As dark clouds gather in the distance, colliding with the solid dusty plain, a buffalo herd stands among tattered sage brush. They resolutely await the storm. A fusion of earthy color swirls around them, blending into the parched landscape. Although the painting is silent, viewers can almost hear the thunder roar as it welcomes them to Joe Toledo's world.

Toledo, 80, is a watercolor purist, which means he doesn't use black or white in any of his paintings. "The reason I don't like to use white is because it becomes an opaque and you can hide your mistakes," he says. To him, mistakes are what make a painting great.

There are very few people who paint with a technique like his. "I have a way where I can just make it sparkle," says Toledo. With only nine pigments in his swath of colors, Toledo is constantly tearing down the boundaries of creativity.

Another thing that makes Toledo so unique is that he paints with rainwater. "...it's soft and the paints flow better than with hard water." It is this softness that makes his paintings sensuous. "I want to paint things that take you back, and the colors move you and are emotional. Some are quiet and say 'I'm the real thing.'"

It is obvious that wildlife is something Toledo is passionate about, and why he is able to bring the wild to life in his work. His broad subject matter ranges from buffalo, which he has a self-proclaimed spiritual connection with, to quail, war chiefs, feathers, horses and barns. His most famous paintings are his portrayals of wild horses tearing across the plains. "I raised horses when I was a kid that's why I like horses."

Toledo attended Southwestern College in Kansas. After Southwestern he joined the army where he spent two years drafting and working on topography maps. After leaving the army, he used the money from the GI bill to get his masters degree at the University of Northern Colorado. "When I was in college... I took [art] because I was interested in art, not to be an artist."

After receiving his Masters in art, Toledo became a High School art teacher, and didn't start going to art shows until after he retired from teaching. Toledo has won First Place in his division from Santa Fe Indian Market, a several Best of Shows from Red Earth, along with many other awards.

Joe Toledo's absorption with life and painting is as rich as the sun that pours down on the Southwestern Colorado landscape that is his home. It is what makes his works treasures in private and corporate collections in the United States, Canada, and Europe.