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Artist Bio :
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A native of Newark, New Jersey, Walt Gonske studied at the Frank Reilly School of Art in New York City where he gained solid training in illustration technique. Following a successful illustrating career in New York, Gonske relocated to Taos, New Mexico, in 1972, where he began to work almost exclusively on location.
Frustrated by the limitations inclement weather imposed on his painting in plein air, he set about customizing a Ford pickup into a “paintmobile” – a studio on wheels. This mobile studio is stocked with canvases of various sizes and textures, and allows him to go on painting trips throughout California, Colorado, or wherever the road may lead.
Gonske has been affiliated with the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum since 1974. His works have received numerous awards including Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals from the National Academy of Western Art. He has been associated with the Salon d'Arts, Denver, Colorado, since 2002 and the Forbes Trinchera Ranch, Invitation and Exhibition since 2003. He was featured in a one-man show at the Taos Art Museum and Fechin House in September 2007.
His work is held in the Dunnegan Collection, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Gilcrease Museum, the William and Joffa Kerr Collection, and the Morton and Donna Fleischer Collection.
A contributor to numerous publications since 1976, Gonske's work has appeared in Plein Air Magazine and Art of the West.
He is represented by Claggett/Rey Gallery, Vail, Colorado; Fritzler Fine Art, Mesa, Colorado; Gonske Gallery and Studios, Taos, New Mexico; Nedra Matteucci Galleries, Santa Fe, New Mexico; The Sylvan Gallery, Charleston, South Carolina; and Parsons Gallery of the West, Taos, New Mexico. |
