LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
november 10 - december 2, 2017
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
on view: november 10 - december 2, 2017 opening reception: saturday, november 11, 6:00-8:30pm
artist talk
&
film screening: saturday, november
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LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
Lyrics of West Texas: Paintings by Laura Lewis As a song channeling the lyrical embrace of places deeply known, the West Texas landscape flows harmoniously onto Laura Lewis’s canvas. With the timbre of warm ballads, the paintings of this Lubbock artist sing out visual lyricisms illuminating the high plains and craggily edges of West Texas. She is remarkably attuned to these far-away expanses, having plied these parts nearly all her life. Working far beyond the Interstate; she passes through the region’s small outposts, crossing twisted, sunbaked river beds and taking in the furrowed farm lands, the flat prairie lands and the chiseled park lands that surround them, capturing the rugged allures of them all. Like no other painter working today, Laura Lewis brings West Texas to life, sharing its subtle beauties and understated geo-physical attributes. Lewis is a steady and accomplished painter, firmly established now as one of the finest of contemporary Texas regionalists. She brings both passion and historical synthesis to her work. In both subject and style, she represents a slight throw-back to earlier times; her exceptional present-day output bearing reference to a long line of old Texas masters. As a woman artist on the Texas High Plains, Lewis embodies Georgia O’Keefe’s spirituality for the land, along with an informed and keen eye for contemporary West Texas subject matter. Her familiarity and first-hand geographic knowledge of West Texas enables her to convey true-to-life landscapes and farm scenes in painterly composition reminiscent of such luminaries as Jerry Bywaters, Otis Dozier or Alexandre Hogue. Beyond her native capacity for appropriating compelling “Texas scene”, Lewis’s demonstrates an incredible facility for work with paint, and it is this quality which separates
her from the crowd and puts her at the forefront of the contemporary landscape genre. She inherently knows the colors of the land, and thus able to naturally imbue her works with an authentic West Texas palette. She also paints with the overt physicality which her West Texas subjects command, combining broad and energetic stokes with refined brushwork to texture, pattern and energize her canvases. The results are stunning renditions, expertly painted and literally oozing with light, atmosphere and energy. Like her storied predecessors, the artist moves comfortably across the broad, unbridled swath that is West Texas. She is in touch with the land’s heritage, as well as its nuanced beauty. In painting after painting, Laura Lewis captures the moods of light, expansive skies, patterned lands and panoramic views which characterize West Texas and its working lands. Her paintings offer a twentyfirst century treatise on what may indeed be our last “frontier” in Texas, the wide-open and unspoiled country of West Texas, still available to artists and the few hearty souls still spunky enough to venture onto the plains of Texas. Laura Lewis does justice to this sector, and her West Texas views are indeed sights to behold. They underscore the artist’s personal intimacies with these remaining remote parts of Texas, and are certain to fill your heart with song. -Bill Reaves, President
WRSF
No.
Artist
Title of Work
Date
Medium
Size (inches)
Views of West Texas 1
Laura Lewis
Atmosphere
2017
oil on canvas
16x30
2
Laura Lewis
Beneath Still Waters
2017
oil on canvas
35x56
3
Laura Lewis
Palo Duro from Highway 207
2013
oil on panel
88x48
4
Laura Lewis
Brazos and Tumbleweeds
2016
oil on canvas
20x48
5
Laura Lewis
Brazos
2017
oil on canvas
46x30
6
Laura Lewis
Clay Birds
2017
oil on canvas
32x28
7
Laura Lewis
Brazos Blaze
2014
oil on canvas
38x48
8
Laura Lewis
Bridge
2017
oil on canvas
32x48
9
Laura Lewis
Winter Wheat
2012
oil on canvas
34x24
10
Laura Lewis
Good Morning to You
2016
oil on canvas
24x40
11
Laura Lewis
Dreamland
2017
oil on canvas
18x60
12
Laura Lewis
Evening Harvest
2017
oil on canvas
8x20
13
Laura Lewis
High and Dry
2017
oil on canvas
24x48
14
Laura Lewis
Life on the Plains
2017
oil on canvas
10x30
15
Laura Lewis
Little Red River
2017
oil on canvas
24x48
16
Laura Lewis
The Night Life
2017
oil on canvas
10x30
17
Laura Lewis
Making Bales
2017
oil on canvas
24x16
18
Laura Lewis
Racking em' Back
2014
oil on canvas
24x18
19
Laura Lewis
Modulation
2017
oil on canvas
14x30
20
Laura Lewis
Monahans Sand Hills
2017
oil on canvas
32x60
21
Laura Lewis
Mystery Canyon
2017
oil on canvas
34x56
2017
oil on canvas
12x24
22
Laura Lewis
Perks
No.
