Sold Archive

Wesley Swanigan lives a twenty-minute bike ride from the American River in Carmichael, California. He bikes to the River as often as weather permits, taking photos and studying the landscape so he can portray it in art. The riparian belt along the lower American River is his constant inspiration to bring the outdoors indoors. In fact, he won the blue ribbon for his first- place painting in the 2021 Art Exhibit and Action by Effie Yeaw Nature center. Wesley grew up in the California Central Valley. Some of his earliest memories are of being a small child playing along the banks of the San Joaquin River while his father worked nearby. His residence near the American River now should be seen as no accident. 

His art career started when his mother gave him a pencil and paper to draw in order to keep him still in church. He took art class all four years of high school where he won the senior award for art. Although he did do some painting, there wasn’t much time for art until a few years ago. Now he paints daily. He is a member of the Sacramento Fine Arts Society and the Northern California Arts, Inc.

I relate to the Post-Impressionists, Pierre Bonnard, Paul Gaugin, Childe Hassam. They wanted to go beyond impressionism. I like the Impressionists but want to spend more time exploring reality because it can be fascinating.