Being one of the renown contemporary artists of the American West, Paul Kethley continually works from life to produce plein-air paintings that serve as a study to later assist him in producing a larger painting in the studio. At this stage Paul may incorporate into the art work an American Indian on a Paint Horse in a southwest setting, a cowboy with pack mule in the Rocky Mountains or a fly-fisherman angling trout on a Colorado mountain stream.
"I like to depict man interacting with the environment—campfires, cowboys, Native Americans, wildlife, and fishermen. I want to get viewers involved in the interaction with the people, to tell a story. But I also give them the freedom to finish the story."