Saw Craig Mitchell's Art at the Nevada Museum of Art? Here's Where to Buy It

If you spotted a landscape piece in the Bretzlaff Book Shop at the Nevada Museum of Art and later found yourself searching for the artist's name, there's a good chance you were looking at the work of Craig Mitchell. The good news: his current work is easy to find and buy directly from his studio.

Here's what you need to know, and where to find the full collection.

Who Is Craig Mitchell?

Craig Mitchell is a Reno-based landscape artist with close to four decades of experience painting Nevada, Lake Tahoe, and the surrounding Sierra Nevada. He studied advertising and design at the University of Nevada, Reno, graduating in 1986, before building a career in illustration and graphic design — work that included designing the University's Wolf Pack logo. He later turned his full focus to fine art, spending decades painting en plein air (outdoors, on location) across the region.

His work has been included in the Nevada Museum of Art's collection, appearing in exhibitions such as The Nevada Landscape (2004) and the Nevada Biennial (1994). More recently, he's shifted his primary medium toward hand-carved block printing, a technique he picked up again during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Where to Buy Craig Mitchell's Art

The best place to see and buy Craig's full range of current work is directly through his studio website (and you're already here!). New editions are released periodically, and buying direct means you're seeing everything he currently has available — not just what's on display at any one location. If you're in the Reno or Sparks area, local delivery and studio pickup are also available, which is worth knowing if you'd rather skip shipping.

What About the Nevada Museum of Art?

The Nevada Museum of Art carries a selection of Craig's block prints in the Bretzlaff Book Shop, located in the museum's new wing — it's a great place to see his work in person. It's worth knowing that the shop only carries a portion of what's currently available. For the most complete and up-to-date selection, his studio site is the best resource.

How the Prints Are Made

Each piece starts as a drawing, worked out through sketches made on location in Nevada or at Lake Tahoe. From there, Craig carves the design into linoleum blocks — one block per color, so a print with several colors means several separately carved blocks that all have to align precisely when printed in sequence. He inks each block by hand and presses it onto paper, one layer at a time, until the full image comes together.

Because every print is pulled by hand rather than run through a machine, small variations exist from one impression to the next within the same edition. That's part of what separates a handmade block print from a mechanical reproduction — no two are ever perfectly identical.

What to Know Before You Buy

A few things worth understanding if you're collecting for the first time:

• Editions are limited and numbered. Craig's editions typically range from 14 to 100 prints, with many closer to 48. Each print is signed and numbered by hand — you'll see a note like "12/48" written on the piece itself.
• Framing is museum-grade, with real craftsmanship behind it. Frames are handmade from maple, ebonized, and paired with acid-free mats, backing board, and sealing tape. Prints are made on 100% cotton paper, which resists foxing over time, using the most permanent pigments available. UV-protective glass isn't standard (most homes today have low-E windows that already filter out nearly all UVA) but it's available on request.
• Complex pieces take time. A multicolor print can take weeks or months from first sketch to finished edition, given the number of blocks involved.
  

Want First Look at New Releases?

Because editions are small and often sell out, the best way to catch new work before it's gone is to hear about it directly. Craig's studio newsletter announces new releases as they happen, so subscribers get first access rather than finding out after a piece has already sold out. You can sign up in the footer — just scroll to the bottom of this page.

FAQ

Is Craig Mitchell's work in the Nevada Museum of Art available to buy?

Yes — a selection of his block prints is carried in the museum's Bretzlaff Book Shop, in the new wing. The shop doesn't carry the full catalog, though, so his studio site is the best place to look for the complete, current selection.

Are the prints originals or reproductions?

They're originals. Each is an individual hand-pulled impression from a block Craig carved himself, not a giclée or mechanical reproduction of another artwork.

Does Craig Mitchell still paint, or does he only do block prints now?

His decades of plein air painting are foundational to the work, but his current studio focus is block printing, which he's built into a distinct practice since 2020.

Can I see more of his work before buying?

Yes — his website includes his available editions along with background on his process and inspiration from the Nevada and Lake Tahoe landscape.

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Want the full picture on block printing as an art form — including how editions are valued and how to care for a print over time? Read our complete guide to block prints.