Artist
Title of Work
Date
Medium
Size (inches)
Views of West Texas 23
Laura Lewis
To the Point
2017
oil on canvas
25x50
24
Laura Lewis
Prairie Fires
2016
oil on canvas
18x30
25
Laura Lewis
Backlit Jack
2017
oil on canvas
15x24
26
Laura Lewis
Relay
2017
oil on canvas
14x30
27
Laura Lewis
Rio Blanco Canyon
2016
oil on canvas
35.5x60
28
Laura Lewis
Sky Below
2017
oil on canvas
24x48
29
Laura Lewis
Starry Day
2017
oil on canvas
20x48
30
Laura Lewis
The Bead Mound
2017
oil on canvas
20x30
31
Laura Lewis
A Good Day
2017
oil on canvas
12x40
32
Laura Lewis
Maquette for Chevron Midland Mural
2016
oil on canvas
30x204
33
Laura Lewis
The Case of the Deer Corn
2017
oil on canvas
16x36
34
Laura Lewis
Yate's Field
2017
oil on canvas
24x60
35
Laura Lewis
The Green
2017
oil on canvas
16x20
36
Laura Lewis
West Pasture
2017
oil on canvas
23x30
37
Laura Lewis
Split Fountain
2017
oil on canvas
55x36
38
Laura Lewis
Prairie Schooner
2017
oil on canvas
55x36
39
Laura Lewis
White River Watershed
2010
oil on canvas
60x90
40
Laura Lewis
West Texas Pipeline
2017
oil on canvas
56x75
41
Laura Lewis
Miller's Bend
2010
oil on canvas
60x90
42
Laura Lewis
Rotary Rig
2017
oil on canvas
56x75
43
Laura Lewis
El Capitan
2010
oil on canvas
60x90
Views of West Texas Laura Lewis
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
1. Atmosphere, 2017, oil on canvas, 16x30 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
2. Beneath Still Waters, 2017, oil on canvas, 35x56 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
3. Palo Duro from Highway 207, 2013, oil on panel, 38x48 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
4. Brazos and Tumbleweeds, 2016, oil on canvas, 20x48 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
5. Brazos, 2017, oil on canvas, 46x30 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
6. Clay Birds, 2017, oil on canvas, 32x28 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
7. Brazos Blaze, 2014, oil on canvas, 38x48 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
8. Bridge, 2017, oil on canvas, 32x48 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
9. Winter Wheat, 2012, oil on panel, 34x24 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
10. Good Morning To You, 2016, oil on canvas, 24x40 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
11. Dreamland, 2017, oil on canvas, 18x60 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
12. Evening Harvest, 2017, oil on canvas, 8x20 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
13. High and Dry, 2017, oil on canvas, 24x48 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
14. Life on the Plains, 2017, oil on canvas, 10x30 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
15. Little Red River, 2017, acrylic on canvas, 24x48 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
16. The Night Life, 2017, oil on canvas, 10x30 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
17. Making Bales, 2017, oil on canvas, 24x16 inches
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
18. Racking em' Back, 2017, oil on canvas, 24x18 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
19. Modulation, 2017, oil on canvas, 14x30 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
20. Monahans Sand Hills, 2017, oil on canvas, 32x60 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
21. Mystery Canyon, 2017, oil on canvas, 34x56 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
22. Perks, 2017, oil on canvas, 12x24 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
23. To the Point, 2017, oil on canvas, 25x50 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
24. Prairie Fires, 2017, oil on canvas, 18x30 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
25. Backlit Jack, 2017, oil on canvas, 15x24 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
26. Relay, 2017, oil on canvas, 14x30 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
27. Rio Blanco Canyon, 2016, oil on canvas, 35.5x60 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
28. Sky Below, 2017, oil on canvas, 24x48 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
29. Starry Day, 2017, oil on canvas, 20x48 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
30. The Bead Mound, 2017, oil on canvas, 16x36 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
31. A Good Day, 2017, oil on canvas, 12x40 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
32. Maquette for Chevron Midland Mural, 2016, oil on canvas, 30x204 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
32. Maquette for Chevron Midland Mural, 2016, oil on canvas, 30x204 inches. (panels 1 and 2 of 5)
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
32. Maquette for Chevron Midland Mural, 2016, oil on canvas, 30x204 inches. (panel 3 of 5)
