On February 27, the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles announced the winners of its annual Masters of the American West exhibition. The hugely popular show, which includes many of the top Western artists in the country, was moved to a virtual format for the first time during the 2021 edition of the exhibition and sale. 
George Carlson, Light Lingering in Silence, oil on linen, 42 x 42"
The top award winner was George Carlson, who was given the Best of Show award for his work Light Lingering Silence, a meditative forest scene measuring 42 inches square.
“In my early years, when painting on location, as soon as I finished the oil sketch I was doing at the moment, I was anxious to be off looking for the next subject to paint. My approach now is to slow down and be open to the possibilities in nature—when something moves me, to be present and aware, to be in a state of wonder and to respond to that feeling,” Carlson writes about the work. “In preparing for this woodland painting, after sketching and note taking with pen and sketchbook plus my color charts, I jot down the most significant colors in the scene by hue, and the warm and cool of the colors, and take photos for reference. I then put everything away, and simply appreciate this moment in time, letting it soak into my being. The warmth of the sun on my back, being aware of the silence, to stay still and just enjoy and feel…trying to keep those moments to put into the painting.”
Carlson also won the Thomas Moran Memorial Award for painting, also for Light Lingering Silence. Other award winners include Ed Mell, Steve Kestrel, Mick Doellinger, Terri Kelly Moyers and Dean Mitchell.
Read our full coverage of the exhibition in the May issue of Western Art Collector. —
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