About the Artist

Artist's Statement

As my dad’s cowhand I grew up on our Texas working ranch that has now been in my family for one hundred fifty years.  Those cherished experiences along with raising my family, my grandchildren, & now my great grandchildren on our land have nurtured my passion for art giving me the subjects I love to paint.  Pride in the fact that our land has been recognized by the State of Texas as a Texas Land Heritage Ranch goes into each of my paintings.  Whether I am painting landscapes, Westerns, figurative pieces, or country garden scenes, they all derive from my love of the land, my strong feelings for my subject, and the way I was raised.  I am so blessed to have been raised by a tough Texas cowboy & a gentle, hard working mother, and I am so thankful for the talent God has given me and I hope to use it for His glory.  Art is my passion, and my desire is to capture the subjects I paint with the passion I feel for them while creating a mood through my use of color and design that the viewer shares.

Biography of June Dudley

June Dudley - short version

I hope to convey in my paintings my love for the land and subjects that I paint through my use of color, design, and the moods I create.  One of my collectors stated, “I have not seen anyone painting in the vivid and vibrant colors and detail you do, and at the same time being able to capture and convey such powerful moods.”  That pretty well sums up my goal in art.  Art is my passion, and I try to portray that on canvas.  Howard Terpning told me that I have a very sensitive sense of color, and that he could tell I had strong feelings about my subjects.  I strive to use those two things fully in my paintings while leaving the viewers the freedom to interpret them in their own way.

As her dad’s cowhand June grew up riding and working cattle on her family’s quintessential Texas working ranch that has been in her family for a hundred fifty years since 1871 and has been recognized by the state as a “Texas Century Ranch”.  She & her husband raised their family on this same ranch, a tradition carried on today.  This nurtures her passion for art giving her the subjects she loves to paint.  Her paintings depict a sensitive sense of color and the strong feelings she has for her subjects.  Her desire is to capture her subjects with the passion she feels for them while creating a mood that the viewers share, painting with her heart as much as with her brush.

She has received top honors in shows judged by Tony Alterman, Jack Morris, Oreland Joe, Alfredo Rodriguez, & Howard Terpning including the Jones Award, Gold & Silver Awards, Best of Shows, Award of Excellence, & Purchase Awards.  Her art is published by Somerset Fine Art and Leanin’ Tree greeting cards. This year she is in Round Up at the Museum of Western Art, Trappings of Texas at the Museum of Big Bend, Small Works, Great Wonders at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Hold Your Horses at the Phippen Museum, the Horse in Art at the American Quarter Horse Museum. The Bosque Art Classic, Montana Miniatures, and the American Plains Artists’ Show are shows she also participate in .  In addition to these she has been invited to be a part of First Strike Friday Night at the Charlie Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana for 2022.

June is an associate member of Women Artists of the West and American Women Artists, & a signature member of American Plains Artists. She was honored in 2022 by being invited to be the Juror of Awards for the 51^st National Women Artists of the West Exhibition & Sale at the Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, Texas.  She has judged many shows and is a lifetime member of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo having judged School Art as a steering judge for thirty years.

Long Version

I will start out by telling you a little about my personal life. I am a country girl, always have been and always will be. I just happen to be a country girl whose life revolves around art. Painting is all I have ever wanted to do for as long as I can remember even though life's roads sometimes lead me other places. One of the shows I was in had a Rick Jackson bronze in it which reminded me so much of my dad. I told him, "My dad is just a cowboy", and he said, "No, he is not JUST a cowboy!" That really hit home to me. What a great way to grow up, being the daughter of a cowboy and a homemaker. I spent many hours following my dad around our 4,000 acre ranch and not just as an onlooker either, but helping Daddy work cattle, build pens and fences, baling hay, clearing land, hunting, fishing, swimming, and just enjoying life. Those were the things I loved doing. Anything in the house I hated doing. The outdoors was my world, and it instilled in me a deep love of the land, which I am told comes through in my paintings. Being one of two girls my parents had, we were and still are both tomboys loving every minute of it.

