Gary Niblett was born and raised
in Carlsbad, New Mexico, a part of the country where the American
West is not a myth, but a part of everyday life. It was there that
the local ranchers paid the high school student to paint portraits of
their horses. After graduation from high school, he moved to
California where he attended the Art Center College of Design. He
spent eight years with the Hanna-Barbera Studios as a background
artist, but continued to develop his own style. In 1973, Niblett left
commercial art to focus exclusively on Western art and, also,
returned to New Mexico where his work gained national recognition. In
1976, Niblett was invited to join the Cowboy Artists of America. In
1977, his first year exhibiting in the CAA Show, he won the Silver
Medal for Oil with his painting "Gold Fever". His winning streak
continued -- he won the Silver Medal for Water Solubles in 1982 and
1983, the Silver Medal for Oil in 1986 and the Gold Medal for Water
Solubles in 1991. The man from New Mexico was definitely home.
Niblett's work has been exhibited all over the world, including the
Grand Palais in France and the Amerika Hass in Berlin, Germany. He
has also exhibited his work in Moscow, Taiwan, Beijing and at the
prestigious Royal Watercolor Society in London. Niblett has been
featured in several television documentaries on Western art such as
the BBC's "The South Bank Show" in London, PBS's "The Enduring West",
and the Soviet-American production "Homeland". He has also appeared
on the "Merv Griffin Show", the "Today Show", and the Nashville
Network's "Country Notes". Several publications have featured
Niblett's work including International Fine Art Collector, Time
Magazine, Saturday Review, and he was honored as the 1990
"Distinguished Calendar Artist" in New Mexico Magazine. Niblett was
the subject of Mary Terrence McKay's biography entitled Gary Niblett:
A New Look at the Old West. His 40" x 60" oil painting, "A Stranger's
Welcome", has a prominent place in the third floor lobby of the New
Mexico Capitol Building in Santa Fe. Niblett works mostly in oil, but
says he is "comfortable using watercolor". His art demands that we
look into the reveries and still moments of the human spirit, where
the heart lives. Niblett's versatility demonstrates the human values
which are brought to bear in living, not only in the American West,
but in all of America and the world. In addition to being a CAA
member, Niblett is a charter member of the "Santa Fe Watercolor
Society".