Cloyd Barnes’ Arkansas childhood offered the solitude so important to the artist. Numerous contented hours were spent with various woods and a sharp pocket knife. His first serious sculptures however, were created after graduation from Tulsa University in 1968 with a B.S. degree in Physics. At that time, he moved to southern New Mexico were he developed an increased interest Western History and wildlife and a desire to recreate it in art. In 1977 the transition was made from wood to wax and clay. His first bronze was cast in 1977, the precursor to a continuous flow of limited editions.

Cloyd moved to Denver in 1986 and took early retirement from Martin Marietta Denver Aerospace after a long career in management/engineering, including employment with General Dynamics and Dynalectron Corporation. The move to Denver provided access to workshop studies with the other artists including Sandy Scott, Gerald Balciar, and Daniel Ostermiller, and several years with the Art Students League of Denver. It also afforded close proximity to some of the best art casting foundries in the country. Cloyd continues to pursue sculpting full time from his studio in Colorado.

His wildlife and Western sculptures have won numerous awards including a sculpture of a cougar, “Take Five”, which won the Helen G. Oehler Memorial award from the American Artist’s Professional League in NYC. It was also shown at the annual juried exhibition of the Audubon Artists and the National Academy of Design in NYC. His elk sculpture, “Wilderness Echoes”, earned the VIU/ Grumbacher Gold Medallion Achievement Award in NYC.

Barnes sculptures range from desktop size to monumental. His latest monumental works include a seven foot high running buffalo which stands at the clubhouse entrance of Buffalo Run Golf Course, Adams County, CO. In June 1999 the “Prospector”, a nine foot high gold miner and pack burro was dedicated in Colorado Springs, CO at the entrance to Old Colorado City.

Barnes sculpture sales at auction have supported North American Elk and Bighorn Sheep habitat efforts; and Public Broadcasting on TV Channel 6 Rocky Mountain PBS. He shows his work at the annual Southeastern Wildlife Show in Charleston, SC and the Pacific Rim Wildlife Show in Seattle, WA. Mr. Barnes is also represented by the Knox Galleries in Beaver Creek and Denver, CO, Harbor Springs, MI and Naples, FL.