"Bell Rock" by Wolfgang Lehnhardt

Newly married and now the director of the Navarro Gallery in Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village, Wolfgang has temporarily hung up his chef’s hat and apron in favor of his watercolors and pastels.

Immersing himself in art once again, he says, “I still cook on my days off. I love food and I love art—I’m glad they’re not mutually exclusive!”

Wolfgang cooks for fun, now.

Wolfgang’s father, Rudi Otto Max Lehnhardt, was an artist in his own right, passing the ‘art gene’ and his love of beauty on to his son. Wolfgang recalls drawing and painting various subjects as a child, in particular animals and church doors, windows, and architecture. He also remembers helping his mother, an excellent cook, prepare meals for their large family—the beginning of his passion for food preparation and presentation.

At 10 years of age, Wolfgang and his family emigrated from Germany to America, setting down roots in Austin, Texas.

Wolfgang was also an avid reader, studying everything from geology to astronomy to photography, eschewing sports and other teenage preoccupations for spelunking and mountain climbing.

At 15, Wolfgang and two adventurous friends drove to Colorado to go mountain climbing in the Rockies.  His interest in rocks and their history and formation later steered him to earn a degree in geology from the University of Texas. His initial visit to Colorado and his climbing experience there made such an impression on Wolfgang that he eventually moved to Colorado and lived amongst the mountains. He befriended others passionate about mountaineering and is still close with them today—some 40 years later. Wolfgang explains these friendships: “When you climb, you have to trust your partners as though your very life depends on it, because at some point, it might. That trust creates a very deep bond that survives time and distance.”

Mt. McKinley

Those expeditions into the Rockies ignited a passion that eventually led to two excursions to the top of Alaska’s 20,000-foot Mount McKinley, the tallest peak in the northern hemisphere.

Although he spent as much time as possible outdoors, hiking, camping, and climbing, Wolfgang’s interest in art never wavered and in the late 1980’s he attended the Fechin Institute in Taos, New Mexico. He studied with Ray Vinella, famous for his oil paintings of landscapes and still lifes. It was there that Wolfgang developed his technique with watercolors and pastels, enabling him to communicate his love for the Southwest with paint and canvas. Intrigued with the rock formations and geology of Utah, he often camped in Monument Valley, painting its beauty, wide open vistas, and palpable serenity.

Older, wiser, and looking toward a not-too-distant future that includes food and a retirement spent immersed in his art, Wolfgang plans to eventually paint full time. Currently enjoying the position of gallery director, he is also adamant about taking time to paint. Although the rock formations of Utah’s Monument Valley and other areas of the Southwest are forever etched into his heart and soul, he now also paints the remarkably unique rock formations of Sedona and Arizona’s lower desert panoramas.

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