Pastel Journal - USA (2019-08)

And he wasn’t the only one. “Everyone was so gracious and giving

of their time,” Whitcomb says. “People introduced me to dealers and

collectors and invited me to openings.” And soon, he was showing

his figurative work in a new gallery in Denver. “I was the rookie;

I was raw,” he says. But the gallery started selling his work, and

he was off to the races. “I thought, ‘Wow! This is the way it works;

you put your paintings in a gallery, and they sell,’ ” he says. Then,

in 1974, the economy crashed. “I couldn’t give a painting away,”

Whitcomb recalls. “It was a rude awakening. I realized it takes a lot

more to be a professional artist than I thought.”

ONTHETRAIL

Oneday,duringa figurepaintingsession,Jacobsaid,outofthe

blue,“Youknow,Skipper,youneedtogetoutsideanddosome

landscapepainting.”Whitcombscoffedattheidea.Hequipped

thatlandscapeswereeasy,thattherewasnothingtothem.With

RIGHT

Morning Lightshow

(24x24)

BELOW

Fish Creek Gold

(25x21)

28 Pastel Journal AUGUST 2019