Beth
Loftin
Beth Loftin was born and raised
in the Osage Hills of Oklahoma and developed a keen interest in painting in early
childhood. The human figure has always been her subject; for years she supported
herself by doing commissioned portraits of Oklahomans. She relocated her studio
to Bozeman in 1993 and has been a top seller at Chaparral since that time. The
artist's oeuvre is as much about color and compositin as it is about storytelling.
"As a painter, I focus on people's relationships within the cultural and
historical contexts," she explains. "The people are from a time that
still lives in many of us. They have a simple but profound story to tell, and
I want to help them tell it."
Ms.
Loftin's work often features distinctive portraits of turn-of-the-century pioneer
folk, ranch hands, and Native Americans. While nostalgic themes and bold use of
color remain hallmarks of the artist's captivatin style, many of Ms. Loftin's
new paintings celebrate private moments at the end of the work day: tired ranch
hands asleep in the shade of a juniper, brothers cutting each other's hair in
the late day sun. The artist also continues her compelling exploration of the
uneasy merging of settler and native cultures.
Ms.
Loftin has been written about in a feature article in Southwest Art magazine
and has participated in Butterfield's Western Art Auction for several years. In
1998 she was chosen as the poster artist for the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival.
She has had five successful one-woman shows at Chaparral.