Portfolio | Lone Star Talent

Meet 10 artists who make their homes in Texas

This story was featured in the March/April 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art March/April 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

Chuck Mauldin

What inspires you to paint? Light! And shadow. The power of light to convert the ordinary into the extraordinary is especially striking for landscapes.
How would you describe your style? Realistic yet painterly, meaning that I render recognizable subject matter in a loose, carefree way.
How did you first get interested in art? I started drawing and painting a lot in high school, encouraged by my parents (until it was time to think about making a living!). My dad did a few oil and pastel paintings amidst his woodworking, which helped light the fire.
Where did you study art? I’ve taken many workshops, but the most influential were with the late Charles Sovek and, more recently, Kevin Macpherson.
What other artists have influenced your work? The top spot is held by Richard Schmid. Edgar Payne and Elioth Gruner have also made a mark, among many others.
What is your creative process like? For studio work, I prefer to think about the painting for a day or more before I start. Composition is resolved and the color scheme initiated during this mental preparation. Plein-air work is the opposite, requiring fast decisions that are not second-guessed. If I’m successful, I achieve a “planned spontaneity” (one of my favorite oxymorons).
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be? While I have steadily painted for most of my life, a great job as a research chemist with Exxon filled my days for 28 years. My love of chemistry is now directed toward learning about artists’ materials (and wine!).
What galleries represent your work? R.S. Hanna Gallery, Fredericksburg, TX; Lee Bunch Studio Gallery, Del Rio, TX; The Gallery at Brookwood, Brookshire, TX; www.chuckmauldin.com.

Judy Crowe

What inspires you to paint? Nature and an innate desire to express creativity, something I believe I have had since I was a child.
How would you describe your style? Contemporary impressionism.
Where did you study art? My major in college was sociology; however, I feel I should have a doctorate in painting because of the number of years I have studied and taken workshops.
What other artists have influenced your work? Richard Schmid, John William Waterhouse, John Singer Sargent, Daniel Gerhartz, and Tom Browning.
What is your creative process like? Lately I have been changing my focus from still life to a broader range of subject matter, including Texas landscapes, wildlife, and figures, as well as painting larger. I always have something in my head that I want to paint, and I am usually planning those ideas long before I get into the studio. When I start something new, I try to work out the composition and think it through before starting the painting.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? I am very proud of an article I was asked to write for International Artist magazine in 2007. Other highlights include being asked to do eight paintings for a Women of the Bible series of books, being voted a Master Signature member of American Women Artists, and becoming a Signature member of the American Impressionist Society and the Outdoor Painters Society.
What galleries represent your work? Jack Meier Gallery, Houston, TX; The Gallery at Round Top, Round Top, TX; The White Buffalo Gallery, Glen Rose, TX; The Gallery at Brookwood, Brookshire, TX; www.judycrowe.com.

Janet Broussard

What inspires you to paint? I’m inspired by taking the dynamic action of a horse in motion, or the ever-changing configuration of clouds, or the expression and stance of an animal caught unaware—and then adding a graphic element.
How would you describe your style? Contemporary western, but I also paint in a traditional style.
How did you first get interested in art? In third grade I loved horses, and I had a friend who drew them very well. I asked her to draw a horse for me, and then I copied it over and over. I realized that if I could do that with a horse, I could do it with any subject.
Where did you study art? The University of North Texas and the Fredericksburg Artists’ School.
What other artists have influenced your work? Maynard Dixon, J.C. Leyendecker, Sir Alfred Munnings, Donna Howell-Sickles, Joaquin Sorolla, John Singer Sargent … I could make a long list!
What have been some of the highlights of your career? Becoming a member of the Salmagundi Club, Women Artists of the West, and American Women Artists. Participating in over 57 juried shows, winning awards of merit and awards for excellence. But the most rewarding thing is having collectors tell me how much they enjoy my work.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? I enjoy cooking, gardening, photography, interior decorating, and reading about art history. I also love power tools, so I’m always up to something in the garage.
What galleries represent your work? R.S. Hanna Gallery, Fredericksburg, TX; Big Horn Galleries, Tubac, AZ; Spa Fine Art, Saratoga Springs, NY; www.janetbroussard.com.

