I DID NOT WRITE THIS
Raised in Colorado, Ralph always knew he would be an artist. The freedom to move about and enjoy the wonders of the world fit his temperament. After a brief stint in commercial illustration, Ralph began to support himself with his paintings. Wildlife dominated his interest for over 10 years. Repeated appearances at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum’s "Birds in Art" show in the early 1980s and election to the Society of Animal Artists were high points in his young career. The works of Rungius, Liljefors, and Kuhnert inspired his development. Rungius’ field sketches pointed out the need for on-the-spot references.
Consequently, Oberg changed the direction of his career in 1987. He began to study with some of the contemporary plein air masters of the day. For the past decades, he has focused on painting the landscape on location as a means of learning the colors and values of the natural world and how to capture a sense of the moment and place. His painting travels have taken him repeatedly to Canada and Alaska, Nepal, Switzerland and the French Alps where he has painted the mountains that he loves.
Ralph has won the National Museum of Wildlife Art Trustees Purchase Award at the 2012 Western Visions show: the California Art Club Gold Medal Show in 2014; the Gold Medal Award at the 2015 Buffalo Bill Art Show; and in 2019 he was awarded the Briscoe Western Art Museum's Purchase Award during their Night of Artists show. In 2020 he was awarded the Wilson Hurley Memorial Award for Landscape at the Prix de West Invitational.
Ralph received the Weiss Award at the 1988 Buffalo Bill Art Show in Cody. His award-winning painting is included in the Center of the West’s permanent collection. A large Oberg landscape hangs permanently in the House Chambers of the Colorado State Capitol Building. In addition, his works are in numerous private and corporate collections, and have been exhibited at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, Autry National Center, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Los Angeles County Natural History Museum, Loveland Museum, and International Center for Wildlife Art in Britain. Feature articles on Oberg’s work have appeared in Art of the West, Southwest Art, Wildlife Art News, Western Art and Architecture, and Sporting Classics magazines.
Since 1999, Ralph has given painting workshops for the Loveland Academy of Fine Arts (CO), Fredericksburg Art School (TX), Fechin Institute (NM), Scottsdale Artists’ School (AZ), and Willow Wisp Farm Studio (NC). However he has since retired from teaching.
Animal subjects have always been a large part of Oberg’s work, combining his natural drawing ability and accumulated knowledge of animals with a more impressionistic painting technique. His larger landscapes have seen increasing success as well. Today, Ralph and his wife, painter Shirley Novak, sketch the natural beauty they find near and far. These sketches are used to develop larger works in their studio and home in Southwest Colorado.
SOURCE: www.ralphoberg...
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