As a youngster in his native Holland, Bob Scheelings liked to roam the dunes near his home on the western shores of the country. The abundant aviary wildlife present became his object of study. Especially drawn to the crow family and birds of prey, he put his observations to task as a taxidermist.
During his early twenties, this mainly self-taught artist moved to the United States to perfect yet another passion: the art of horse training. He now found himself in a totally different environment, the deserts of the Southwest. He quickly became smitten with his harsh and diverse surroundings.
Bob worked as ranch manager for a horse training establishment for many years and eventually had his own training stable. He successfully trained and showed reining and cutting horses in the U.S. and Europe. Next to working with the horses, he would supplement his income with commissioned horse portraits that adorn the walls of a number of prominent horse folks.
After a brief return to The Netherlands, he now resides in Skull Valley, Arizona, where he paints and sculpts his desert surroundings and the creatures it inhabits. Bob Scheelings’ works are characterized by an extreme sense of realism. No detail goes unnoticed. His experience as a horseman and as a taxidermist shows through when it comes to conformation and anatomy. He truly captures the spirit of his subjects.
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