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
32. Maquette for Chevron Midland Mural, 2016, oil on canvas, 30x204 inches. (panel 5 of 5)
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
33. The Case of the Deer Corn, 2017, oil on canvas, 32x60 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
34. Yate's Field, 2017, oil on canvas, 24x60 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
35. The Green, 2017, oil on canvas, 16x20 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
36. West Pasture, 2017, oil on canvas, 23x30 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
37. Split Fountain, 2017, oil on canvas, 55x36 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
38. Prairie Schooner, 2017, oil on canvas, 14x30 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
39. White River Watershed, 2010, oil on canvas, 60x90 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
40. West Texas Pipeline, 2017, oil on canvas, 56x75 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
41. Miller's Bend, 2010, oil on canvas, 60x90 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
42. Rotary Rig, 2017, oil on canvas, 56x75 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
43. El Capitan, 2010, oil on canvas, 60x90 inches.
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS LAURA LEWIS (b. 1954) Laura Lewis quickly noticed her interest in art when a self-portrait assignment in the third grade depicted her gift for drawing. Pursuing artistic education throughout her adolescence, Lewis was fortunate to study portraiture under renowned artist Glenna Goodacre. At the beginning of her college years, Lewis majored in art but later changed her field of study in health sciences. She graduated with a degree in the health sciences and had a long career in the medical field. However, throughout her years as a medical employee, her artistic passion did not disappear and Lewis continued to paint portraits, learn print making techniques, and study with accomplished artists such as Paul Milosevich and Carroll Collier. Lewis has been a full-time professional artist since 2001, and continues to study through workshops with artists such as George Strickland, Matt Smith, and Camille Przwodek. Lewis states that portraying the rugged beauty of the High Plains of Texas is her most gratifying challenge. She focuses her artistic gift on successfully conveying the grandeur of the Texas landscape to her audiences.
Selected Biographical and Career Highlights 1954 Born in Austin, Texas 1978 BS, Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos 2001–present Regionalist Painter of the High Plains of Texas 2011 Member of Contemporary Texas Regionalists, WilliamReaves Fine Art, Houston 2004 Best of Show, Red River Valley National Juried Show, Vernon 2012 Best of Show, Lubbock Art Festival Juried Exhibit, Lubbock 2013 First Place, Lubbock Art Festival Juried Exhibit, Lubbock
Authored or referenced in: “Using Rhythm and Movement to Create Harmonious Landscapes” by Jana Fowler, American Artist Magazine, February 2009 “Landscapes Reimagined” by Mary Lance, Texas Co-op Power Magazine, July 2010 The Complete Painter’s Handbook, published by American Artist Magazine, 2012 “Advice for Sustaining an Artistic Career,” American Artist Workshop (a special issue of American Artist Magazine) 2012 “Build Audiences with E-Portfolios” by E. Brady Robinson, Professional Artist Magazine, October/November 2014 2016 Mural commissioned by Chevron Corporation for Corporate Headquarters, Midland, Texas (100 Years in Oil, oil on canvas, height (7 feet, 6 inches) x length (51 feet, 2 inches) Resides in Mason, Texas
Selected Exhibitions 2000 Pastel Society of New Mexico, Fisher Gallery, Albuquerque, New Mexico 2003 Lubbock Art Festival Juried Exhibit, Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, Lubbock 2004 Midland Arts Association National Juried Show, Midland 2004–05 Red River Valley National Juried Show, Vernon 2005 Solo, Rhythm in the Landscape, Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, Lubbock 2007 Solo, West Texas Landscapes, McCormick Gallery, Midland 2007 The Big Picture, EdibleMetal Gallery, Lubbock 2008 Lubbock Centennial Celebration: 50 Years of Art, Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, Lubbock 2008–09 Oil Painters of America Western Regional Exhibition,
LAURA LEWIS VIEWS OF WEST TEXAS
