Page 25 - TheRussellCatalogue2016

2016 Art in ActionTM ParticipantsmiChAEL BLESSiNGTOdd CONNOrA self-taught artist, Michael Blessing is compelled by stronglines and high chroma. Brightly lit neon signs captured his imagination when he was a kid; these days, those images take him back in time. Blessing’s paintings are widely appealing and havean edgy quality that is both contemporary and timeless.Nancy Dunlop Cawdreyis a colorist with a strong sense of design. She is a founding member of the Russell Skull Society of Artists and has participated regularly in the C.M. Russell auctions. Cawdreyalso participates in exhibitions at the National Museum of Wildlife Art,the Gilcrease Museum, the Western Masters, and the National Cowboy Museum. Cawdrey was the Featured Artist for the thirtieth anniversary of the 2014 Jackson Hole Festival, where her painting Forever Jackson set a new auction sales record.Troy Collins resides in beautiful western Montana and shows in galleries throughout the West. Asa nationally renowned landscape impressionist, Collins has seen his paintings hung in such places asthe Pentagon, the California State Capitol and the U.S. Embassy in the UK. His work has been featured in over twenty- ve magazines over the past ve years, including e Big Sky Journal, Western Art and Architecture, Western Art Collector, and Cowboys and Indians. He has also been featured in e Russell Exhibition and Sale.Todd Connor grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and began to paintat age twelve. After serving as a Navy SEAL, he resumed painting, earning a bachelor of ne arts degree in illustration at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Since then, he has made his living painting historical Western subjects, particularly mountain men and pioneers.C. Michael Dudash has produced oil paintings for publishers, galleries, and clients for more than thirty-six years. Dudash has been featured in several art magazines, including Art of the West, Southwest Art, and Western Art Collector. He is representedby prestigious galleries aroundthe country, and in 2012, he published a book on his Western work. His collectors appreciate the draftsmanship, use of light, and colorful atmosphere that Dudash brings to his paintings of the old frontier.Charles Fritz’s awards from the C.M. Russell auction include four Best of Shows and a People’s Choice in painting. His workis included in the permanent collections of the DenverArt Museum, the MacNider Museum, and the C.M. Russell Museum. His nationally known collection, An Artist with the Corps of Discovery, is currentlyan inaugural exhibit at the new Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West.NANCy duNLOp CAwdrEyC. miChAEL dudAShTrOy COLLiNSChArLES FriTz