NARRIE TOOLE
Most of my adult life involved ranching and farming, and most of the time I have lived in counties with less than 1500 residents. I graduated from a class of 40 in high school, then attended and received a degree in Art Education from K-State in Manhattan, Kansas. Along with the ranching, I created pottery professionally for 16 years. Using horses in my work and managing and doctoring cattle, along with years out in the pastures closely observing, has provided my firsthand knowledge for painting the animals I portray. My oil paintings of ranch animals and wildlife of the area show close-ups of their individual spirits and their place in history as the "Cowboy Support Crew" and honor the ranching way of life. My work has been used for magazine covers and is internationally collected and found in corporate and widespread private collections. I also am a Women Artists of the West (WAOW) Associate as well as Oil Painters of America Associate. I've been fortunate to have such an interesting life along with interesting and supportive people moving through it!
ALLAN HART
Allan Hart or Jonah Hrvat, his Yugoslavian name, was born an identical twin in Oak Park, Illinois in 1945. After two years at the Art Institute of Chicago (1963-64), Allan moved to Los Angeles, California. In the 1960's and early 70's, his paintings were exhibited in galleries and museums along side the art of Georgio de Chirico, Max Ernst, Rene Magritte, Matta (Roberto Sebastian Matta Echaurren), Salvador Dali, and other prominent artists. From 1974 to 1979, Allan was living and painting in Taos, New Mexico. In 1979 he moved to Boston where the School of the Museum of Fine Arts gave him grants and scholarships to study clay. Allan continued to paint in his studio at night while going to school during the day. At the end of the three years (1981-83), Allan was awarded a travel grant to go to China because of his clay "dwellings" and architectural sculpture. After traveling independently throughout mainland China, Allan returned to the United States and continued to paint in Boston and Taos. Today Allan's paintings are displayed in many prominent private collections in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, England and Europe.
ERICA DERUM LOHAN
In a desert landscape of extremes, Lohan has found the middle ground between earth and art in her work. Her latest series of paintings use watercolor or acrylic on clayboard and explore her passion for pattern and texture that first sparked her attention when she was young. "Taking my cue from nature, I render the natural world through a contemporary lens," she said. That lens also provides a close-up of the subtlest details of life, the intricacy and beauty that we miss as we pass quickly through the world around us. Lohan's paintings give viewers a reason to pause. Lohan was a finalist for Best in Show Representational at Taos' Fall Arts Invitational in 2006. Since moving to New Mexico in 2001 her work has been shown in numerous galleries and group exhibits.