2009 Solo, Art on Texas Avenue, Lubbock 2009 Lubbock Art Festival Juried Exhibit, Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, Lubbock 2010 Solo, Weiler House Fine Art, Fort Worth 2010 The Presence of Light: Sky and Light in the Texas Landscape, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston 2011 Solo, Art on Texas Avenue, Lubbock 2011 Southwest Gallery, Dallas 2011−15 The Texas Aesthetic, Annual Exhibition, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston 2012 Contemporary Texas Regionalists, traveled: Haley Memorial Library & History Center, Midland; Gage Hotel, Marathon 2012–13 Lubbock Art Festival Juried Exhibit, Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, Lubbock 2013 Restless Heart: Contemporary Texas Regionalism, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo (catalogue) 2013 Celebrating the Regionalist Legacy in Texas Art, William Reaves Fine Art and the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts at the Gage Hotel, Marathon 2013 A Tribute to Texas Rivers, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston 2013 Solo, About Place: Paintings of Laura Lewis, Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, Lubbock 2013 Hill Country Love Affair: Interpretations of a Texas Heartland, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston 2013 Holidays at the Haley, Haley Memorial Library & History Center, Midland 2014 Intersecting Plains: Views of the Texas Coast & Texas Drought, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston 2014−15 Painting in the Texas Tradition, traveled: Turner House, Dallas; Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts, Spring (catalogue)
2014−15 Holiday Show featuring the Contemporary Texas Regionalists, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston 2015 Ties that Bind: Contemporary Texas Regionalism, Turner House, Dallas 2015 Texas Visions: Contemporary Texas Regionalism, Nave Museum, Victoria 2015 As Far as the Eye Can See: 100 Years of Texas Art, Two Allen Center, Houston 2016 Contemporary Texas Regionalism: A Holiday Show, William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art, Houston 2016−17 The Texas Aesthetic, Annual Exhibition, William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art, Houston 2017 Of Texas Rivers and Texas Art, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo; Texas Capitol Ground Floor Rotunda, Austin; Witte Museum, San Antonio (book by same title published by Texas A&M Press) 2017 Lone Star Legacies in Contemporary Texas Art, Featuring Views of the Permian Basin by Laura Lewis, Haley Memorial Library & History Center, Midland
Selected Public Collections
ARMTech Insurance Services, Lubbock Benchmark Business Solutions, Lubbock Chevron Corporation, Midland Chromatin, Inc., Lubbock First United Bank, Lubbock Glasheen Valles Inderman LLP, Lubbock Happy State Bank, Amarillo Plains Cotton Cooperative Association, Lubbock San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo WindTex Energy LP, Dallas
About William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art
H OUSTON’S T EXAS- C ENTERED G ALLERY William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art, originally established in 2006 in Houston, Texas, is dedicated to the promotion of premier Texas artists of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, focusing particularly on historically significant artists active in the state during the period of 1900-1975.
The gallery showcases many of the state’s most accomplished and recognized talents, all of whom have significant connections to Texas and have evidenced the highest standards of quality in their work, training, and professionalism. In addition to its general focus on Early Texas Art, the gallery places special emphasis on the rediscovery and presentation of midcentury works by Houston and South Texas artists. William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art is the foremost provider of Texas Modern Art, which includes midcentury masters and pioneering expressionists working in the state. The gallery also represents a dynamic group of contemporary artists, known as the Contemporary Texas Regionalists, actively showing their works in annual gallery exhibitions as well as traveling exhibitions throughout the state.
William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art is a comprehensive gallery offering fine art appraisals, consultation, collections management, brokerage, and sales services. The gallery exhibits artists working in a variety of media including painting, sculpture, works on paper, and photography. In order to promote interest and broaden knowledge of earlier Texas art, William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art supports related gallery talks, community events, scholarly research, and publications. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm and other times by appointment.
Gallery Contacts:
William Reaves, President william@reavesart.com
Sarah Foltz, Executive Director sarah@reavesart.com
Mariah Rockefeller, Gallery Director mariah@reavesart.com