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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

West in show


Raymond Schulz sands the back of Penche, a life-size wooden sculpture of a ballerina in his studio in Deer Park. It takes Schulz about nine months to complete a sculpture.  Pictured at top: Works of art featured at the Western Art Show include

Upwards of 30,000 art lookers and buyers will be moseying into Spokane this weekend for the 35th annual Western and Wildlife Art Show.

Vying for their attention are more than 100 artists from throughout the West.

Painters, sculptors, potters and leather workers will pack the ballrooms, hallways and foyers of the WestCoast Ridpath Hotel and Executive Court beginning Friday and continuing through Sunday.

While the dominant theme continues to have a distinct Western flair – lonesome cowpokes, wild horses and dusty trails – more and more artists are showing seascapes, portraits, and figurative and abstract images.

Whatever one’s art preferences, there will be plenty of choices.

At least two dozen artists in the show are from the Inland Northwest, including impressionist Robert Krogle of Coeur d’Alene; potter Lisa McKay of Newman Lake; and realistic wildlife artist Dianne Munkittrick of Coeur d’Alene.

This is Krogle’s eighth year at the show. He keeps coming back because of the variety of work on view.

“The show continues to get more diverse with the type of art,” says Krogle. “Each year it becomes more dynamic.”

Wildlife sculptor Lyle Schwaubauer of Elliston, Mont., is bringing a selection of his limited-edition bronze sculptures of highly detailed, tightly rendered depictions of animals.

Whether it’s equine, landscape or florals, most of the artists in the show are sticklers for accuracy, including first-time exhibitor Raymond Schulz of Deer Park.

Schulz, 67, carves his life-size wood ballerinas from live models, and goes so far as to use calipers to measure everything from the thickness of a tiara to the width of a shoelace.

Because of his labor-intensive process, it takes upwards of nine months to complete one sculpture.

“Carving life-size figures from real life has enhanced my love for all art more than anything else in my life,” says the retired carpenter.

A longtime amateur artist, Schulz received training at Spokane Falls Community College after a back injury in the early 1990s.

“I returned to college to improve my painting,” he says. He looked in on one of Jo Fyfe’s sculpture classes and changed his mind.

“The young students were using tools I was familiar with,” Schulz says, “and I figured if the kids could do it, I could, too.”

For years he worked with small, tabletop pieces. Then he wanted to do something larger.

Schulz’s daughter Sasha Kroum, a former kindergarten through sixth-grade art teacher in Walla Walla, suggested ballerinas.

“The grace and beauty of ballet positions attracted me,” he says.

“Raymond has always had unbelievable enthusiasm, passion and commitment for his work,” says Fyfe, an expressionistic painter who is sharing a booth with Schulz at the art show. “His ballerinas are beautifully crafted.”

Back by popular demand at the show is the “Quick Draw” on Saturday at 6:15 p.m. That’s when artists draw, paint or sculpt for 45 minutes. All pieces will be sold at auction following the competition.

A silent auction also runs continuously during each day of the show.