Artist Spotlight: Allen Polt
At age six, Allen Polt’s first grade teacher, so impressed with his natural talent, arranged the artist’s first one-man show. Immediately, his gift was acknowledged... Read More
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2019 Artist Spotlight Featured Artists Plus Past FWA Artists of The Year
In 1997, Friends of Western Art took the reins of the Artist of the Year Award formerly hosted by the Tucson Festival Society since 1974. In keeping this Tucson tradition alive, FWA annually honored and brought attention to artists and their fine work.
Click Here for Entire Artist of the Year Lithograph Gallery (1974-2017)
The Artist of the Year event has morphed into FWA’s Artist Spotlight. Our October 12, 2019 Artist Spotlight event was San-Xavier Inspired: A Live Art Auction to Promote and Preserve, benefiting the Patronato San Xavier.
2019 Featured Artists and Their Donated Works Benefiting Patronato San Xavier
Artist Spotlight: Barbara Gurwitz
Inspired by her travels, Barbara Gurwitz paints bright, colorful, expressive landscapes featuring villages set in valleys of the mountainous countryside. Her original paintings are in... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Barry Sapp
Primarily self-taught, Barry’s basic fundamentals of painting with emphasis on watercolor and acrylic on canvas were acquired through courses taken at the University of Arizona,... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Brenda Semanick (deceased)
During the last year, 2019 Brenda was juried into two museum shows: Full Sun: American Women Artists Illuminate the Haggin Museum, Haggin Museum, Stockton, California,... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Buck McCain
Painter and sculptor Buck McCain was raised on a working cattle ranch in southern California near the Mexican border. McCain was home-schooled by his mother... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Carol Swinney
Wyoming native, Carol Swinney paints primarily on location, preferring such places as the Rocky Mountains of Montana and Colorado, the mountains of Arizona or the... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Chuck Albanese
Chuck writes: “I have always been creative and involved in creativity. I played jazz at a time when it was possible. I depended on being skillful... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Darcie Peet
Darcie grew up in the Midwest with a passion for the outdoors – often drawing and painting her outdoor adventures throughout primary and secondary school.... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Dr. John Schaefer
John Schaefer: Dr. Schaefer is President Emeritus of the University of Arizona, where he had an active, 21-year career in teaching and research. A conservationist... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Fred Hambly
Fred is a talented, hardworking artist whose painting faithfully capture the spirit of the Old West. His love for the subject is in his blood;... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Jackson Boelts
Jackson Boelts has been an artist, educator, designer for over 40 years and in that time he has won over 400 awards for his work.... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Judy Choate
Judy Choate was born in Wisconsin, but raised in Eureka, California. During her teenage years, her family moved to the San Francisco Bay area. She... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Judy Flynn
Judy paints a wide variety of subjects in both oil and watercolor. Her paintings are a representational style that includes landscape, portraits, figure and architectural... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Karryl Salit
Per Karryl: “Hi Everybody, I am Karryl Salit – but I go by Karryl for my professional name. I am primarily a sculptor (work in... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Lawrence Lee
Best known for his iconic shamanistic images, Lawrence W. Lee has been a professional artist for over forty years. His work is in thousands of... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Michael Ewing
The quest for tranquil yet powerful images lured Michael Ewing from his childhood home in Michigan to the Arizona desert some thirty five years ago. ... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Pat Doughty
Pat works with both brush and palette knife to create impressions of light and color. Snowbirds from Northern Minnesota for fourteen years, she and her... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Patti Andre
Art has been part of Patti Andre’s life from when she was a young girl. Patti has lived in many different parts of the United... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Patty Mathes
Per Patty: “When I was four years old growing up in St. Louis, my parents gave me Christmas presents which foretold my life as an... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Paul Hopman
Paul states: “The moment my passion for the art started to form was the moment my father asked if I would rather attend a traditional... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Richard Iams
Richard Iams was born in 1950 in West Virginia, near the borders of Ohio and Pennsylvania. He attended Marietta College in southeastern Ohio, intending to major... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Rob Waters
Rob Waters is a Southern California native. He did his undergraduate studies at Pt. Loma College in San Diego. He also studied illustration at the... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Santos Barbosa
Santos Barbosa was born and raised in McAllen, Texas. He has resided in Tucson since the 1960’s. He has drawn sketches of people and... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Stephanie Campos
Tucson native, Stephanie Campos began her love for drawing at a young age. During an art project in kindergarten, her teacher called her parents... Read More
Artist Spotlight: Susan Imwalle
Susan Imwalle grew up in Portland, Oregon. She became interested in art at a very early age and this was due to the encouragement of... Read More
Sample of Past Artist of the Year Award Recipients (1974-2017)
Janice P. Smith
Janice P. Smith is a painter from Sierra Vista, Arizona. She received a Friends of Western Art scholarship to attend the Ray Roberts Portrait Workshop.... Read More
Fred Fellows
Fred Fellows is a two-time past president of the world famous Cowboy Artists of America. His work has won many awards including the Grumbacher Fine... Read More
Ray Swanson
The Navajo have a special place in his heart and finger tips. “The most exciting, stimulating, and challenging paintings I do are portraits of the... Read More
Santos Barbosa
Santos Barbosa was born and raised in McAllen, Texas. He has resided in Tucson since the 1960’s. He has drawn sketches of people and places... Read More
Bill Moomey
Bill Moomey was born and raised in Nebraska during the infamous Dust Bowl era. During those pre-TV, computer, and cell phone years, most of the... Read More
Don Crowley
Don Crowley is one of the best known painters of the contemporary Indian, preferring to paint the Apache and Paiute. From his earliest years, his... Read More
Buck McCain
Buck McCain is the 33rd artist to be recognized in what is now a Tucson tradition, started by the Tucson Festival Society in 1974, and... Read More