Artist Statement
Art is the personality of one’s inner self. Without that understanding, one cannot create. My art reveals how I think, feel, see, understand and even experience life. The art process is a true awareness of one’s surroundings. Painting is a constant and spiritual development of problem solving. I find that I am protective of my art because it is personal to me. A good piece of art should become personal to the viewer.
I paint what I see. My passion is to visit new places and capture them in the paintings I do. I hope to convey what I have seen and felt to others so that the pieces become a treasure to the owner.
I wish you luck in finding your personal favorite.
Kimbal
About the Artist
Kimbal Warren grew up in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains near Salt Lake City, Utah. As a young boy, he discovered that he could draw most things better than his peers. And that he would rather draw than do about anything else.
He graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 1978. Some of his early odd jobs that helped support his young family and his painting included mechanic, window washer, truck driver, horse wrangler, hay hauler, tail twister, and furrier. Served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1971 to 1978. He has been a full-time freelance painter for over three decades. He is married to Gayle Christensen Warren. His studio and residence is in Mapleton, Utah at the base of Hobble Creek Canyon. They have one daughter (Jennifer & Eric Hansen) and four horses.
The horses have been a way for him to photograph and sketch areas that most do not see. He regularly packs his animals with a week’s worth of gear and grub and heads out for some of his favorite places to paint…the Wind River Mountain Range in Wyoming, the Uintah Mountain Range in Utah, or the many canyons in southern and eastern Utah. Kimbal is no stranger to adventure. (See Kimbal’s blog for his story on one such adventure) He has also been an avid hiker, climbing to the top of the Grand Teton in Wyoming, hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and many places in between.
Kimbal and his wife, Gayle, have had the opportunity to travel. Kimbal has painted and sketched throughout a whole lot of the world, but his favorite place to paint is the rocky mountain west.
Affiliations
Board of Trustees – Springville Art Museum – 2006 to 2017
Board of Acquisitions – Springville Art Museum – 2006 to 2017
Member – Plein Air Painters of Utah
Member – Oil Painters of America
Awards
2019 – Midway Plein Air Paradise Competition – Purchase Award and Third Place Award
2014 – Spring City Plein Air Competition – Merit Award
2013-2014 – ART Renewal Center – Honorable Mention – Landscapes
2013 – Plein Air Moab – Best of Show – Southwest Art Magazine Award
2013 – Plein Air Magazine – Best Of Plein Air Moab
2012 – Dixie/Sears Invitational, St. George, Utah – Honorable Mention
2012 – Plein Air Artists Competition – Spring City, Utah – First Place
2012 – Springville Museum of Art – Spiritual & Religious Art Competition – Merit Award
2011 – Dixie/Sears Invitational Show – St. George, Utah – Honorable Mention
2011 – Shenandoah Invitational Show – Southern Virgina – Honorable Mention in Oils
2008 – Utah Plein Air Art Festival – Award of Merit
2008 – Dixie College Art Show – Honorable Artist Award
2007 – Springville Museum of Art – Merit Awards
2007 – Dixie College Art Show – 2nd Place
2006 – Springville Museum of Art – Purchase Award
2003 – Dixie College Art Show – 3rd Place
2002 – Dixie College Art Show – Viewer’s Choice
1998 – Rocky Mountain Art Invitational – Award of Excellence
1994 – Dixie College Invitational Show – Best of Show Purchase Awards
1995 – Dixie College Invitational Show – People’s Choice Award
1991 – Dixie College Invitational Show – Best of Show Purchase Award
1988 – Texas Cowboy Artists – Best of Show and L.M. Leedy/Resistol Award
1986 – Rocky Mountain Western Artists Association – Best of Show
1979 – Look Out Mountain Art Show – Denver, Colorado – Best of Show
LDS Church Museum of Art and History International Show – 2 Purchase awards
Additional Show Participation
Zion Bank Invitational Show – Salt Lake City, UT
Mountain Oyster Show, Tucson, AZ
Springville Museum of Art April Salon – Springville, Utah
Charlie Russell Show – Great Falls, Montana
F. Weixler Company Group Show – Salt Lake City, Utah
Texas Cowboy Artists – El Paso, Texas
Amarillo Rotary Club Show – Amarillo, Texas
Miniature Art Show Sponsored by T. Boone Pickens – Amarillo, Texas
Days of 47 Western Heritage Art Show
Guest Artist – Ranchero Ride – Solvang, California
Publications
Magazine Articles: Featured Artist:
Art of the West
Focus Santa Fe
The Santa Fean
Books
The Willie Martin Handcart Story
Painters of Utah’s Canyons and Deserts
Utah Painters & Sculptors
Painters of the Wasatch Mountains
Artists of Utah
Plein Air Magazine
Other
Salt Lake Tribune, Daily Herald, Springville Herald
Painting Instruction
Springville Art Museum
Provo City
Midway Art Association
Mapleton Community Center
Utah Art Guild
Women’s Arts Council
Group Painting Workshops
Plein Air Workshops
Private Instruction
Private and Corporate Collectors
Dixie College
Zions Bank
Brigham Young University
Springville Museum of Art
County of Utah
State of Utah
Deseret News
LDS Church
Robert Garff
Sandia Federal Bank
Huntsman Chemical
Franklin Institute
Senator Orrin Hatch
T. Boone Pickens
Executives from the Bank of Montreal
Senator Bob Bennett
Earl Holding, Little America Hotel chain
Qwest Communications
Corporate Awards/Gifts
Kimbal’s paintings have been presented to many honorees for corporate and retirement awards. Contact us if you are interested in commissioning Kimbal for a special gift.
Art of the West Magazine describes Kimbal Warren as… “A hardworking artist possessed of an informed will that provides him with deep insight into his subject. Warren is much a part of the actual experience of the landscapes he inhibits, always interested in expanding his horizons.”
Focus Sante Fe Magazine describes Warren’s work as…”lyric celebrations of the land, combining a Realist’s exacting form and design, a master colorist’s eye, and a romantic’s sensibility. His signature landscapes are dynamic images, where form subtly pushes the eye throughout the canvas.”
Vern Swansen, Director of the Springville Museum of Art, says about Kimbal’s work… “Kimbal is a true naturalist. Nature is too great for most of us, we need interpreters to focus our eyes and fix our gaze. By condensing nature to the flat rectangular canvas, an artist can take a bit of landscape and give us all of nature. Kimbal Warren balances what he sees and what he knows, into paintings of power and grace. Somehow I understand nature a little better after standing before his paintings. As his art matures, he’ll bring new insights and those who have an eye to beauty will understand.”