Robert "Shoofly" Shufelt

Known for pencil drawings of western scenes, Robert "Shoofly" Shufelt was born in Illinois in 1935, and has called Arizona home since 1976.

Shufelt was early on inspired by his high school teacher De Witt Whistler. He earned a degree from the University of Illinois and worked for twenty years as an illustrator in Chicago, doing advertising and television story boards.

In 1976, Shufelt moved to Arizona with his wife Julie to live on her family ranch in Wickenburg. He took up cowboy activities and decided that was the subject matter for his fine art. Though he was urged by galleries and teachers to paint, Shufelt never gave up drawing as his medium of choice.

"I'm glad I found my nitch way back when, and can be counted among the living. In a nutshell, I hope I'm an unaffected type, except when experiencing the joy of my accomplishments. I push a simple medium, attempt to control my values, and am devoted to and respectful of the cowboys and animals that I draw."

Sources include:

Art-Talk, October 2004

Contemporary Western Artists by Peggy and Harold Samuels, 1982