Southwest American Bullet Residency
SWAB is an exploratory painting residency founded in 2018. The residency takes studio artists on a journey that is focused on outdoor exploration and building connections with fellow artists and art institutions along the way. SWAB is set up as a plein air painting adventure and residents are encouraged to make landscape paintings but can interact with their experiences how they see fit throughout the course of the residency. SWAB provides artists an opportunity to travel and explore the American landscape with the hope that it helps advance artist’s studio practices.
SWAB, Southwest American Bullet, was created by Johnny DeFeo and Aaron Zulpo and named for a beloved and infinitely crushable American classic- Coors Light, the (un)official beer of adventure painters everywhere. With that spirit in mind, DeFeo and Zulpo set out in October 2018 on a fantastic adventure in the style of great American adventure painters like Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt, and Frederic Church. Driving in DeFeo’s box truck outfitted with a loft for sleeping and plenty of art storage, they traveled through the Southwest from Denver, through New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah and back to Colorado. The trip took them through majestic sites such as White Sands, Joshua Tree National Park, and Zion National Park.
Please click the links to learn more about SWAB and take a look at a sampling of paintings from the residency.