I got married at an early age and my husband and I both attended college and received our degrees. He became a coach, and I became a teacher, putting my love of art on the back shelf to help earn a living and to raise our three children, Mark, Marsha, and Craig. Art was never put totally aside though because I always painted during the summer and any other time when I could. However, there wasn't much time for art raising three children, being a coach's wife, teaching, and being involved in church and all the other extracurricular activities involving our family. I taught several different subjects in middle school during my l8 year teaching career before quitting to pursue my lifelong dream to be an artist, but I primarily taught art and math. My school district participated in the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo School Art Program where I met the artist who was to be a major influence on my art. I had been searching for someone to study with who was really good in art. SOUTHWEST ART had done an article on Bob Wygant featuring him on their cover. I did not even know who he was, but I loved his paintings. I had read the article a number of times and underlined many things in it.. I looked him up in the Houston phone directory, but never had the nerve to call to see if I could study with him. I guess God had providentially planned for our paths to cross because Bob was one of the judges at our local Houston Livestock School Art show. He looked at some of my paintings and invited me to participate in one of his workshops. Actually, I think all he saw in those early paintings was desire and love of subject matter. That was the beginning of many hours of instruction and direction that eventually opened many doors for me.

After a few years of studying with Bob and eighteen years of teaching, my parents retired from ranching turning my half of the ranch and cattle over to my husband and me. My desire to become a full-fledged artist and having the ranch to fall back on enabled me to quit teaching and devote full time to my art. This was a dream come true for me. I believe God instilled this deep desire in me and has given me the talent to go along with it plus opening up doors along the way. My job is to do the best that I can to fulfill His purpose in me. I am often told that people can feel or see the presence of God in my work.. My husband, Richard, and I lived on the ranch, a mile off the county road, for 20 years. It is a beautiful setting with a lake behind the house and studio and wildlife, cattle, and horses around us. We no longer live there, but are there often as it is home to both of us.  Located in Central Texas halfway between Austin and Houston, it is a great country setting. I love it because my inspiration is all around me, and it is land I grew up on and that has been in my family for over l00 years. In fact, in Jan. 2000 my whole family went to Austin, the capitol of Texas, where the Heritage Land Foundation of Texas recognized us as a Texas Century Ranch because our land has been in our family for l00 years, and it is documented. I feel like I have a very rich heritage that has been handed down to me, one I hope I can pass on through my art.  Not only that, but I am now also a membere of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the Texas Republic, two very honorable organizations.

We have three grown children and eight grandchildren who have all been in my paintings. I have great models.  Our daughter, Marsha, and Eddie have three grown children, Chance, Braxton, and Kelsey. Marsha is a teacher and Eddie a game warden along with ranching. Our son, Mark, is a rancher and a commercial builder, and he and Deanie have three grown children, Megan, Drew, and Taylor. Our youngest son, Craig is a police officer/detective and rancher. He and Rachelle have two daughters, Madelyn and McKenna.. Rachelle and Deanie are both with Texas A&M.  Deanie is Assistant Dean for Finance & Administration in the College of Agriculture and Life Science and Rachelle is Chief of Staff in Graduate Studies.  I now have 14 great grandchildren, some of whom are already in paintings.  I am so blessed!!!

I have received numerous awards and honors that are all included on my resume. Some of the highlights are the Bosque Art Classic's Jones' Award, a $5000 fellowship I was awarded in l989 by Tony Altermann & Joyce Jones. The night the awards were presented will always be a major highlight in my art career because it was all I dreamed it could be and more. I vividly remember driving up to Clifton that evening with my husband and Bob Wygant, both of whom have always been there to encourage and support me. Bob asked what it would take to make me happy, and I responded that I wanted to win the fellowship and gold medals on my paintings. They both laughed. However, I did receive the first ever $5000 John Steven Jones Fellowship Award, three Best of Shows, the Judges Award for $500, and the Popular Choice Award. It was a night to be remembered!  Another highlight was in California at the San Dimas Festival of Art with the judge being Alfredo Rodriguez whose work I have admired for years.  I received the Gold Award in Acrylics, Best of Show, and the Purchase Award on my painting, "Wide, Open Spaces".

