8×10 of this cowgirl toy, but it’s much tighter than I want to paint anymore. It just seemed necessary to do that so it wouldn’t look so much like – “a toy”…? Hummm.

When I have more time I’m going to come back to this idea. I had built a still-life box where I can control the lighting, but I think I need to take “my toys” outdoors and put them in settings with natural light and a real environment. I’ll let you know how this progresses.

Cowgirl-8x10-for-web

Posted in Figurative, Western

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Laurie Stevens

Recent Accolades

2-2020 I was accepted into the Booth Western Art Museum show Making Their Mark: American Women Artists. May 27 – Aug. 23, 2020.

2018 – I was chosen as a Finalist in the Portrait Society of America’s “Members Only Competition” (in the Non-Commissioned Portrait Category) with my painting, “The Artist’s Wife”.

2018 – I was chosen to grace the “Classic Moments” page of the July / August 2018 Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. This is the last page of the magazine and a full page spread! My painting, “The Artist’s Wife”, 32×24, was my response to a painting of the same title by William Merit Chase, done in 1892. – https://fineartconnoisseur.com/category/magazine/current-issue/

2018 – “An Early Breakfast” was juried into the NOAPS 2018 Best of America Small Painting National Exhibition at Richland Fine Art in Nashville, TN. April 30 – May 26, 2018 – http://www.noaps.org/copy-of-best-of-america-prospectus

2018 – Portrait Society of America – 6×9: Limited Size, Unlimited Talent Mystery Art Sale, April 20 at the Art of the Portrait Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. – http://www.portraitsociety.org/

2017 – C.M. Russell Museum Auction “The Russell” – http://www.cmrauction.com/

2017 – Dinghies and U-Turn were juried into the National Oil & Acrylic Painters Society Holiday Small Works Show in Parkville, MO. – https://www.noaps.org/holiday-small-works-show

2017 – Portrait Society of American Members Only Competition Finalist in the “Outside the Box” Figurative Competition – for “Mourning Dove” 36×24 – https://www.portraitsociety.org/moc-2017-winners

2017 – Two pieces juried into the National Oil & Acrylic Painters Society Holiday Small Works Show – https://www.noaps.org/holiday-small-works-show

2016 – Portrait Society of America “Members Only Show” – I placed in the Landscape Division with my painting “Milk and Honey”! See the images on the slider. – http://www.portraitsociety.org/moc-2016-winners

2014 – Spring, 2015 – Juried into the Spring American Women Artists Online Juried Show. http://www.americanwomenartists.org/news/html/t_oli_2014_fall.html

2014 – Juried into the Fall NOAPS International Online Showcase. http://www.noaps.org/html/t_oli_2014_fall.html

2014 – Juried into the American Women Artists National Competition & Exhibition, Orleans, MA.www.americanwomenartists.org

2014 – Chosen to be an “Art in Action” Artist for the Russell Auction event at Meadowlark Country Club, Great Falls, MT., Mar. 21www.cmrussell.org/the-russell

2013 – Juried into the American Women Artists National Competition & Exhibition, Fredericksburg, TXwww.americanwomenartists.org

2012 – A piece of mine, “Motel Galata” was selected to be part of the permanent Modern West Collection at the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, GA! www.boothmuseum.org/

2012 – Top 100 Paint the Parks National Competition (2 pieces) www.paintamerica.org

2011 People’s Choice Award at the Clymer Museum of Art Exhibit & Auction www.clymermuseum.com

2008 C.M. Russell Museum CEO Award – given to one Russell Auction participant www.cmrussell.org

2008 – 2010 Paint America Top 100 www.paintamerica.org

About Me

Stevens’ work reflects the small daily wonders of the land she calls home: the first crocus of spring, the resilient beauty of the plains, or that special sense of hope and possibility that is only found in the West. Stevens is also interested in regional history, particularly the interactions of Native Americans and white settlers during the Reservation Period. Many of her paintings are an exploration of this dynamic and a meditation on the “taming of the West.” From Billings, MT, Laurie began her career as an artist in Los Angeles where she spent 12 years working for the entertainment industry as a scenic artist and muralist for television, theme park, theater and movie productions. She spent time as a member of the Walt Disney Imagineering team, lending her talents to many Disney theme park projects worldwide. She also did some set design, illustration, and matte paintings for several animated childrens’ movies. In the 1980’s Stevens returned to her native Montana, first to the mountains near the Scapegoat Wilderness and then to the ranch near Great Falls where she currently lives and works.