Ed Holmes Gallery
Ed Holmes Bio
Raised in a Navy family, Ed Holmes saw much of the world
during his youth. His senior year in high school was spent with his cousin
in New York. Ed’s cousin was a successful illustrator and wanted to encourage
his interest in art by exposing Ed to the great art works in Manhattan’s museums
and galleries. This led to Ed’s later studies in Utah where his love of western
art was born.
A highly successful
and award winning commercial illustrator for many years, Ed Holmes finally put his
energies into his first love, western art.
Holmes inspiration
for painting the plains Indians, Apaches, and mountain men harkens back to the idyllic
time that he spent pursuing his formal studies as a young man at Brigham Young University
in Utah. Holmes was exposed to such notables as Grant Speed, Ed Fraughton,
Veloy Eaton, and Gary Knapp. Upon leaving his studies, Holmes concentrated
on commercial illustration for his growing family. However, the lingering
memory of the mountain west and its grandeur left an indelible impression and a
thirst that one day had to be filled.
Holmes work has been
featured in such notable publications as: Southwest Art, Cowboys & Indians and
Art Life. Ed’s western paintings can be found in private and corporate collections
throughout the US, Canada, and portions of Europe.
Today Ed’s time is
divided between Western Artists of America, as being one of the founders, and his
devotion to painting in his Scottsdale studio. Ed uses live models (Native
Americans) and draws his inspiration from subjects in Arizona, Wyoming and Montana
on his many photo reference and research trips each year. Ed’s work is exhibited
in fine art galleries across the west.