Shelby Swenson grew up in Yuma, Arizona, close to the border between Mexico and California. It wasn’t the most scenic place to live, she said.
“I didn’t think it was very pretty,” Swenson said. “I was kind of like, ‘It’s kind of ugly, kind of gross and it’s not green.'”
But that landscape, red dirt and all, has become the subject of her most recent work. Swenson is painting an exhibit, "Back to Arizona", for the Covey Arts Center inspired by her love for wide Western landscapes and the feeling of nostalgia.
“Every painting has some sort of connection to either the western kind of vibe or directly to my hometown,” Swenson said.
One painting in the exhibition depicts Monument Valley against a bubble gum pink sky. Textured clouds created by a palette knife bring depth to the desert.
Another painting shows a boy on a horse. This boy, Swenson said, is her grandfather, affectionately known as "Papa."
“His name was James. We called him Papa … and so I named the painting Jimmy Hugh after him,” Swenson said.
The journey to this exhibition has been a long time in the making. Swenson has been making art for as long as she can remember.
“My dad would be sitting in the front yard, and I would bring him a paper and a Sharpie,” Swenson said. “He would just draw a shape … and then I would go color it.”
Right: A photo of Park riding a horse as a child. Swenson said when she was a child, Park lived half of the year in Idaho and the other half in her home town of Yuma, Arizona. (Photo courtesy of Shelby Swenson)
Swenson later went on to study art at BYU-Idaho and completed her degree at Utah Valley University. But it was only after a sudden job loss that she started pursuing art professionally. Swenson said she looks back on this time with a sense of immense gratitude.
“Since I was forced to make this pivot, I’m almost grateful that it happened because I don’t know if I would have put this much energy into this direction,” Swenson said.
Now, she’s off sharing not only her art, but her life story with the world.
“It’s been really cathartic for me,” Swenson said. “I have a lot of emotions, so it’s been really cool to put them into paintings.”
Alayna Thomas, Swenson’s college roommate and close friend, described "Back to Arizona" as some of Swenson’s most intimate work.
“This last project and probably some of the art highlights Arizona or family members, things she really cares about,” Thomas said. “I feel like people resonate with that.”
She added that viewers don’t have to be Arizona natives to understand the feelings Swenson is portraying on wooden palettes.
“In the tones that she’s using, the colors she’s attempting to use and the styling, she’s trying to create a nostalgic feeling that I don’t think is particular to a location,” Thomas said.
Swenson invites people to come view her paintings, feel nostalgia and discover the American West in a new way.
"Back to Arizona" will be on display from Sept. 4 through Nov. 4 in the Covey Arts Center. More information about Swenson’s art is available on her website.