Inside Art with Silas Axtell

INSIDE ART

by Dagny McKinley

SIL AS AX TE LL 8

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hen Silas Axtell first returned to Steamboat Springs from studying art in New York, I asked him where he worked. He replied he only painted. That level of confidence was impressive in a town where most people work three jobs. Fortunately, Silas had the skills to back up the ambition. Looking at his works, he will be successful —he may even be Steamboat Springs’ next Gregory Block.

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As a young person, Silas had a total obsession with drawing. In an art class in elementary school, he painted the fall colors of trees and a mountain in the background. The painting still hangs on his grandma’s wall. He knew he wanted to be an artist, but didn’t consider art school until he was 18 years old; painting began at 22.

He recently returned from New York to Steamboat Springs and has been spotted plein air painting in town. His painting of hollyhocks for Advocate’s Art of Survival fundraiser showed a level of personal voice and talent that makes his paintings worth the investment now, as his work is only going to mature.

Photos courtesy of Dagny McKinley

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Silas started his studies at Colorado Mountain College, then attended the Grand Central Atelier in Brooklyn, NY, where between classes he spent time visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art and studying paintings there. His inspiration comes from friends, movies and a long list of master painters: Wyeth, Friant, Sorolla, Annigoni and a hundred others.

When asked about his style of painting, Silas replied, “I subscribe to realism. I find the world an incredible place and I’d like to capture its beauty as closely as I can—without the convention of photography. Photography in my assessment flattens the real world

and, in a way, presents us with something we accept as real but lacks substance when you compare it to the source. When someone goes on a long camping trip up in the mountains, you take a million photos and when you come home you show them to your friends. What happened? The mountains always seem smaller and less impressive! That same thing happens when you paint from photos. I always paint from life and I’m never disappointed.”

His dreams are filled with a 500-inch snowpack and world peace, but what gets him out of bed in the morning is knowing he can head down to the barn to paint.

ELEVATE THE ARTS: Check out Silas Axtell’s work at Pine Moon Gallery, where he was recently accepted as a guest artist, and watch for him painting next time you’re out and about. DM

Elk+Mountain+Cloud, by Silas Axtell, courtesy of Pine Moon Gallery

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CREATIVE INSPIRATION

by Silas Axtell

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would say that drawing from life is something anyone can do with a pencil, an eraser and any little object you have laying around. Find a piece of fruit or vegetable, set it on your table and start drawing it. Don't worry about getting all the little details at first. Measure its length and height and get those right first. Look for little shapes that you can replicate in the drawing. Slowly build it up and keep your lines nice and light. Only when you measure again and again, comparing each to itself, do

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Photo courtesy of AwA

you focus on the texture and details of the drawing. Any builder will tell you that the house needs a frame before you start painting the drywall. At the end, you may have an ugly pumpkin drawing, but the more you do it the better you will be!

My current inspirations are Rosa Bonheur and Jules BastienLePage. Both have incredible work. My favorites among their paintings would have to be Bonheur’s The Horse Fair and BastienLePage’s Joan of Arc. I've had the pleasure of seeing both. If you have the time, you should check them out online.

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