Capturing the American West
This story was featured in the March/April 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art March/April 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
AS A BOY GROWING up in Mesa, AZ, Kevin McCain often ventured out into the nearby Sonoran Desert and Superstition Wilderness to hike, camp, and explore with his Boy Scout troop. Those early experiences marked the beginning of McCain’s lifelong passion for the American West and his love for portraying the region’s beauty and mystique in oil paints.
Trained in illustration and fine art, McCain has enjoyed success in both fields over the past three decades. As an illustrator, he explains, the objective is to design works with an immediate visual impact. “With a painting,” the artist continues, “you want people to stop and spend some time viewing it. You are trying to build a story that people will come back to. Hopefully, there is something to be said, and discovered, through the use of color, value, and light.”
The artist’s oeuvre is filled with iconic western landscapes he has visited, photographed, and studied en plein air over the years, from Utah’s canyonlands to the alpine peaks of Idaho, where he resides today. “Many times, I will start a painting with [reference] sketches or photographs, but no matter how the painting starts, I put that stuff away midway through the process,” he says. Influenced by artists ranging from N.C. Wyeth to the post-Impressionists, McCain isn’t interested in creating a detailed portrait of a place. Rather, he explains, “There is a stylization of my subject matter, where I’m boiling it down to simplicity. I want to give it a softness overall, like a memory.” —Kim Agricola
McCain is represented by Kevin McCain Studios, Boise, ID.
This story was featured in the March/April 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art March/April 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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