C. Michael Dudash and Thomas Blackshear II will be featured in the exhibition The Living Canvas at Legacy Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from September 15 through 25.
“While both Thomas Blackshear and Michael Dudash are masters of Western art,” the gallery notes, “their styles and approaches differ significantly. Blackshear’s work often exudes a sense of romanticism and idealism, with his subjects portrayed in heroic and larger-than-life compositions. On the other hand, Dudash’s paintings tend to be more introspective and contemplative, capturing the quiet moments and intimate details of Western life.”
C. Michael Dudash, Narrow the Way, Sure Footed the Horse, oil on linen, 32 x 42”
Both artists come out of careers in illustration and also share a deep Christian faith that inspires their work and brings to it a sense of reverence for all of creation.
Dudash was inducted into the prestigious Cowboy Artists of America in 2016 and, in 2021 and 2022, won gold medals for oil painting at the annual CA exhibition. He says, “The challenge for me as a painter is to take the subject of the old western frontier and create works of art that are moving, beautiful, timeless and universal in their appeal.”
C. Michael Dudash, In Search of the Missing, oil on linen, 38 x 54”
In Narrow the Way, Sure Footed the Horse, horse and rider navigate a trail at the edge of a canyon. His strong design and painterly technique evoke a feeling of place and his control of light creates a space for his characters to inhabit.
Blackshear also shares a strong sense of design and light but in a very different way. His light is theatrical and his subjects occupy the foreground of his dramatic compositions. He began his illustration career at Hallmark Cards where he met the great illustrator Mark English for whom he apprenticed for a short time. In 2020 he was inducted into the Society of Illustrator’s Hall of Fame.
Thomas Blackshear II, Hood Ornament, oil on canvas, 28 x 19½”
Blackshear has reinvented himself throughout his career. His most recent segue brought him into the world of Western art. As in earlier moves, he has absorbed the traditions of Western and Native American art and added his own unique twist. He incorporates the sinuous lines of art nouveau into his own style which he calls “Western Nouveau.” Never wanting to be pigeonholed, and demonstrating his love of fun he has produced portraits of Black and Latino cowboys and several “neon cowboys” wearing outrageously colorful bandanas. For The Living Canvas, his humor becomes more pronounced in his painting Hood Ornament. The cowboy sports a hen atop his Stetson. —
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