A Brushwork Roundup: Western Paintings and Drawings by Craig Sheppard will be on display through February 27 at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park. Jim McCormick and Fred Reid, who co-curated the exhibition, chose to focus on Sheppard’s love of, and fascination with, horses.
Sheppard arrived in Reno in 1947 a seasoned cowboy and possessed of the necessary experience to teach most of the courses in the art department he had been charged with rebuilding. Today, he is remembered as a prime mover in Northern Nevada’s cultural community, especially in the years after World War II.
About the Artist: The one constant subject Craig Sheppard returned to—even when he worked in France, Norway or other parts of Europe—was the horse and rider and variations on that theme. A Brushwork Roundup features works that reveal Sheppard’s indebtedness to Picasso and the Surrealists. His late night painting marathons while living in Norway produced hundreds of sumi drawings of horses and riders, images that were more eastern than western. His “Yellow Slicker” series employs transparent watercolor wash at its most sublime, glowing passages of white paper speaking volumes against his equestrian subjects. In addition, there are large, abstract canvases that are charged with passages of raw contrasting colors and uncharacteristic impasto.
If you’re planning to go:
What: A Brushwork Roundup: Western Paintings and Drawings by Craig Sheppard
When: Now through February 27, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Where: Rancho San Rafael Regional Park
