Curt Walters, Western Art & Architecture, June/July, 2013

JUne | july 2013

From Cowboy to Contemporary

Marsden Hartley and the American West In the Studio with Donna Howell-Sickles Curt Walters’ Landscape Traditions Ethos: Ted Turner on Art and Land

plus:

Wanderings: Telluride, Colorado Architecture in the West: From Spanish Vernacular to Prefabulous Wall Drug: A Love Story

Landscape Traditions From Europe to the Southwest, Curt Walters’ mastery of light defines the scenes he paints

Written by Shari Morrison

K

nown by his peers as a

“master of the Grand Canyon,” Curt Walters didn’t arrive at that title painting just the Grand Canyon.

That he has a passion for one of the world’s natural wonders is no surprise; it’s practically in his back yard. For Walters, who lives in Sedona, Arizona, where the red rock formations come to life at morning’s dawn, painting outdoors is only natural.

A native of the Southwest, Walters’ keen eye for painting light and atmosphere is obvious in his Grand Canyon pieces, but that skill is what makes his landscapes special no matter where he is painting.

Take, for example, the body of work he created on a recent trip through Images courtesy of Nedra Matteucci Galleries

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Crystal Rain Oil | 40 x 60 inches 2012 Buyer’s Choice Award at the Eiteljorg Quest for the West WA

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Curt Walters Landscape Traditions to obtain special permission to paint at the beautiful house and museum, Casa de Pilatos. Having to prove himself to be a professional artist with a presentation of his website, Walters eventually earned the curator’s permission and, thanks to numerous awards, his regard, as well.

Indeed, the artist’s list of awards includes some of the most prestigious names in the field. In the past three years alone, Walters has won top-tier awards in three different exhibitions: In 2012, he won the Buyer’s Choice Award at the Eiteljorg’s Quest for the West; in 2011, he earned the Nona Jean Hulsey Buyer’s Choice Award at the Prix de West at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum; and in 2010, he was awarded the Patron’s Choice Award at the American Masters at the Salmagundi Club in New York City.

Chuck Schroeder, President of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, marvels at the artist’s list of awards.

“He won the coveted Prix de West Purchase Award in 2007, and has since been awarded the

Newlyn Harbour Oil | 12 x 12 inches

Europe where, he says, the light was remarkably different in

moisture and more recession in values, but I never got to any

each place.

place where I painted any depth.”

“In England, I never saw the sun,” he says. “There

Most of all Walters loved Venice, even though, he says,

are a lot of quick changes in the atmosphere here in the

the human element was a significant change from his vast

Southwest … there, that doesn’t happen. It is damp and

and relatively unpeopled home turf. “It was difficult to find

A native of the Southwest,

cold and so is the light.” Still he painted, finding delight in

a spot to paint. Even with no automobile traffic, there are so

a sky where he had a chance to play with edges of clouds.

many people walking around, it doesn’t leave any room for

Walters’ keen eye for painting

At Penzance, where Gilbert & Sullivan’s comic opera, The

artists to set up.”

Pirates of Penzance, was set, Walters’ head was filled with

Determined, Walters found places to set up his French

thoughts of the opera. Its most popular tune, “I Am the Very

easel and paint, producing two paintings of the famous La

Model of a Modern Major-General,” ran though his mind.

Salute, one of the largest cathedrals in the floating city. He

“I was having a good time, but Scotty, the local policeman,

also painted nocturnal scenes in Venice, a challenge because

kept interrupting me with questions, wanting to know how

of the economy. “They changed the kind of lights they are

one can capture the atmosphere so realistically.”

lighting the cathedrals with at night,” he says. “Once they

Traveling to Vienna from England, Walters loved seeing

used warm lights, now they use soft blue lights to save

the sun for a change. “I found the light to be refreshing after

money. That changes everything. Still, you have to see

England. There wasn’t a lot of play in the sky, just a little

Venice by night.”

atmosphere, but not by the coast. I definitely added more

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Niagra Falls Oil | 42 x 90 inches

In Seville, Spain, where the light was high, Walters had

light and atmosphere is obvious in his Grand Canyon pieces, but that skill is what makes his landscapes special no matter where he is painting.

Enigmatic Long House Oil | 36 x 36 inches 2011 Buyers Choice Award, Prix de West WA

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Nona Jean Hulsey People’s Choice Award four times and the Frederic Remington Award twice in his 15 years as a Prix de West artist!” he says.

Schroeder points out that not every award was a Grand Canyon painting. “His work, regardless of subject matter, reaches its viewers.

While he is, perhaps, best known for his dramatic portrayals of the Grand Canyon, he has artfully addressed a wide variety of subjects with equal proficiency. Views of mountains and deserts, seascapes and lakesides, European cities and street scenes, inspiring internal and external views of great cathedrals and intimate old missions, even still lifes all spark a fuse from his heart to his hands, resulting in the art that ultimately touches others so profoundly,” Schroeder says.

Salute Nocturne Oil | 14 x 14 inches

Walters will participate in this year’s Prix de West on June 7 and 8.

Demonstrating his ability to paint various landscapes, Walters currently has on his easel a long horizontal canvas, 42 x 90 inches, with a painting of Niagara Falls, a rainbow reflected in the mist of its waters. His admiration of one of Frederic Church’s paintings of Niagara Falls inspired him to paint it in the same dimensions as the deceased master. The panoramic piece, along with images from Arizona and his European tour, will be shown at Nedra Matteucci Galleries in Santa Fe beginning June 22 in a show titled, Curt Walters: Works from My Wishlist.

Matteucci says it is exciting to represent an artist with the distinction and dedication of Curt Walters. “He has already achieved coveted awards and recognition, yet Curt continues to

push himself in search of broad subject matter and artistic

Portal of Neues Rathaus Vienna Oil | 14 x 14 inches

innovation,” she says. “I look forward to every new painting and sharing it with our collectors because I expect to

reassured that the long tradition of great American land-

discover somewhere new and beautiful as Curt journeys

scape painters is alive and well in Curt Walters.”

further away from his beloved Arizona. He raises the bar and expectations and we are repeatedly rewarded with a growing repertoire of his beautifully dramatic and unique vistas.”

Shari Morrison writes from her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She and Curt Walters both attended Farmington

From the water lilies of Giverny to the Indian ruins

High School in Northwest New Mexico. Separately they each

at Mesa Verde, Walters’ paintings — including his Grand

studied under Margarita Jaramillo, who was Walters’ English

Canyon winners — have staying power in the memories of

literature teacher 40 years ago and who, more recently,

those who have admired them. Matteucci concludes, “I am

tutored Morrison on written Spanish language skills.

Autumn Comes to Harts Prairie Oil | 36 x 36 inches

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