New works highlight Challenger Winter Exhibition
JD Challenger is a storyteller.

His mission in life is to tell the story on canvas of a people whose heritage and traditions have been handed down by word‑of‑mouth for centuries.

Challenger is a messenger for the proud and colorful Native Americans who come from all parts of North America to his studio in Taos, N. M. to have their striking images immortalized on canvas.

Recognized worldwide as a master purveyor of American Indian culture, Challenger is busy preparing for his Winter Exhibition in The Challenger Gallery which he maintains in Carefree.Ransom exhibit features the good life

With a career spanning decades and a decidedly signature style of painting, painter Robert Ransom would humbly prefer to elude the lofty, yet perhaps inevitable comparison, to pop artists Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.

“I don’t think you can pigeonhole me that way,” Ransom says. “I’m kind of like a lot of other guys. We kind of stumble around for a while until we find our own style.”

Visitors can judge for themselves when a Robert Ransom exhibit is unveiled at Norby Gallery in Cave Creek. The gallery will open a new show with an artist’s reception from 6‑9 p.m. March 2.

The exhibition will feature two predominant motifs.

“It’s cowboys and cars,” Ransom says. “Each one of my paintings tries to express a feeling of independence or freedom.”

Arthur Norby, himself a renowned sculptor, is a Ransom fan. The two artists became acquainted during an exhibition at the Scottsdale Festival of Fine Art.

“About eight or nine years ago, I wanted to do a series of paintings on the comic book character The Red Ryder and his little Indian companion,” Norby says. “That’s before I met Robert Ransom. People would think I was trying to copy his work.

“He’s managed to make his western art successful while totally ignoring the equine anatomy,” Norby says. “We bring our perception of good and bad art to a gallery based on our own artistic experiences. I think it would be a mistake for people to think Robert is not an accomplished artist just because they’ve never seen anything like it.

“Robert’s art is an acquired taste,” he says. “Eight out of 10 people love his work the first time they lay eyes on it. The other two will never understand it.

“He’s an artist whose work and style should be judged solely by one’s perception of the individual painting.”

Characterized by boxy figures and straight lines, Ransom’s paintings usually depict people engaging in some sort of Utopian leisure activity. Driving fast cars, fly‑fishing, cooking out in the yard–American pastimes enjoyed by millions.

“There’s no single theme in my paintings,” Ransom says. “They cut across all lines. I don’t seem to have a specific audience either. It all seems to have a universal appeal. I have work hanging everywhere. My work is not so much a style as it is a technique.”

To achieve his particular painting style, Ransom studied the works of the old master painters whose work is characterized by multiple layers of paint.

“In addition of a unique way of interpreting his subjects, Ransom gives us a surface finish unlike almost any artist working today,” Norby says. “Like many others, he paints with oil on canvas. Unlike others, he uses layer upon layer of high‑gloss varnish to enhance the depth of his composition. The result is a very striking aesthetic.”

Ransom considers himself lucky because he didn’t spend years toiling in obscurity before his work was finally recognized.