After a Squall

The storm has moved on, but the drama lingers in Conrad Schwiering's view of the Grand Tetons. Thick clouds still wrap around the jagged peaks while blue sky pushes through from above, and the meadow below shines with that vivid green and gold that comes right after a rain. Schwiering knew this Wyoming landscape better than almost anyone, having built a studio at the foot of these mountains so he could paint them season after season.

The brushwork here is quick and confident, full of energy rather than careful detail. Rocky slopes are built from bold dabs of color, the small stand of trees in the middle reads as loose shapes, and the wildflowers dotting the field are little more than flicks of paint. This is the kind of outdoor, painted-on-the-spot approach that aims to catch a fleeting moment rather than copy every rock and blade of grass.

Sometimes nicknamed "the cowboy artist," Schwiering spent years following the shifting light across these peaks. Paintings like this one earned him a devoted group of collectors who valued his straightforward, warmhearted vision of the American West.