Fine Western Art Collections
West Lives On Gallery

Born in1968, and residing in beautiful Spirit Lake, Idaho with his wife and children, Joe Kronenberg is a native of the Pacific Northwest. From a young age he has had a love of art. "Growing up I was constantly drawing. I took all the art classes I could fit in through my high school years. Upon graduating I started my first year in a commercial art program. My courses soon became somewhat tedious to me and I found for the first time in my life art was becoming a chore rather than a passion. So, I left art school before completing my first year. In hindsight of course I would have stayed in. Not only did that decision ultimately remove me from art for over twelve years while I pursued a career in sales, but it has taken me years of study on my own to gain and put to use a lot of the knowledge I would have acquired had I stayed. However, I can say the time I spent away from art has given me a drive and appreciation for it I never had before. I know now that I will never again be without art in my life."

"I got started in pastels when a saw a Lesley Harrison painting in a wildlife book. I was so blown away by her work I contacted her to see what I needed to get started. She was kind enough to answer my questions and I was off and running. For the next six years pastels were my main medium. I have however had a desire to paint large paintings and for that pastels were somewhat limiting. So, oils were the answer. I now love and work with both mediums."

Joe is self taught in pastels and oil, focusing his subject matter to wildlife and western art. "I tell people I am not so much self taught as I am self educated. I was born with the ability to draw, but as for the rest of it, color theory, values, edges, texture, composition and so on I had to acquire additional knowledge. I have been able to gain this knowledge from some of the artists I admire greatly over the years. I love the Old Dutch artists, the Flemish and Venetian styles. Anytime I think I am getting good I just open up a book and the old masters humble me and remind me how much room I have to grow. Whenever I come across an artist’s work I admire I tend to gather every bit of information I can about them and their techniques. By doing this I have taken bits of information here and there and compiled them into a style that works for me. I am always learning and still get excited when I see great art. Not only about the art but the approach the artist took to create it."