1. Studio detail

To forester Shayne Watkins, a bronze sculpture should look almost like it’s in motion.

“I want other people to touch the finished sculpture and experience the mass, texture or even motion that has been captured and trapped in time,” he said. “I also like the three-dimensional aspect that provides an infinite number of viewing angles and perspectives as the viewer walks around a sculpture, compounded by the ever-changing sources and values of light reflected upon the textured sculpture surface.”

Watkins characterizes most of his art as “authentic realism.”

“That is to say it is in the traditional style of Western and wildlife themes,” he said. “Generally, my art resonates with folks who can relate to the stories depicted in my art and who share my passions for history, nature and a rural lifestyle.”

Watkins had a career outside the artist’s studio. About three years ago, he retired from a 27-year commercial forestry career. He produces bronze sculptures, scratchboard and antler art. He is getting more commissions recently and would like to get more involved in public art, he said.

A current bronze project, “Mr. Appaloosa,” honors the late George Hatley, longtime Appaloosa Horse Club executive secretary and advocate of the breed known for its spotted coat and historical ties to the Nez Perce Tribe. He would have turned 100 last summer.

Watkins and his wife, Alane, who manages several aspects of the business, knew Hatley well and “thought this would be a great way to honor his legacy,” Watkins said.

The project, for which they are taking precast orders at a discount through March 1, also reflects their rural upbringing — his in the mountains south of Lewiston, Idaho, and hers in the state’s remote central region.

“My family history is peppered with carpenters, lumberjacks, blacksmiths, musicians, ranchers and farmers, mostly all in Idaho,” Watkins said. Growing up, “I gained an appreciation for the history of my family pioneers, Idaho and the American West in general.”

He completed and installed “Bengal Pride,” a bronze tiger 11 feet long on basalt columns at the entrance of the new Lewiston High School, in October 2023. He drew on earlier career experience — including in drafting and surveying — to manage the project, budgeted at $100,000. He has one-sixth-scale versions available as well as the half-life-sized model.

“I have been excited to see younger people take an interest in what I am doing,” Watkins said. “Being able to touch and experience a monumental bronze mascot sculpture evokes pride and a sense of community. I hope it also inspires artistic creativity and generates curiosity in the sculpture-making process.”

He took metal shop classes throughout his time as an LHS student.

Bronze casting came off the back burner in 2006 at the encouragement of his stepfather-in-law, the late Ralph Crawford, a local artist who “inspired me to work with wax and clay again,” he said.

Watkins, who uses a foundry in Enterprise, Ore., said one challenge involves finding galleries willing to take a new artist. “There are some great artists who have been doing this a long time,” he said.

Alane, who has managed ranches in central Oregon as well as her own businesses, encouraged his career transition from forestry.

“She was right. I could do it,” Watkins said.

Shayne Watkins

Age: 58

Title: Artist and owner, Shayne Watkins Art.

Home: Deary, Idaho.

Family: Wife, Alane, two adult sons.

Education: A.A.S., civil drafting, Lewis-Clark State College, 1986; B.S., forest resource management, University of Idaho, 1994.

Community involvement: Deary Planning & Zoning Committee chairman.

Hobbies: Music; fishing, hunting and other outdoor activities; garden, orchard and forest work; canning; reading; sightseeing.