Light pours in through the windows of Sam Pratt’s Paradise Valley home studio, illuminating abstract contemporary paintings on their canvases, the rustic flagstone floors and curated collections of things that inspire her: sketches from friends, a scrap of fabric, an artfully-arranged display of silver shoes and sculptures created by her son, who is a metal artist in Sedona.
Michael P. Johnson has presence. It’s not the fact that his 6-foot, 4-inch frame makes him tower over most of his friends or his distinct mane of long white hair that makes him stand out in a room; Johnson has a distinctive energy about him that isn’t seen so much as it is felt.
While many artists gain endless ideas from one central concept, Scottsdale-based sculptor Jeff Zischke, whose work appears throughout the Valley and around the world, is simply inspired.
Ask any tourist what brought them to Arizona, and you’ll likely hear something about the more obvious attractions: the Grand Canyon, the weather, and spring training et al. Anyone living in the desert knows, though, that it’s the unassuming things that make Arizona special.
Hardly a little girl alive in the 1960s didn’t dream of dancing and singing like Chita Rivera. The tiny, dark-haired dynamite had a high-energy sass about her that captured the imagination of America at a time when dance was becoming a popular language of its own.
Arizona has a way of enchanting visitors the world over with its beautiful weather, open spaces and friendly Western spirit. For one talented French couple, all it took was one visit to win them over permanently.
He stood as an imposing figure in front of the lecture hall, pacing the stage with furrowed brow as he observed the new faces of an incoming freshman class of architecture. A studied historian of architecture, this professor, who was also a child of the 1950s beat movement, a student of 1960s ethical liberation, and an ardent admirer of Frank Lloyd Wright, would later become one of my most treasured educators.
Glassblowing demonstrations and classes, chef demonstrations, live music and a roster of both new and acclaimed artists are returning to Phoenix for another year of camaraderie and creation of fine art. These are just some of the reasons to visit the Arizona Fine Art Expo, the popular 10-week fine art show that takes place January 12 through March 25. Known as one of Arizona’s best venues for collecting fine art, the Arizona Fine Art Expo runs daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. under the festive white tents at the southwest corner of Scottsdale and Jomax Roads, next to MacDonald’s Ranch.
On a breezy but sunny Arizona winter day, John Randall Nelson answered his door wearing comfortable jeans and a paint-spattered denim jacket. A gray beanie, crocheted from yarn, hugs the crown of his head. He’s a tough-looking guy, tall and sturdy with a strong Romanesque nose, but he’s quick to grin with a smile that emanates from the inside.
I first noticed Scott Baxter’s work in 2012 as I made my way through the halls of Sky Harbor Airport. Homesick and weary from a long trip abroad, I looked up to see black and white portraits and scenery he’d captured for his Centennial Legacy Project, “100 Years 100 Ranchers.” He’d managed to depict Arizona ranch life so vividly and provocatively that I wanted to grab the nearest person by the shoulders and exclaim, “This is my home! These are my people!”