Robert Shufelt
Robert Shufelt
Artist
For nine generations my family has farmed and run cattle in the Golden State, so when it came time to create my own wine I wanted to pay tribute to my family’s long-standing industry on the label. Friend and noted Western Cowboy Hall of Fame Artist, Robert Shufelt, was a perfect fit as I have collected his artwork for many years and have always appreciated how he tells the story of the American Cowboy through the humblest medium: the graphite pencil.
My family is made up of blue collar people – we weren’t into art. But there is a story to how I came to collect Robert Shufelt’s drawings. When I was in high school and I had just received my license I was looking for a Christmas present for my parents and I walked into a small art gallery in Los Olivos. At the time, we didn’t have more than a couple pieces of any artwork on the walls but I stumbled upon a series of simple pencil drawings of Robert Shufelt’s that depicted what our life looked like. I decided on a large framed card. My parents loved it as it resonated with the way he captured our life. We wound up buying more and more artwork from him. Back then you could deal with him direct and we got to know him well. We have known each other for many years now and he is naturally a perfect fit for my label. The piece on the Native9 label is a Christmas card he sketched for our family and sent to us a few years back. I love it because it is so simple. The fact that there are two horses in the drawing leaning on each other speaks to me that nothing happens on your own, it always takes someone there to help you.
Robert Shufelt currently lives in New Mexico and I don’t believe he owns a telephone however you can find more of his vignettes at http://www.studio-w.com/shoofly/index.htm or you can make arrangements to tour my house as I have practically turned my home into a Shoofly print museum.
My family is made up of blue collar people – we weren’t into art. But there is a story to how I came to collect Robert Shufelt’s drawings. When I was in high school and I had just received my license I was looking for a Christmas present for my parents and I walked into a small art gallery in Los Olivos. At the time, we didn’t have more than a couple pieces of any artwork on the walls but I stumbled upon a series of simple pencil drawings of Robert Shufelt’s that depicted what our life looked like. I decided on a large framed card. My parents loved it as it resonated with the way he captured our life. We wound up buying more and more artwork from him. Back then you could deal with him direct and we got to know him well. We have known each other for many years now and he is naturally a perfect fit for my label. The piece on the Native9 label is a Christmas card he sketched for our family and sent to us a few years back. I love it because it is so simple. The fact that there are two horses in the drawing leaning on each other speaks to me that nothing happens on your own, it always takes someone there to help you.
Robert Shufelt currently lives in New Mexico and I don’t believe he owns a telephone however you can find more of his vignettes at http://www.studio-w.com/shoofly/index.htm or you can make arrangements to tour my house as I have practically turned my home into a Shoofly print museum.