Artist's love of country makes him a Smith Mountain Lake favorite

Courtesy of Heather Hearts

Roanoke artist Greg Osterhaus demonstrates his oil-painting technique outside Bridgewater Plaza's The Little Gallery on Sunday.

HUONG FRALIN | Laker Weekly

Osterhaus, The Little Gallery's best-selling artist, is known for his rural landscapes and paintings of cows.

HUONG FRALIN | Laker Weekly

Greg Osterhaus is best known in this part of the state for his vibrantly colored landscapes, but as he's expanded to other galleries in other parts of the country, he's expanded his repertoire.

HUONG FRALIN | Laker Weekly

Co-owner Carol Swain (left) looks over the Greg Osterhaus exhibit with Susan Patitucci at The Little Gallery. His paintings will be featured at the gallery through Aug. 28.

Osterhaus in the house.

Maybe not in your house, but if you live at Smith Mountain Lake, chances are you've been in a house where a painting by Roanoke artist Greg Osterhaus hangs. Best-known for his oil paintings of cows, Osterhaus, 47, is the top-selling artist at Bridgewater Plaza's The Little Gallery.

Osterhaus enthusiasts have been known to stand in line for hours on the deck outside the gallery, baking in the summer sun for a chance to witness his annual demonstration of technique and ask the artist questions face-to-face. And while his exhibits always draw a crowd, Osterhaus said he isn't sure why SML residents seem to be among his biggest fans.

"I've been there almost 19 years, and I think a lot of it is the gallery connection" he said. "And it's convenient -- boaters can hop out of the boat and go to the plaza."

Carol Swain, co-owner with Kay King of The Little Gallery, took a chance on Osterhaus when he was starting out and relatively unknown.

"In the beginning, he was just another artist. We knew it was good work, but it just got hotter and hotter and he got better and better," she said. "Now, everybody wants an Osterhaus in their house."

Why cows?

Swain said Osterhaus's paintings have been the gallery's top sellers for the past seven or eight years. She has a good idea why.

"People just love his style. It's loose and flowy and the colors are magnificent. It just grabs you," said Swain.

Osterhaus's brightly colored bovines have turned into cash cows, representing about 50 percent of his sales. That's a major reason he's continued to paint them.

"It's not a real romantic story," he said of his cow predilection. "I've painted a lot of different things, but cows really took off in terms of sales so I started painting more of them.

"When I first started out of college, I was painting human beings and they were kind of moody character studies. I would win awards, but I wouldn't sell anything," Osterhaus explained.

As he became more familiar with other painters' styles, Osterhaus began to take notice of landscape artists' use of color and their subject matter. He began painting rural Virginia landscapes, which SML residents can't seem to get enough of, said Swain.

"Southwest Virginia is what he does, and it's what we love here. It's contemporary yet goes in any setting, " she said.

A painting Osterhaus sold for $8,000, the most anybody has ever paid for his work, was commissioned by a lake resident, who had him paint a view of the lake from his home.

Osterhaus, who has been a professional artist since 1985, sells about 100 paintings a year; Swain said he averages sales of around 25 to 30 pieces annually at The Little Gallery, although a couple of years ago, his sales reached 40.

His pieces range in price from $995 to $5,000 for a 48-by-60-inch piece. Most, he said, are in the $3,000 to $3,500 range.

Of course, it didn't start out that way. Osterhaus, a native of Schenectady, N.Y., who moved to Roanoke in his teens, has been painting for most of his life. He doesn't remember the first piece of art he sold, but, he said, it probably netted less that $100.

"In grade school, I used to make drawings and sell them for a dime," he recalled.

Style evolution

Osterhaus didn't grow up thinking he could make a living as an artist.

After graduating from Virginia Tech with a degree in fine art and a focus on graphic arts, he worked a number of different jobs, including one at an architectural firm, before pinning his livelihood on the palette.

Osterhaus said as he's become more successful, the commercial aspect of his work has taken a backseat to the emotional involvement.

"I'm not just about painting what will ring the cash register," he said. "The whole painting process is very rewarding."

His style, too, has evolved. Osterhaus said he's gone from being overly concerned with realism to a style that is more raw.

"I paint from my gut," he said. "I'm not a polished painter where I'll sit and work on something for months until it's perfect. What I'm trying to do can be accomplished in a finite period of time. It's now more about motion and less about technique."

It takes anywhere from five to 10 hours for Osterhaus to complete a painting, he said. At any given time, he has 20 or 30 works in progress.

The colors he uses are amplified and slightly offbeat; the paint, Osterhaus said, is as important as the subject.

"I try a lot of different color combinations; I have fun paying attention to what works and what doesn't as far as color is concerned."

Osterhaus's paintings are on display in about a dozen galleries, mostly in North Carolina and Virginia. He said he welcomes feedback on his work from both those who buy and sell his work.

"If I do [a painting] I really like, I can't wait to get it out to a gallery, because then I can start to get feedback. I want to know what I'm doing right or what I should do more of," he said.

One thing he's done more of in recent years is produce pottery. His daughter got him interested in it about five years ago. He said he's learned lessons about painting through pottery.

"I used to let something dry completely and didn't really take advantage of moving paint that's tacky or not quite dry," said Osterhaus. "All my refinements were a process of wet on dry. Now, I'm not a one-trick pony in that respect; I've learned how to manipulate wet paint better."

Osterhaus will not be giving up paint to work with clay; he doesn't sell his pieces but often gives them as gifts.

A gift is how Osterhaus views his talent. He said he is grateful to be able to earn a living and provide for his wife and three children by sharing his talent and doing something he loves.

"I try to remember that selling a painting -- it's a gift. I'm glad not to have to punch a clock or deal with politics."

Osterhaus said he will continue to paint cows as long as there is a market for them. He has no beef with being known as the guy who paints cows.

"It's OK with me," he said. "There are worse things to be known as."

For more information about Greg Osterhaus, visit www.osterhausart.com.