Born: Sterling, CO 1946. Education: BFA Art Center College of Design, Los Angeles CA, 1971; Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 1964-67.
"Mood and feeling are more important with Whitcomb than visual reference, though all of his landscapes he paints are compelling places," says one museum curator. "The detail of the physical world is subdued in response to the spiritual one." Whitcomb says, "Once you internalize the language of painting you never see the world the same way. It never leaves you. The veil of rational order is lifted and what hangs in the air are sensations of painted possibilities. On good days, some would call it poetry."
Whitcomb grew up on his family's ranch near Sterling Colorado where they raised American Quarter Horses and knew at an early age he wanted to be an artist. He was trained in illustration and painting at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles and then moved to Denver in 1971. Soon after the move he met the painter, Ned Jacob and sculptor, Ken Bunn, two of the central figures of a group of artists who would later be referred to as "The Denver Group", an event that changed the course of his professional life. They convinced Whitcomb to embark on a career as a fine artist.
An accomplished outdoor painter, Whitcomb has received numerous awards for his landscape paintings in oil and pastel, his work resides in major public and private collections. He has had several one-man shows and participated in numerous gallery invitational and museum exhibitions throughout the country.
Selected Exhibitions: Annual Juried Exhibition, National Academy of Art, NY '74 and '76; American Watercolor Society, National Academy Gallery, NY '75; "Nine Colorado Oil Painters", Foothills Art Center, Golden CO, '82; National Academy of Western Art, Cowboy Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City OK, '86-'92; Western Visions, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY, '88-2011; Governors Invitational, CO '94-2002; American Art Invitational, Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK, '92-'94, '96-'98; Bradford Briton Museum, Big Horn, WY; Coors Western Art Exhibition, National Western Exhibition Center, Denver, CO '99-2012; From Sea To Shining Sea (with catalogue), Traveling Museum Exhibition, Haggin Museum, Stockton, CA 2004-2007; Variations On A Theme (with catalogue), Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, 2005; Painting the American West, University of Wyoming Museum (with catalogue), Laramie WY, 2005; Small Works Great Wonders, Cowboy Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City, OK 2006-2007;; Landscapes of Colorado, Mountains and Plains (with catalogue), Curated by Ann S. Daley, Denver, CO, 2007; Masterpieces Of Colorado, A Rich Legacy of Landscape Painting (with catalogue), Curated By Rose G. Fredrick, Traveling Museum Exhibition, Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO, 2007; Maynard Dixon Country Invitational Show, Mt. Carmel UT, 2005-2011; Prix de West Exhibition (with catalogue), Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City OK, 2010-2013.
Honors and Awards: Grand Award Pastel Journal International Exhibit, 2000; Artists Choice Award, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, Wyoming 1991 and 2000; Artists Choice Award, Buffalo Bill Historical Center and Museum, Cody, Wyoming 1998 and 2000; Elliot Award for Excellence in Landscape Art, Colorado Mountain Club, Golden, CO 2003; Signature Member Plein Air Painters of America, 2003; Featured Artist, Coors Western Art Exhibition, Denver CO, 2009; Award of Excellence, Western Rendezvous of Art, Helena MT, 2009; Artists Choice, Coors Western Art Exhibition, Denver CO, 2011.
Public and Private Collections: Chase Bank, Colorado Springs; Merrill Lynch, New York, NY; Solomon Smith Barney, WY; State of Wyoming; Sublette County Library, Pinedale WY; Senator and Mrs. Alan K. Simpson; Senator John Warner; Santa Fe Railroad permanent collection, Chicago IL.
Publications: 2013, Plein Air Magazine; 2009, American Artist; 2007, Art of the West, Southwest Art; 2006, "Landscapes of Colorado, Mountains and Plains"; 2005, Plein Air, Southwest Art; 2004, "From Sea to Shining Sea: A Reflection of America", Who's Who in American Art; 2003, "Enchanted Isle-A History Of Plein Air Painting On Santa Catalina Island"; 2001, Southwest Art; 2000, Pastel Journal; 1996, American Artist; 1994, Southwest Art; 1974, American Artist
