American Essence | August 2022

Colorado sculptor Jane DeDecker shares the early influences that helped her creativity bloom, and how she’s encouraging the next generation of creators

Written and photographed by Poppy Richie

Do you have a budding Michelangelo or Georgia O’Keeffe in your home, and are you wondering how to guide him or her on the artist’s journey? We can take children to museums, provide them with art materials, talk about art, and sign them up for classes. We can watch videos and read books on how to inspire creativity. We can learn from an artist who’s traveled on this road, like the sculptor Jane DeDecker, who lives and works in Loveland, Colorado, where I live.

Across the street from my house is the Benson Sculpture Garden, where some of Jane’s statues are installed. Out of curiosity and admiration for her work, I decided to ask for an interview to find out about what influences were at play as she developed her talent. We met in her studio, a big barn behind my favorite coffee shop, the Muse, a business her family owns and operates.

Western Art Collector | August 2022

Claggett/Rey Gallery in Colorado presents an exhibition on revered Western painter James Reynolds.

By Chadd Scott

When Bill Rey phoned the notoriously grumpy James E. Reynolds (1926.2010) to check in on him, that’s how Rey would often jokingly open the conversation. It broke the ice and gave Reynolds, who long suffered from emphysema, a chance to catch his breath.

Rey’s representation of Reynolds’ artwork grew into a deep respect and friendship despite its rocky beginning. The two were first introduced in Sedona, Arizona, by artist Joe Beeler in 1989 following that year’s Cowboy Artists of America show.

“Joe and I met him at a Mexican restaurant for lunch at noon and we got there at five-till and Jim’s already sitting there eating,” Rey recalls, laughing.

Western Art Collector | July 2022

JOSH ELLIOTT GOES BIG — REALLY BIG — FOR HIS NEWEST SHOW AT CLAGGETT/REY GALLERY IN COLORADO.

By Michael Clawson

Painting has its own challenges, including all the usual ones: color and paint, composition and design, and storytelling and themes. So when an artist makes a work that is larger than normal, they are willingly accepting all those challenges, but also injecting new and profoundly different ones into their studio.

For painters, the questions they find themselves asking must seem preposterous at first: Will the large canvas fit into the studio? Will my easel hold it? Will I be able to reach the top? Do I need to buy a ladder? How much is this frame going to cost? How will I ship it? Wait, is there an extra zero on that shipping invoice? Hey Siri, can you show me driving directions to the gallery? Hello, U-Haul, how much is a 10-foot box truck for a weekend? Should my next works be miniatures?

For Josh Elliott, who set out to create the largest works of his career for a new show at Claggett/Ray Gallery, these questions answered themselves naturally as the work developed. For instance, when he couldn’t reach the top of one of his newest paintings, Elliott and his daughters built a simple scaffold out of five-gallon buckets and wood planks. It was a lo-fi solution, but it worked. “My easel goes pretty high, especially with my 11-foot ceilings, but the painting was so big I couldn’t really move the easel up or down anymore and I had to add a new counter balance to the easel. I tried painting sideways for part of it, but that’s not really ideal,” Elliott says from his Montana studio. “Another thing that helped was when I was up on the planks I would want to have the paint right there so I was using my grandfather’s handheld palette. He was never a professional painter, but he had some great stuff I inherited a couple years ago. He studied under Grant Wood at the University of Iowa, so it was neat to use his art supplies.”

WCCB Charlotte | June 4, 2022

By Samantha Gilstrap

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A statue recognizing Dr. Annie Alexander was unveiled Saturday along Little Sugar Creek Greenway as part of the Trail of History.

The Trail of History is described as a collection of funded sculptures dedicated in memorial to those who shaped and defined the rich history of Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

Officials say Dr. Annie Lowrie Alexander (1864-1929) was the first licensed female physician to practice in North Carolina.

Born in Mecklenburg County, Dr. Alexander was encouraged by her father, Dr. John Brevard Alexander, to pursue a medical career after the death of female patient who refused treatment by a male doctor.

Officials say Dr. Alexander graduated from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1884 and returned to Charlotte in 1887.

From her home and office at 410 Tryon Street, Dr. Alexander went around the county by horse and buggy to provide healthcare.

She combated epidemics, wrote papers about medical issues for women and attempted to improve public health.

