Bill Scheidt article in new April 2015 edition of Plumage-TX magazine

The new April 2015 edition of Plumage-TX magazine features an article about Boerne, Texas artist Bill Scheidt. Bill's article is an interview based conversation; with Bill discussing his inspirations, life story and how art has played a role in his life. 

See the edition here:

Read online at:

http://issuu.com/gdelgado2010/docs/april_2015_edition_of_plumage_tx_ma

or click the images to read the article online.

Bill Scheidt 

Wildlife Artist for Conservation  

   
Wildlife/Western artist Bill Scheidt channels his reverence for animals into his art where he instills a sense of wonder; hoping to communicate a sense of spirituality through the safeguarding of our natural heritage. Scheidt developed his love for the animal world growing up on a 1,300 acre ranch in Bandera County, Texas. He reminisces about sitting in a deer blind for hours on end, "…Seen all kinds of wild game from golden eagles to javelinas. Sometimes sitting there from daylight to dark, that's where I kind of got my love for the wildlife." Unfortunately, discouraged from attending art school, Scheidt had to redirect his life; spending 4 years in the Navy and then holding down various occupations afterward.

Primarily a self-taught artist, Scheidt kept pursuing his art on the side during his career as a farrier (horseshoer) and horse trainer for 17 years. When occupational pain prevented him from continuing his farrier career unless he had surgery, his wife encouraged him to pursue his painting full time. Even though he admits to having a "rough start," he was able to begin to fulfill his lifelong desire and finally immerse himself in his artistry. His art career has spanned close to 30 years, having participated in many exhibitions locally and nationally. 

 He has been a member of various artist organizations: American Plains Artists, Artists for Conservation and Oil Painters of America to name just a few. Most recently he was featured in "Cerebral Dichotomies of the Boerne Dyad," a two person show at J.R. Mooney Gallery-Boerne with fellow artist Sidney Sinclair.  "Empty Nest" is one of the signature pieces of the "Dichotomies" exhibition that highlights Scheidt's abilities in capturing the presence and beauty of animals in their natural surroundings in oil paint on canvas. Portrayed in fantastic detail are a pair of burrowing owls that are in their element upon the plain, enjoying the vastness after being cooped up in their underground denizen. 

Hanging next to this piece in the exhibition is the stunning "Pheasant Fields" which features a pair of pheasants, accentuating Scheidt's unmistakable eye in capturing and observing detail, from the teal iridescence on the male pheasant's plumage to the female's delicate feather striations; this pair stands in unity against a backdrop of windswept grassy fields. In "Harem Master", the main focal point, bathed in Aurelian light, is a majestic antlered buck ruling over his "harem". A group of females are in cool shadow in the distance, creating dramatic contrast; a dichotomy of polarities: male, female; warm, cool; singular, multiple. Another example of Scheidt's immense capacity for painting nature is "Block Creek Bluff," an ode to the wilderness as a lone raptor soars over a rocky cliff side that is nestled amid brilliant gold treetops: a testament to the magnificent independence and strength of this solitary creature in his quest for survival amid uncertain terrain.  

Scheidt's passion and commitment to the preservation of nature go beyond the subject matter of  his art; he is an active member of Artists for Conservation, a worldwide artist advocacy organization that contributes percentages of their artwork sales to environmental causes of the artists' choice. Scheidt's favorite conservation organization is the local Boerne Cibolo Nature Center, a conservancy initiative that protects the fragile Cibolo Creek Watershed located in the Texas hill country. This watershed ranges from north Boerne and continues south for 96 miles until it joins the San Antonio River, recharging the Edwards and Trinity Aquifers along its way and is home to many sensitive and threatened species like the Guadalupe Bass and the golden-cheeked warbler. He exhibits regularly with the Artists for Conservation along with 500 other signature members, whose art exhibits promote environmental stewardship and protecting our natural habitats.

For Scheidt, the inspiration to create may come from a certain light condition or an experience that will evolve itself from rough pencil sketches to fully finished oil painting. When asked what sort of response he would like his art to evoke in his viewers, he replies," I would like something in my art to move them.” Ever humble, he elaborates on the foundational belief in being an instrument of the Creator, the source that truly guides his art. "It's not just me doing the work…it's the guy upstairs that's working through my hand, that makes it what it is; maybe people see that."

