High Steppin'
29" x 17" gouache painting by Chris Owen

Chris Owen Captures the Motion - by Sarah H. Crampton

---


Using the versatility of watercolor and gouache, Chris Owen is particularly adept at capturing movement, energy and the gestures of the present day cowboy with an impressionistic flair.

The ranches, cattle and horses of Billings, Montana, have surrounded Chris Owen all his life. His family homesteaded property in Billings in 1908, and the working cowboys on local ranches of friends and neighbors provide images for his artwork.

Chris Owen savors the solitude of his log cabin studio, just outside of Billings on 15 acres. Since he works most often in watercolor, he appreciates no interruptions while in the middle of painting with traditional washes and gouache.

"Watercolor is a big controlled accident and lends itself to spontaneity like no other," comments Owen. "I take quite a few photos and start going through them to find something that sparks me. There is not a lot of preconception involved in my work. I let each piece evolve."

Supportive of their son's artistic career, Dale and Elaine Owen handle inquiries and the business of exhibiting and gallery representation to allow Chris to spend as much time as possible in the studio. Painting has been a life-long pursuit and Chris has been painting full time as a professional for seven years.

Chris Owen majored in art at Montana State University. He was the recipient of a scholarship to the acclaimed Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, California, where he studied for two years.

Recently his work caught the attention of Antonia Clark of Toh-Atin Gallery and Publishing Company and they are now publishing prints of his original paintings. Antonia Clark commented that "High Steppin'" has been quite popular with western art lovers.

"High Steppin'" depicts a cowboy out in the Missouri Breaks," explains Owen. "It¹s rugged country up here where the Missouri River has cut deep ravines where you have to go in and look for strays. This cowboy was getting into thick brush and yucca and had to work to get through it."

"Riding horses is a passion of mine," continues Owen in his quiet manner. "I particularly like it when I¹ve got a job or something to do on a horse, like fixing a fence."

Chris Owen plans to continue living and painting in Montana where he is at home and inspired by the radiance of the American west. Chris Owen exhibits annually at the Coors Western Art Exhibit in Denver, Colorado, and the C.M. Russell Western Art Auction in Great Falls, Montana. His original artwork is exhibited at The Paint Horse Gallery in Breckinridge, Colorado.




~ Back to Current Issue ~