VirgilCStephens

In kindergarten, when they stuck a pencil in my hand, I started drawing and just never put the pencil down. I became a professional artist in 1982 and never looked back. Morphing into painting a couple decades ago, I now paint in oils, draw with graphite and occasionally do pen & ink. I use several different methods to produce my paintings, one of which is called the Rub-Out process; laying down the colors first, then "picking" out the image with a folded cloth. I also draw with black Conte pastel for larger pieces and sometimes add a transparent oil wash over the drawing to produce a colored piece. I haven't found anyone doing that type of art, however I'm sure there are others out there using this process.
I spend my days drawing and painting, and for relaxation, saddling up my mule Francine for a ride in the mountains behind me. She is a molly mule, (female), stands 15 1/2 hands tall and we are in love! I also love to hunt and fish when I can.
Living in the mountains of New Mexico, in cowboy country, on a mountain top with the Loma Grande mountain range behind me and facing the Capitan Mountains, home of Smokey Bear, on the other side, affords me plenty of inspiration for my work...and, the Lincoln County wars, ( Billy the Kid), went on just twenty miles from my from my front door! It's rather remote, but I like it that way. Growing up on working ranches in Arizona, my dad was a cowboy, and in addition to roping and riding in local rodeos, "cowboy" is in my heart, but as you can see, I enjoy doing all kinds of different subject matter.
Numerous galleries represent my work and I like doing different subject matter as you will see when you peruse my Etsy site here. In many of my pieces I have used my kids and grandkids as subjects as they were growing up. Also, many times, like Norman Rockwell, I use my neighbors and friends as models in my drawings and paintings.
Thank you for enjoying my work...............................virgil