Paul Kethley

Even when he was very young, his God given gift emerged while illustrating WWII aircraft in dog fight positions. At age 11 his mother enrolled him in private drawing classes. Within a couple of years his drawing skills were so apparent that his teacher invited him to join her college drawing classes.

After earning a degree in business in 1974, Paul immediately headed for Denver, Colorado where he worked in various sales and marketing positions for 15 years and created oil and watercolor paintings during his spare time. "The passion for painting hit me in 1979," he recalls. "I worked hard at it on weekends and began developing paintings that told stories after visiting a Frederic Remington exhibition. By 1987, I had made contacts resulting in some major sales from a local bank and was showing work in a local gallery." A few years later, after leaving the commercial printing industry, Paul opened his own studio in Evergreen, Co. and began teaching private art classes, selling art supplies and continuing his focus on oil painting.

In 1998 Paul married Lisa and shortly thereafter moved to Buena Vista, Co. fulfilling a dream they both shared. "Lisa has been a constant source of objectivity and moral support and this area provides every western setting imaginable. I like to illustrate figures interacting with the environment including cowboys, Native Americans and wildlife." Many of Paul's oil originals are a result of working with a local friend who trains mustangs near Buena Vista in a beautiful part of the Arkansas River valley area. His friend and the horses he trains serve as models for many of his paintings. "My goal is to keep striving for the ultimate work of art and to enjoy the journey as much as the rewards."