PHANTOM CANYON RANCH
ART COLLECTION
Painting by Jim Biggers (detail)
In the mid-1980s, Phantom Canyon Ranch Co. engaged the services of artists James Biggers, Jack Schrage, Mary White and Mark Woolbright to document the natural beauty of the ranch.
About Jim Biggers
James Biggers is a widely well known oil painter from Estes Park. He received his BFA from Central State University of Oklahoma and later studied with the renowned painter Richard Schmidt. Jim’s work has been shown and collected for more than 30 years. Visitors to the annual Governor’s Invitational Show will recognize his work as having been selected for this prestigious show for many years running. These beautifully rendered oil paintings display a subtly heightened color sensitivity that is a special attribute of much of Jim’s work.
About Jack Schrage (1933 - 2005)
Jack Schrage, now retired, was a staff photographer for Deere & Company in Moline, Illinois, for 32 years where he became senior color lab technician. He also taught photography at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. After moving to Fort Collins, he was a color technician for local photo labs. His artistic photography has been shown numerous times over the years throughout the Midwest and at the University of Arizona, the Fort Collins Museum and Loveland Museum. These archivally mounted original color prints exhibit the highest standards of photographic and darkroom skills.
About Mary B. White
Mary White has a MFA in Glass and Painting from California College of the Arts. From 1985-2005, she was head of the San Jose State University Glass Program and taught in the School of Art and Design and the Creative Arts Department at San Jose State University. Mary’s work is in many collections, including the Corning Glass Museum. She enjoys a worldwide reputation as one of the foremost figures in the glass arts.
These multi-media “reverse glass” paintings have handmade and painted frames that are part of the artwork. Reverse glass, or Verre Églomisé, is a technique dating to the middle ages where the image, traditionally gold leaf and paint, is applied to the glass, then the glass is reversed so that the image is protected by the glass. This technique was popular until the early 20th Century when it died out until being revived by some glass artists including Mary in the 1980s.
About Mark Woolbright
Mark Woolbright has a BFA from Colorado State University. A nationally recognized printmaker with a studio in San Francisco. These intaglio prints are original copper plate etchings, each produced by hand in a limited edition of 20 prints. These exquisitely detailed prints are executed in a manner that is stylized but which leaves the scenes instantly recognizable.