In 1995 ArtBeats, now known as New York Graphic Society, started printing my work. They have now printed 21 different images with Morning Stroll being no. l3 in their top 20 selling prints. It was also featured on the cover of their supplement the first time they ever printed my work which was "a first" I am told by them to put a first time artist with them on one of their catalogue covers.  I am now published exclusively by Somerset Fine Art and it is a very rewarding relationship. 

I am very passionate about my art. I love painting! I love my subject matter! I describe my paintings as poetic landscapes. My colors are somewhat impressionistic and my scenes are realistic so I describe my work as impressionistic realism. I receive innumerable comments on my use of color, lighting, subject matter, detail, and my figures. All of the figures in my paintings are either family or very close friends. I am often told that my paintings leave the viewers with a peaceful feeling. I believe that my feelings and love for what I paint shows in my paintings. I don't know how this passion flows through my brushes onto my canvases, but it does. Somehow my passion for art shows through my work. I have many people tell me they can see and feel it.  To God be the glory!

Howard Terpning had this to say about my work. He said that I had a very sensitive sense of color and he could tell I had strong feelings about my subject matter. In the July/August 1994 issue of ART OF THE WEST I was one of the artists who was selected for their "Artists' Preview". This is where they select several artists to watch and I was one of the lucky ones. The rest of the information about my art career is included in my resume.

Resume

Awards & Honors:

Art of the West Sept/Oct 2025 feature article:  Poetic Landscapes

Art of the West  Jan/Feb 2025  A Riding Tradition by Don Weller

Western Art Collector  June 2025  "The Western Way of Life"

2020 & 2023  Award of Excellence at American Plains Artists Shows

2019 Silver Medal Oils/Acrylics:  Bosque Art Classic

San Dimas Festival of Arts: Festival Choice Award, Best of Show, Gold Award in Acrylic/Watercolor Judge: Alfredo Rodriguez
Honorable Mention in 2005 North Light Book Club's cover competition.
"Best of the West Landscape Award - 2005"and Popular Choice Award 2006- Best of the West Show, Pinetop, Arizona
Scottsdale Artists' School's Strokes of Genius 93Judges: Ray Swanson and Ray Johnson of Overland Trail Gallery: Second Place in Water     Media
Bosque Art Classic:  Jones Award Winner. Popular Choice Award, 3 Best of Shows, Judges' High Merit Award
    Judge: Tony Altermann, Judges High Merit Award,(1989).
Cowboy Artists of America's Participants' Showcase-Selected by Howard Terpning at the Cowboy Artists of
    American Museum in Kerrville, Texas

Award of Merit: State of Texas: National League of American Penwomen (1989)
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame Show and Sale: Gold Award in Acrylics (1988)

Publications

    Somerset Fine Art
    Leanin' Tree

    SunsOut
    F.X. Schmid
    Cover of COUNTRY LIFESTYLE, Oct., 2007
    WESTERN ART COLLECTOR articles and advertisements
    Cover of LONGHORN DROVER MAGAZINE, April, 2003
    Cover of ROCKY MOUNTAIN RIDER MAGAZINE, June, 2005
    BITS N PIECES puzzle - Flowers for the Lady
    HASBRO'S Picture Perfect Puzzles
    NEW YORK GRAPHICS-ART BEATS-prints-24 images
    MARIAN HEATH Greeting Cards, Inc.
    ART OF THE WEST'S July/Aug 94 issue - Artists' Preview and advertisements
    SOUTHWEST ART Images Engagement Calendars 92 & 93
    ARTISTS OF TEXAS, Vol. II
    ART OF THE WEST'S GUIDEBOOK OF WESTERN ARTISTS 1996 & 2002
    SOUTHWEST ART 2001 TRAVEL GUIDE, Guidebook of Western Artists - 2002
    THE CANADIAN GROUP
    SOUTHWEST ART ADVERTISEMENTS