Western Art & Architecture

By Norman Kolpas

Plein air artist W. Truman Hosner does not hesitate when asked to explain why pastels are his medium of choice. “From the youngest age,” he says, “the one thing that always delighted me was color. And pastel is pure color. When you’re a painter working in watercolor or oils, you have to accommodate for the fact that certain paints and colors dry differently than when they’re wet. But with pastels, the colors I put down don’t change. It’s a very immediate, very direct medium.”

Western Art Collector | June 2022

Jane DeDecker has hit her stride in honoring the historic significance of women’s achievements through sculptural form. Throughout her career she has commemorated the accomplishments of over 35 trail blazers like: Amelia Earhart, Emily Dickenson, Harriett Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Alice Paul, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Hellen Keller, and Laura Cornelius Kellogg--this list just scratches the surface of the league of women she has brought into her life and her studio. These women were there to bear witness and bear the burden of discrimination and doubt in their abilities because of their gender. Against insurmountable odds these champions accomplished groundbreaking achievements. Currently Jane has over 15 sculptures of sentinel women (in various stages of completion) gracing her studio. And there is always room for more.

Western Art Collector | May 2022

Walters embarked upon his first descension into the depths of the Grand Canyon and peering over its magnificent rims fresh out of high school. Though life would draw him away and on many adventures since that first visit, Walters knew deep down that he had an eternal link to this sacred place. In the 1980s, he was enticed back to these grand expanses and put his creative knowledge to work, skillfully capturing the grandeur and depth of beauty that this majestic landscape presented. His words convey such passion that it harkens to a deep spiritual connection—“beautiful and delicate temples” are the words he uses to describe the spires.

Jane DeDecker, Mayor Jacki Marsh and others spoke about women throughout history

Loveland Reporter-Herald

By Austin Fleskes

Fairgrounds Park in Loveland was packed with Loveland residents and local officials Sunday afternoon, all gathered to celebrate the life and hard work of women past and present.

The event, known as A Day to Celebrate Women, served as not only a way to pay homage to the dedication of history’s women who fought for the right to vote but also to celebrate Loveland artist Jane DeDecker, who was recently named USA Today’s Colorado Woman of the Year and the first artist chosen as part of the coming Women’s Suffrage National Monument.

The Long Road: recent watercolors and oils by Timothy James Standring

Timothy James Standring (b. 1950) has never stopped painting since he took classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the late 1960s. The curator emeritus of the Denver Art Museum, he has curated more than 18 exhibitions at the museum — most notably “Becoming Van Gogh.” He will be at Claggett/Rey Gallery in Edwards Saturday to meet and greet visitors.

Over the past decade, Standring has focused on small-scale works in watercolor, paying gimlet-eyed attention to the poetics that the medium can express. Aspiring to sustain a balance between close observation and exuberant flourishes with his handling, Standring is as sensitive to his materials and techniques as he is to the recurring themes he paints. He has found inspiration in a wide variety of artists from Anthony Van Dyck, John Linnell, Edgar Degas, John Singer Sargent, Joachim Sorolla and Andrew Wyeth.

Western Art Collector | March 2022

Throughout March, Claggett/Rey Gallery will be proudly celebrating the work of artist Derek Penix. The gallery walls will be adorned with more than 20 new masterpieces created over the past six months.

In 2020, Penix settled his family in the surging town of Temecula, California. A destination that claims its community to be compiled of “curious mavericks…and accomplished and passionate people.” This bold description aligns with the artist’s intimate and confident approach to capturing the world through his unique lens. Surrounded by orchards, vineyards and the colors of nature, this bountiful environment infuses Penix with an abundance of energy and inspiration. Penix transports viewers from the fruit-laden branches and serenity of a koi pond to the cacophony of the streets and sidewalks of New York.

VailDaily

The exhibit features paintings from impressionist artist Derek Penix and sculptor Jane DeDecker

By Carolyn Paletta

The Claggett/Rey Gallery in Edwards has a new exhibition opening on March 1 that will run through the end of the month. The exhibit features works from painter Derek Penix alongside the sculptures of artist Jane DeDecker.

Originally from Oklahoma, Penix is now based out of Southern California. He grew up in a family of artists and has been painting professionally since just out of high school.

Penix said that he is drawn to a wide variety of subjects, and most often paints in series, similar to Monet’s studies of haystacks or lily pads. When a scene or object catches his eye, he proceeds to capture it from multiple angles, lighting, textures, and so on, producing multiple perspectives and sensations from a single scene.