© Katherine Shevchenko, Art Consultant, J.R. Mooney Gallery, Boerne 3/2015

Bill Scheidt's paintings are available for purchase at J.R. Mooney Gallery, Boerne.

For more info please contact the gallery 830-816-5106

Links

"The Cerebral Dichotomies of the Boerne Dyad" official website

http://jrmooneygalleries.wix.com/dyadexhibition

Artists for Conservation

http://www.natureartists.com/

Cibolo Nature Center

http://www.cibolo.org/

Bill Scheidt--The future of Native American, Cowboy and the Western Art Genres, and its role in Contemporary Art!

Let’s reevaluate the future of Native American, Cowboy and the Western Art Genres, and its role in Contemporary Art!

Recently San Antonio has seen the decade long cultivation of funds to finalize the budget needed for the opening of the new Briscoe Western Art Museum in downtown San Antonio, the signature Cowboys & Indians as Southwest Art Magazines are thriving and various Wild West reenactments around Texas still spur the collective memory of the stories behind the settlement of the West and the stubborn and cherished Texas Pride. 

But more importantly, what happens when key artists of a specific art genre begin to pass away, leaving behind a legacy but no continued lineage? 

Answer: Mentorships and workshop spur students and traditionalists who have studied with the masters to try to keep the coveted aesthetic going. 

With only 21 active members of the Cowboy Artists of America (CAA) alive, the once exclusive art group that swore “To authentically preserve and perpetuate the culture of western life in fine art”, is but a dying breed of artists.  

Losing two key members in the last few years and most of them being mid-career or older, there will be a need to readdress the contemporary and living artists who are abiding by these same philosophies and holding true to a preservation of culture.

This is where Boerne, Texas comes into the story of a continued conservancy.  One such artist that strives to capture and preserve this aesthetic is Boerne’s own Bill Scheidt.  Bill Scheidt is a level 5 certified Texas Professional Farrier (a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming, balancing and the placing of shoes on their hooves), and is a member of the Texas Professional Farriers Association. Interestingly, Bill Scheidt worked the horse route around Boerne from 1971 till about 1987, and still resides in Boerne. He was also the Farrier for what was previous - Fair Oaks Ranch, before it was a gated community on I-10 known as the same name.

With such an extended and significant career around horses it is not surprising the subject matter that garners Scheidt’s attention. He has studied at the Scottsdale Artists School; taken workshops with: artist, Roy Andersen; CAA artist, Joe Beeler; CAA artist, Jim Norton; CAA artist, R. S. Riddick and Bruce Greene; and attended various other Cowboy Artists of America workshops.

Bill Scheidt is also a Signature Member of the Artists for Conservation Foundation, “Supporting wildlife and habitat conservation, biodiversity, sustainability, and environmental education through art that celebrates our natural heritage.”

Stoic in his intentions, Scheidt is a revered and well respected artist by several Native American tribes for his renditions of Native American Culture. Showcasing the unique characteristics of members of the Taos Pueblo (Tiwa or Tewah tribe) and Apache tribe, Scheidt is true to form in capturing this indigenous way of life.  Also as a sign of gratitude and respect for his craft, Scheidt was presented a highly prized woven Navajo blanket by Native American, Joanna Purley which is on display in his personal studio – as a reminder of his servitude to an entrusted legacy.

Bill Scheidt is a current or former member of the American Plains Artists, Oil Painters of America and has exhibited in the Museum of Western Art.
 

In “Closed for Winter”, Scheidt delivers a riveting landscape that depicts the isolated life of the Native Americans during the winter months. Snow brings a renewed sense of survival, a man vs. nature attitude juxtaposed by a harmony with the natural environment. Scheidt’s skyline glows with majestic auroras that are laden heavy with the never ending threat of the impending snowfall. Backlit by a fading sun, the teepee’s angular pol lines collect the fallen wintery and wet blanket, creating a cold exterior contrasted by the warm interior. Snow covered trees, a barren landscape and an exposed and naked smaller wooden armature reflect the nostalgic quality of the Wild West through a cold seasonal bliss in all its majestic glory.

Bill Scheidt's artwork is now available at J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art

© Gabriel Diego Delgado

Gallery Director

J.R. Mooney Galleries, Boerne

830-816-5106