Looking at the Legacy of Beloved Panhandle Artist Kenneth Wyatt

News broke yesterday about the passing of Dr. Kenneth Wyatt, the beloved artist whose paintings have touched the hearts of individuals all over the world. The news was confirmed on social media by Kenneth Wyatt Galleries.

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If you aren't familiar with the name Kenneth Wyatt, you may be familiar with his work. He created beautiful images of everything from western landscapes to portraits of Jesus.

After a friend of mine sent a link of the news to me, I decided to work at familiarizing myself with his work. I'll tell you what inspired me to start digging into Wyatt and his art: The overwhelming outpouring of love from those whose life had been touched by his art.

The first thing that stood out to me was the little details. As I sat looking at his paintings, I found myself finding new things to focus on the longer I spent time with the piece. A single tear drop, or the folds in a shirt. All of them looking as if the creator of the piece gently and lovingly took the time to get the craft right.

He was also celebrated for being as gifted with words as he was with paint. His books were mostly religious in nature. They covered the apostles, Christ, and one that combined the religious imagery with the western imagery in Christ and the Cowboy. He also had a book about Santa Fe, and one about cowboys.

The Kenneth Wyatt Galleries website states that he had painted over 8,000 paintings. Those paintings are in offices, museums, and homes. They're part of the collections of everyone from farmers to queens.

His religious works hang in churches in over 90 countries.

Speaking with a friend earlier today about Kenneth, they said that he was someone they knew and that he was as good a person as they come. "He was just as good a man as he was an artist; do you know how rare that is in the art world?" is what this friend told me. And going by what I've learned of Kenneth Wyatt, I believe her.

Rest high on that mountain, sir.