Meet 21 young artists with promising careers

In this month's Realism Today series we introduce you to 21 artists who are 31 years old or younger--an exciting survey of the next generation of western American artists. Talented and dedicated to their careers, these twenty- and thirty-somethings are beginning to make their mark in the art world, attracting the attention of galleries and collectors across the country. Judging by these examples, the future of western art looks bright.

Patrick Saunders
Kansas

Born: St. Louis, MO, 1970.

Art education: Bachelor of fine arts from the Kansas City Art Institute; workshops with Richard Schmid, Burton Silverman, Skip Lipke, and others.>

Style of work: Figurative and landscape.

First art sale: "In college I sold a piece to the Kemper family, a banking family in Kansas City."

First artwork: "As a kid I drew Star Wars action figures."

Second-choice career: Musician. "I play punk rock guitar and sing."

Favorite artist: Nicolai Fechin.

Favorite subject: Children, especially outdoors in the summertime.

Other passions: "I play a lot of guitar; I'm a self-taught Web designer; and my wife and I just bought an old farm house that we're restoring."

Fantasy trip: "To go back to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York."

Favorite studio music: "Really loud, fast punk rock. It stops you from thinking, and it's better not to think when you're painting."

Pet peeve: "People who aren't painting subject matter that they're emotionally attached to, because it really comes across."

Favorite artwork: John Singer Sargent's The Fountain: Villa Torlonia.

Best advice received: Paint what you know.

Creative spark: "The feeling, when a painting is done or halfway done, that I can't remember making the marks. It's exciting to see these things come together and not fully understand how it happens."

Next big goal: "To market myself on the Web."

Price range: $800-$10,000.

Galleries: Eva Reynolds Fine Arts, Kansas City, KS

2011 Patrick Saunders Fine Arts