Kim Randleas lives in a county about 80 miles wide with only 7,000 people and one stoplight. Oregon’s Grant County, way east of the Cascades, is the fourth-least populous county in the state, named for President Ulysses S. Grant, who served as an army officer in the Oregon Territory and was a Union general in the American Civil War at the time of its creation. This remote area—filled with history and the artist’s own experiences—allows Randleas to fully immerse herself in her work.
Kim Randleas in her studio. Courtesy the artist.
“It’s in the middle of what some people call nowhere. It’s quite a drive to get here but when you do you will see what seems like endless pine forests, snow-capped mountains, wild rivers, wildflower meadows, high desert sage and abundant wildlife,” says Randleas. “My parents loved to spend time outdoors fishing and camping, so we spent most weekends at a lake, on a river or in a meadow. I spent this time looking for wild strawberries, butterflies, clouds, obsidian chips and the like. I read books, hiked and painted what I saw in watercolor. My dad taught me how to find charcoal pieces to draw with and gave me my first lessons in rendering shapes and creating form with light and dark values.”
Eastern Oregon and all the region has to offer became one of the first jumping-off points for Randleas’ artistic pursuits. She now shows her work at some of the most prestigious Western art exhibitions in the country, including the Out West Art Show, Cowgirl Up! at Sigler Western Museum, Western Visions at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, the C.M. Russell Museum live auction, Mountain Oyster Club Art Show and Saleand many others.
Buffalo Running, 1883, oil on panel, 48 in.
“We had a library in town, so I was able to check out art tutorial books, and I had a few of my own. I followed the instructions on how to create different watercolor paintings from these books, and I also copied faces from National Geographic magazines,” she continues. “I think copying from these sources helped me learn how to break down a painting and understand how it is created.”
Capturing the people, wildlife and landscapes of the West, Randleas’ art is a blend of realism and romanticism. There’s a softness and a delicateness to her works—never any hard edges and often featuring circular compositions. “I’d call it the ‘West Enchanted.’ Two parts straightforward, one part mystical. I combine what you can see with something to think about,” she adds.
Collectors will find everything from buffalo and horses to cowboys, Native American warriors and pioneer women, all telling their own stories of the West.
Line of Sight, oil and gold leaf on panel, 24 x 36 in.
“I was a pretty shy kid and was happy being on my own. I remember lying in the grass for hours, looking at the clouds or hiking around my grandparent’s house trying to pick as many different wildflowers as possible…All that time away from people, surrounded by natural beauty, gave me a deep and profound affection for Western landscapes and subjects, and I’ve been painting them ever since. I can’t put into words how much I love the Western genre. Maybe it just feels like home because it’s the only home I’ve ever known,” says Randleas. “I’m definitely a wild card in my interests. I love the history of the Westward expansion and its stories, and I’m equally fascinated by the unseen, intangible parts of life. Beauty, love, peace, the subjects of the heart. I weave these mystical elements into my work with symbolism and gold leaf. I also love showing the best qualities of the people and animals I meet. I paint real people. Relatives and friends, old and new. And I strive to capture their likeness, their kindness, their strength, their determination. Whatever it is I see in them that I want to bring forward.”
Continuation, oil on panel, 36 x 48 in.
As a child, Randleas was inspired by the greats like Frederic Remington, Joseph Henry Sharp and N.C. Wyeth, as well as California painter Grace Hudson. Her family had a coffee table book called Techniques of the Artists of the American West that she’d frequently look through, absorbing and internalizing the art within its pages. Remington’s Downing the Nigh Leader, Sharp’s Pipe Song, and Wyeth’s Indians Watch with Astonishment as a Car Speeds By were all included, along with Hudson’s Love’s Labors.
Edge of the Dream, oil and gold leaf on panel, 48 in.
“Beyond technique, these artists influenced me because of their ability to tell a story. To capture attention and evoke emotion through paint. I learned that you don’t have to use your voice to convey a message. You can bypass words that are often misinterpreted and go straight to the heart of things,” Randleas explains.
She incorporates various patterns and themes into many of her works as well, often featuring animal subjects. For example, in Continuation, a buffalo is backed by a triangular, compass-like pattern. And in Buffalo Running,1883 a Native American woman is in the center of the composition, surrounded by smaller depictions of the iconic North American beast that seem to be “running” in a circular pattern around her.
Koiye Goo Bah Daw (We are Kiowa. You smile.), oil on panel, 36 x 24 in.
“The patterns, for me, are symbolic of the rhythm of our world and nature. Repeating patterns, spirals, circles…they remind me of how there really is a rhythm and order to nature and our lives. The breath, the heartbeat, the sunrise, the sunset, tides. They all point to a greater rhythm and balance that we are connected to,” she says.
“People may look at my paintings and think they’re just cowboys, Native Americans, cowgirls or woodland animals but, for me, the work is really about emotion as much as it is about imagery. Every piece I make carries a bit of my own consciousness. I spend a lot of time protecting my thoughts while I work. My process is slow. I work in many layers of paint and gold leaf, which means I spend a lot of intentional time with each painting, and each one is unique. I want my work to hold a certain feeling so that when someone stands in front of it, they can sense it too. I’ve had people become emotional, even cry, because that feeling comes through so strongly.”
Dottie, oil on panel, 24 x 18 in.
Randleas is surrounded by family and good friends who are logical, left-brained and fully supportive of her journey as an artist. “This allows me to keep my head in the clouds, untethered and unconcerned with the outside world,” she says. “From the outside, this might look unconventional, but it’s intentional. I want each piece to carry the intention and peace I have while creating it. Something untouched by the world. I want people to feel something they can’t quite put into words—wonder, nostalgia, peace, a longing for the West and maybe a little magic.” —
See more from the artist at www.kimrandleas.com
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