Shows and Exhibitions

    Cowgirl Up 2026

    Hold Your Horses, Prescott, Arizona @ Phippen Museum

    Small Works, Great Wonders, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma@National Cowboy Museum

    American Plains Artist Show, San Angelo, Texas @ Ft. Concho

    Bosque Art Classic, Clifton, Texas

    Pearce Museum:  several group shows including Artists of Texas & American Plains Artist, Corsicana, Texas

    Trappings of Texas, Big Bend Museum, Alpine, Texas

    Mountain Oyster Show, Tucson, Arizona

    Cheyenne Frontier Days' Western Art Show & Sale, Cheyenne, Wyoming
    Collector's Classic, 30 Years of Western Splendor, & Round-Up @ Museum of Western Art, Kerrville, Texas
    Peppertree Ranch Show, Santa Ynez, California
    Western Heritage, Houston, Texas
    Best of the West, Pinetop, Arizona
    Renaissance Sale, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
    Morris & Whiteside Gallery Shows, Houston, Texas & Hilton Head, South Carolina

    Greenhouse Gallery one person & group shows, San Antonio, Texas

    Texas Art Gallery shows, Dallas, Texas

    The Russell Auction, Great Falls, Montana
    Stampede Western Invitational, Greeley, Colorado
    Western Spirit Art Show, Cheyenne, Wyoming
    American Art Classic, Altermann Galleries & Morris & Whiteside Galleries, Houston, TX
    Round-Up On The Pecos-Carlsbad, NM
    Western Heritage Classic, Abilene, TX
    Cowboy Art Classic, Albuquerque State Fair
    Southwest Art In The Wine Country Calistoga, CA
    Southwest Classic Invitational, Kerrville, TX
    George Phippen Western Art Show Prescott, AZ
    SOUTHERN LIVING'S "Star of Texas Idea House" San Antonio, TX

    Participants Showcase, Cowboy Artists of America Museum, Kerrville, Texas - selected by Howard Terpning
    OPAS (Opera & Performing Arts Society) Texas A&M University
    Strokes of Genius Scottsdale Artists' School
    Amarillo Rotary Show, Amarillo, TX
    Nebraskaland Days Governor's Invitational Classic
    Texas Ranger Hall of Fame Show and Sale, Waco, TX
    One person show -  Romei Arts Center , College Station, TX
    One person show - Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX

    One person show - Texas A&M University
    Texas Art Gallery Auctions & Sales, Dallas, TX
    One person show - Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
    Jim Savage Centennial Memorial Art Show, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
    Alamo Kiwanis Show - San Antonio, TX
    Star of the Republic Museum - Washington-on-the-Brazos, TX

Art Education
    Influenced by and extensive guidance and direction from respected artist, Bob Wygant

    Major influences from Howard Terpning & James Robinson
    Additional Studies with Martin Grelle, Bruce Greene, Bill Kalwick, Howard Rogers, Tom Browning and Ray Vinella.

Art Organization Memberships
    Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo: School Art Program - Judge/Steering Committee (Lifetime member)
    Bosque Conservatory of Fine Art

Major Collectors
Burlington, Northern, & Santa Fe Railroad
San Dimas, California City Hall
Jones Gallery, Bosque Art Center
Texas A&M University
Longhorn Steakhouse
K-Bob's Steakhouse
Coca Cola
Joyce & Roland Jones
Laurel & Doug Baron
Shirley & Jim Jordan
Phillip Hood
Elizabeth & Ben Brown
Monty & Leslie Holcombe
Lois Briggs
Edd & Caroline Hayes
Drs. James & Maria Childs

Dr. WJ & Sara Hill

Don & Alice Brock

Australian Shepherd Club of America

Dr. Shannon & Nicholas Seckel

Ronald McDonald House, Phoenix, Arizona

Dr. Bob White

Dr. Monica Brown

Producer's Cooperative, Bryan, Texas