A passion for wild creatures and the places they inhabit is reflected in the paintings of Ryan Skidmore. Whether it is wildlife, sporting scenes or pure landscape, Ryan tries to create a connection between himself, the viewer and the things he loves. Using a painterly style, he concentrates more on the effects of light and the essence of a scene than superfluous detail. Ryan has participated in many shows including the Celebration of Arts Modern Masters Show at the Grand Canyon, Southeastern Wildlife Expo in Charleston, South Carolina, the C.M. Russell art auction in Great Falls, Montana and NatureWorks in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he was awarded a best of show, 2-D in 2003, best of show overall in 2004, and best of show 2-D again in 2005. Ryan was a top 100 finalist at the 2004 and 2005 Arts for the Parks competition in Jackson, Wyoming, where he received the 2004 wildlife award of merit and Grand Canyon purchase award as well as the 2005 Stephen L. Aschenbrenner award. He was honored to have a painting included in the 2002 Artists for a New Century show in Bennington, Vermont. Ryan’s work has been featured in several leading art magazines including Wildlife Art Magazine, Southwest Art and Art of the West.