Artist Focus: Dan Knepper

Art is many things bundled together: color, composition, form, line, texture, value, subject and much more. But for Dan Knepper, he’s especially drawn to one aspect.

You Can Lead a Horse to Water, oil, 12 x 16”. Available July 8 at Hold Your Horses at the Phippen Museum, Prescott, Arizona.

Aspen Embers, oil, 36 x 36”. Available July 15 at Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, Reno, Nevada.

“Light itself was always a subject matter for me. I have always liked the mood of the slanting transitional light of early morning or late afternoon. It becomes an entity. It has a presence as it limns the peaks, illuminates foliage and fur, sets aspens aglow, and reflects off iridescent water or passes through to reveal trout above multi-colored stones,” he says. “I went to the mountains and I found my path. I stood awe-struck and realized this is what I want to paint…this feeling, this connection, this discovery, this moment in this place. I want to paint these last timeless wild places and the wildlife that inhabits them in such a way that standing before my paintings you are transported to that moment, in that place. I want you to smell the sagebrush and pine, marvel at the sparkle on the crystal water cascading and plunging to fall from dramatic heights, taste the dust kicked up by the bison or cowboys working the herd, and breathe in the West. I want you to feel the pull to explore around the next bend. And when you finally step away, I hope you feel the longing to revisit the painting and step into that moment in that place again and again.”

If I Could Walk on Water, oil, 30 x 40”. Available August 18 at The Russell, Great Falls, Montana.

Knepper has applied these goals to his newest works, attracting the eyes of many new collectors, as well as new shows and events that will be showing his work throughout 2023. Upcoming events include the Jackson Hole Art Auction and Western Visions at the National Wildlife Art Museum, both in September in Jackson Hole, Wyoming; the 40th Annual Roundup Exhibition & Sale at the Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, Texas; and the annual Mountain Oyster in Tucson, Arizona. —

Want to See More?
www.danknepperart.com
(937) 489-1078
Represented by: Going to the Sun Gallery, Whitefish, MT
Mary Williams Fine Arts, Boulder, CO
Howard/Mandville Gallery, Seattle, WA
Facebook: /DanKnepperArt
Instagram: @danknepperart