I have a very big idea.
A very big one.
One I’m not even sure I can pull off.
But I’m going to try. And if I fail, at least one thing will be true: my artistic skills will have been pushed to their limit — and hopefully, years from now, that limit will be much bigger than it is today.
I’m an oil painter. I paint the West. Some contemporary pieces, some modern wildlife, some realism. I dabble. But for the Far West Show, I knew I had to level up. That’s where my Iron Jacket painting came from. It was a major step for me — painting a real Comanche warrior wearing a European breastplate and attempting to capture the kind of metal reflection Caravaggio achieved. Was mine the same? No. But it was a step in the right direction.
Now that the dust has settled from the Far West, I need something new to aim for. Of course, I’d love to be in galleries and museums, but right now, they don’t seem interested. So my plan is to make them be.
My approach is simple: keep painting the Western world — Native Americans, cowboys, generals, and the rest — but with one key twist. I’m going to recreate what I consider some of the greatest paintings ever made, my way.
In my opinion, the Baroque period produced the highest achievements in art. One day Caravaggio invented tenebrism, and suddenly there was this pure, revolutionary beauty: light emerging out of darkness. Perfection.
So my plan is to bring the West into that world of tenebrism. I have to give credit to an old teacher of mine — she does something similar with Los Angeles Chicano(a) subjects and tenebrism. It’s truly beautiful work. If I can achieve even a fraction of what she has, I’ll be grateful.
The goal is simple: each piece must top the last, and eventually become a full body of work worthy of its own show.
Western Tenebrism.