Cap Pannell

What inspires you to paint? I look at painting as a mystery to be solved using the elements of design—color, shape, contrast, and composition—to achieve an image that’s comforting or familiar, something that evokes a memory or a feeling.
How would you describe your style? Tonalism. Some people have called it minimalism as well.
Where did you study art? I studied graphic design at the University of North Texas, and I’ve been a designer and illustrator for over 40 years. I started doing landscapes and cloudscapes around 2010.
What other artists have influenced your work? George Inness, Gerhard Richter, Russell Chatham, Andrew Wyeth, and Edgar Degas.
What is your creative process like? I go through all the photos that I’ve shot to find a subject. I grid out my reference and the canvas to get the image down. From there I stay fairly faithful to the reference to get an element of truth to the work. Then I start making changes in color, shape, and composition to establish a mood, a time of day or season, or the
haunting quality of the light.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? I did a portrait of American writer O. Henry for a U.S. postage stamp in 2013. I received a lifetime achievement award from the Dallas Society of Visual Communications. I’ve had my work published in juried publications. And I managed to get representation by a gallery in Santa Fe, the third largest art market in the country.
What galleries represent your work? Owen Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM; MAC Fine Art, Jupiter, FL; www.cappannell.com.

Mallory Agerton

What inspires you to paint? The beauty of the natural world. Looking closely at nature creates an awareness of the divine for me—a sense of harmony, renewal, and peace that I try to share with my viewers.
How did you first get interested in art? In my family we had a jewelry designer, a couple of painters, and an architect. The art bookshelves in our library were low and easy to reach for a child. I fell in love with French Impressionism and, in particular, Monet’s water lilies.
Where did you study art? I received a bachelor’s in fine art from the University of Texas. After that I studied for two years at the Art Students League of New York and graduated from The Landscape Atelier.
What is your creative process like? First I observe a scene and the emotion it evokes. I take notes about values and colors, then do thumbnail drawings, and move on to a final rendering. Back in the studio I rearrange and edit. I do an underpainting with glazes, rags, and brushes to suggest warm and cool tones, keeping the edges soft. The painting is transparent in the beginning, and then gradually I add opaque colors.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? In 2018 I won Best Landscape in the National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society’s Online Show. I have been included in the OPA Western Regional Show and the Small Works, Great Wonders show at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. I have had a couple of solo shows at Ella Walton Richardson Fine Art.
What galleries represent your work? Hawthorne Fine Art, New York, NY; Gallery 330, Fredericksburg, TX; Ella Walton Richardson Fine Art, Charleston, SC; www.malloryagerton.com.

Ray-Mel Cornelius

What inspires you to paint? I find my favorite subjects in the landscape and what occupies it.
How would you describe your style? My work is representational but not purely realistic. The stylized way I draw my subjects makes them my own.
How did you first get interested in art? Drawing was a form of expression for me from early childhood. My mother would make little books out of a paper bag, for which I would create an illustrated narrative.
Where did you study art? East Texas State University (now part of Texas A&M University) in Commerce, TX.
What other artists have influenced your work? In no particular order: David Hockney, Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin, Thomas Hart Benton, Maynard Dixon, Alexandre Hogue, Grant Wood, Wayne Thiebaud, Wolf Kahn, Jack Kirby, Jack Unruh, and Don Ivan Punchatz.
What is your creative process like? I start with a dark underpainting. With white chalk pencil, I draw the image onto the canvas. Then I model the forms by applying layers of increasingly lighter tonal value.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? The ongoing highlight has been the association with my galleries and with the people to want to live with my work. A recent specific highlight was being included in the Animals A To Z show at the Wildling Museum of Art & Nature in Solvang, CA, in 2017.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? Traveling and socializing.
What galleries represent your work? Copper Moon Gallery, Taos, NM; Ro2 Art, Dallas, TX; www.raymelcornelius.com.

Garrett Michael

What inspires you to paint? I love the entire process of building a painting. The idea of starting inspires me. Whether painting or fishing, I spend a lot of time outdoors, so I am constantly exposed to inspiring material. Another huge inspiration is my dad. I love the conversations we have while painting as well as daily critiques.
How would you describe your style? Painterly with limits on detail. I want the painting to be about feeling rather than accuracy.
How did you first get interested in art? I’m the third generation of painters in my family, and it was introduced to me at an early age. I still remember the smell of my grandma’s studio.
Where did you study art? I graduated from Texas State University with a bachelor’s in fine art. After college I began taking workshops from artists I admired like Matt Smith, Skip Whitcomb, Jill Carver, and George Coll.
What other artists have influenced your work? The artist who has had the most influence on me is Jill Carver. I started looking at her art back in college and fell in love with her style.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? One of my biggest highlights was winning Best of Show at the Rockport Art Festival in 2017.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? Fly-fishing, which gives me a chance to slow down and see and hear nature.
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be? I would probably be a fly-fishing guide. If I could own the fly shop that outfits clients with trips and gear, that would be a bonus.
What galleries represent your work? www.gmichaelart.com.

