Shanna Kunz & Elizabeth Robbins
Painters – Studio 16
Shanna Kunz
Whether it’s a past memory, emotional experience or sentimental feeling, Shanna Kunz has a personal relationship with every landscape she paints. Rather than replicate what she sees with precise realism, Kunz paints the essence of a place with a temperate palette, blurred forms and visual brushstrokes. Her beginnings as a portrait painter translate into her landscapes as she aims to reveal the soul or spirit of her subject matter.
Raised and rooted in the west, Kunz has a fondness for the outdoors that shows through her work. “My dad used to pack all the kids into the back of his old Chev and drive up Weber Canyon to Christmas Meadows and go camping there,” she says. “It gave me an affinity to the landscape that came out later in my paintings.”
When it comes to her aesthetic, Kunz resonates with tonalism and impressionism and is particularly inspired by the work of Dwight Tryon and John Henry Twachtman. Kunz often paints en plein air, which adds richness and honesty to the work that viscerally affects the viewer. “I want to be able to step into the painting…to feel like I’m there,” she says. “And I want the people who view my paintings to feel like they’re there as well.”
Kunz has been featured in Western Art & Architecture Magazine, Southwest Art Magazine, Western Art Collector and more. She is represented by six galleries throughout the west.
Read The Monarch’s Creative Spotlight on Shanna Kunz & Elizabeth Robbins
Elizabeth Robbins
Elizabeth Robbins lives among the flowers she paints. Her backyard garden has over 80 rosebushes, at least a dozen peonies, dahlias, delphiniums, fruit trees, grape vines and more. As the season allows, Robbins spends at least two hours in her garden every morning before she begins to paint. “I planted them, watered them, pruned them and weeded them,” says Robbins of her paintings’ floral subjects. “The love I have for my subject matter transfers to the canvas.”
Robbins’ personal connection with flowers and gardening began when she was just a little girl, helping her grandmothers identify flowers and prune rosebushes near their cabin in Oakley, Utah. In addition to flowers Robbins works in portraiture and western motifs including Native American people and artifacts.
Robbins also shares her talents through Bella Muse Productions, where she helps budding artists find their voice and hone their skill. Her at home painting studio doubles as a film set where she shoots online tutorials, painting tips, workshops and instructional DVDs for students around the country. Watch her videos or sign up for a course at www.bellamuseproductions.com.
Robbins has received numerous awards including “Best Still Life” and “Best of Show” at the National Oil and Acrylic Painter’s Exhibit and the “Tuffy Berg Award” at the 2008 CM Russell auction. She is represented by seven galleries throughout the west.
Read The Monarch’s Creative Spotlight on Shanna Kunz & Elizabeth Robbins