C. Michael Dudash - The Living Canvas

The Living Canvas C. Michael Dudash

Born and raised in Minnesota, C. Michael Dudash settled in the Green Mountains of Vermont where he began his full-time career as an artist and oil painter in 1977. Working with agents in New York, he found immediate success as a freelance illustrator, which brought him national notoriety and a career that lasted 25 years. In 2002, he left illustration behind to become a full time “easel” painter, dedicating himself to creating his own work. This eventually led him to concentrate his efforts on the subject of the Old West as represented by narrative paintings of the 1800s.

Dudash has written and published articles for American Artist and The Artist’s Magazine. His work has been showcased in Art of the West, Southwest Art and Western Art Collector. He has been a guest lecturer and instructor at a large number of art schools, art institutions and museums, including the Booth Western Art Museum, Brigham Young University, Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas and Scottsdale Artists’ School.

Dudash has shown and sold his work at the C. M. Russell Museum, the Scottsdale and Coeur d’Alene Art Auctions, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, the Booth Museum of Western Art, the Briscoe Western Art Museum and the Eiteljorg Museum. In the fall of 2016, he was invited to become a member of the prestigious Cowboy Artists of America. In recent years his paintings have won 11 separate industry awards including a Gold Medal for Best Oil Painting at the 2021 and 2023 Cowboy Artists of America annual show.

The Living Canvas

C. Michael Dudash

show & sale:

September 15th - 25 th 2023

artist reception & sale:

Friday, September 15th

5-7 pm Legacy Gallery

225 Canyon Road

MiChaeL DuDash

Two Ponies to Trade

40" x 40" Oil

The warm colors and dramatic beauty of a canyon in the Southwestern USA sets the stage for “Two Ponies To Trade”. An Apache scout and his compadre, each with a spare mount in hand are about to head out to a place of trade. Whether they need fresh ponies, or other items of value we don’t know. We do know that ponies were of great value and horse trading was always an opportunity to bargain for a good deal .

“The Ascent” is a symbolic painting that illustrates the universal drive of man to seek out and ascend to “high places”. I believe that it speaks to our desire to see what lies beyond in our natural and spiritual world from a higher vantage point. Using Native Americans and characters from the Old West to illustrate this theme is common in my work. I love painting the costuming, horses and faces of the 19th century, as this time period for whatever reason is incredibly inspiring to me. Adding the mist in the distant mountains was the final touch that for me, always seems to connect heaven and earth.

MiChaeL DuDash

Narrow the Way, Sure Footed the Horse

32" x 42" Oil

One of my favorite themes to paint is when the main subject or characters are in the extreme foreground, surrounded by a sharp drop off that re-emerges into a distant and dramatic landscape. It’s about creating the sense of space that one feels when standing at a cliff’s edge. Placing a horseman on a narrow trail that only an experienced horseman would attempt exaggerates this feeling. It also lets us know how much he trusts his faithful mount!

“Cheyenne” is a painting that falls into what I would call a “decorative/character” painting as opposed to a “narrative/storytelling” painting. The woman is roughly based on a Cheyenne model that I worked with several years ago, and I was struck by her profile and demeanor. Adding colors and symbols that loosely represent her native culture complete this beautiful and mysterious portrait.

MiChaeL DuDash

Cheyenne

28" x 18" Oil

MiChaeL DuDash

In Search of the Missing

38" x 54" Oil

The title “In Search Of The Missing” gives the viewer a clue as to why these warriors are scattered across the hills in the shadow of what might be the Canadian Rockies. Who or what they are searching for isn’t apparent, but their attitude suggests that they are about some serious business. Their patrol has taken them into the evening and they must now decide on whether they will continue on into the night, or pick up the trail at dawn’s first light.

I’m often looking for ways to portray iconic western American characters in interesting and compelling ways. Through the use of rich and warm colors, both in the foreground and the towering clouds, I’ve created the feeling that this Chief is one with his world. Hence the title “One With The Golden Sky”.

MiChaeL DuDash

One With the Golden Sky 20" x 16" Oil

MiChaeL DuDash

I often create scenarios where the characters that inhabit my paintings are situated in an environment of seemingly endless space. These three fellows might be searching for something, or maybe they’re just wondering “now which way do we go”. No matter, because to me it looks like they’re a million acres from nowhere!

Bow and arrow at the ready, this hunter is cautiously moving through the shallow waters of a wetland where he hopes to find provision for his family. The skill and patience that he needs to be successful is something to be greatly admired and necessary for his survival. In contrast, I challenged myself to paint this subject as a quiet moment of soft light, misty color and tranquil beauty. His reflection in the water was especially fun to create.

MiChaeL DuDash

Wetland Hunter

30" x 20" Oil

MiChaeL DuDash

His Return Meant a Warm Lodge 40" x 28" Oil

Who hasn’t felt the joy and relief of returning home to your loved ones after a journey, be it short or long. The husband and father seeing his wife and daughter with the home fires burning had to be a welcome sight. Placing the story in a beautiful mountain setting next to a flowing river seemed like the perfect place to tell this timeless story.

“High Tailin’ It” seemed like an appropriate title for this painting. To me it perfectly describes these three natives as they urge their horses to go up and over a ridge. Far below is a river that plummets onto the distant plains below. They may be in the process of escaping some hidden danger, or maybe they are on their way to quickly meet some fellow warriors. I always invite collectors to use their own imaginations to complete the story.

MiChaeL DuDash

High Tailin’ It 24" x 30" Oil

MiChaeL DuDash

With

32" x 40" Oil

Sometimes a painting is created where the mood and atmosphere are the real subject. “With The Dawn’s Early Light” I feel is just such a painting. I know there are three main characters on horseback that are the apparent main subjects, but without the glowing and soft morning light that silhouettes the figures, they and the painting would have a minimum of emotional impact. So I have left it up to the viewer, if they so decide, to create their own narrative!