Two of the Western art worlds most celebrated painters, Jeremy Winborg and Billy Schenck, come together in a thrilling show of new work at InSight Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas. Both artists combine their similar themes involving strong Native American figures, and mix contemporary and traditional styles with bold color for their two-man show, Pair of Aces.
Jeremy Winborg, Travels and Travails, oil, 20 x 30”
“I like the viewer to see the figure first and foremost and experience the emotion that the figure is expressing, and secondly, the viewer can analyze and enjoy the juxtaposition of the loose, bold backgrounds,” says Winborg of his passionate subjects. “The collection in this show also has a variety of interesting lighting and textures that patrons can enjoy.”
In his largest piece for the show, Tough as Nails,depicting a “tough” Native American woman gripping pistols in both hands, we see lighting play a crucial role in the overall mood. “I enjoyed creating this work where the figure begins at the top in full light and by the time the eye travels down to her shoes, her bottom half is in full shadow,” Winborg explains. “The darker bottom half of this painting also helps to accomplish my goal of having the viewer’s eye to travel first to the woman’s face.”
Billy Schenck, Sunset Cowgirl, oil, 32 x 32”
For show piece Travels and Travails, Winborg utilizes a more abstracted background to pull focus to the two Native American figures on horseback. “This is the third in a series of paintings I’ve created depicting Buffalo Calf Road Woman,” the artist says. “I recently read a book about her and I’ve been fascinated with the idea of bringing her history alive through my artwork. She lived at the tail end of Native Americans’ time to roam freely…[and] she fought to the very end trying to preserve freedoms for her family and tribe.”
Schenck exercises similar techniques in his work with similar subject matter, but creates a more illustrative style that has earned him the nickname “grandfather of Western Pop Art.” He borrows some of his imagery from films. “What I’m constantly trying to do regardless of the themes is to refine and more dramatically construct the compositions,” the artist explains of his process. “By refining these past few years, I’m getting values extremely close together and allowing the highlights to come forward.”
Jeremy Winborg, Tough as Nails, oil, 60 x 30”
The artist cites pieces like Sunset Cowgirl, where the figure’s hat is very close in value to the sky. “Another example is in the painting Too Fast to Die #2,” Schenck says. “The shadows of the sand dunes and the shadow of the horse are very close in value. In much earlier work, I used very bright colors almost everywhere, giving the painting a poster effect or overtly Pop.”
Billy Schenck, Too Fast to Die #2, oil, 50 x 50”
In Too Fast to Die #2, Schenck also notes that the cowboy and horse are a variation on the front cover illustration of the February 1936 issue of Dime Western Magazine. “I redrew the horse and rider into my paint-by-number style and added a cowboy hat (the original illustration had no hat)…,” says Schenck. “The title came from a movie I was watching on TV. I always have a pad of paper and pens to write film dialogue notes for potential use as titles for my paintings.”
Both artists will approximately 15 fresh paintings for the show, which runs from October 6 through 27. Catch the reception on the opening night from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. —
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