Carol Arnold

What inspires you to paint? I’m inspired by nature, large and small … the color of the world around us, reflections, textures, God’s creations and how they are all woven
together.
How would you describe your style? I’m a colorist who loves contemporary realism.
How did you first get interested in art? I have always loved to draw. When I was in second grade, a friend’s mother had an art contest at my friend’s birthday party. I won a turtle. From that day on, I was hooked!
Where did you study art? I attended the University of Texas at Austin, but most of my art education has come from my peers.
What other artists have influenced your work? I have studied under many great artists: Douglas Fryer, Doug Dawson, Kathleen Cook, Albert Handell, Steven Napper, and Rod McGehee, to name a few.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? The biggest highlight was when I became brave enough to enter competitive art shows judged by peers and actually won! I got first place in one, best of show in another, and honorable mention in the third that first year. Another highlight is inspiring new artists who have the desire to create but have the fear of failure standing in their way.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? Hiking with my husband, exercising, going to see my children, shooting photos, gardening, or visiting with friends.
What galleries represent your work? Slate Gray Gallery, Kerrville, TX, and Telluride, CO; www.carnoldfineart.com. Gallery inquiries are welcome.

Janice Hindes

What inspires you to paint? The outdoors is my muse. I was raised on a farm, live on a ranch, and my roots are deep in the ground.
How would you describe your style? Direct, simple, honest, and uncomplicated.
How did you first get interested in art? When I was ill as a youth, I began studying art from a book while stuck in bed. My mother saved those drawings and gave me lessons at her first opportunity, which was about 14 years later.
Where did you study art? In addition to my early lessons, I have taken workshops with Richard Schmid, Howard Terpning, Scott Burdick, Kevin Macpherson, Laura Robb, and John Poon.
What other artists have influenced your work? My five favorites are Zorn, Sorolla, Sargent, Fechin, and Mucha.
What is your creative process like? I find a spot, find a focus, determine a value pattern, and then sketch the scene, trying to catch the light and weather before it changes. During that process, I also photograph the scene. Later I enlarge the sketch in the studio, concentrating on finding the sizes, shapes, lines, light, space, edges, and balance that convey how I feel about my subject.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? Selling all my work—which was hanging in between that of Clyde Aspevig and Jim Wilcox—at the Gilcrease Museum’s Art in Miniature Show was quite a thrill. Becoming a Signature member of Oil Painters of America was an important milestone. Recently, I opened my own art school and gallery in a historic house in San Antonio.
What galleries represent your work? Hindes Fine Art, San Antonio, TX; www.hindes.com.

Jesse Tames

What inspires you to paint? Inspiration to paint comes from what we pass by in our daily lives. I have paintings of landscapes that are now bowling alleys, car washes, hospitals, and so on. When I show people these landscapes, they ask me, “where is this?” I tell them what the land looked like before it was developed. We are blind to what is around us, and I feel it is my job as an artist to show you.
Where did you study art? I am self-taught; I’ve learned by doing. Nature and people have always fascinated me.
What other artists have influenced your work? Al Moore and Lo Sharis Cunningham. These two taught me to “just paint.”
What is your creative process like? When I find something I think would make a good painting, I go out and do a plein-air study and then develop that into a larger painting. I will place the shapes and then start painting from back to front, starting with the big shapes and moving to the smaller ones. Then I turn it to the wall for a couple of days. After that I look for mistakes and correct them.
What have been some of the highlights of your career? Having a one-man show in
Alpine, TX, where I took 20 paintings and came home with three. Working at the Dallas Museum of Art. Being recognized as a finalist in the Artistic Excellence competition.
When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? Woodwork; rummaging through used bookstores in search of out-of-print art books; pulling out the barbecue grill in the spring.
What galleries represent your work? www.jtamesart.com.

This story was featured in the March/April 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art March/April 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

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