In the small town of Channelview, Texas, a young boy stands on scaffolding and reaches up to paint the white front tooth of a smiling woman who is 24 feet tall. It’s 1967, and Gary Lynn Roberts is working for his family’s sign painting business,...
HONORING THE PAST THROUGH VIBRANT COLOR Gallerists are typically adept at singing the praises of the artists they represent — it is, after all, their job. But rarely do they make such abundant use of superlatives as two recent curators did while discussing artist Echo Ukrainetz’s...
Charting her own course in the world of fine art Amber Blazina’s brush flies from palette to painting. Her mind is focused, but her body shakes with adrenaline. She’s participating in a quick-draw at the Out West Art Show in Great Falls, Montana, during Western Art...
Artist George Hill pursues his fascination with an underwater ecosystem Shortly after graduating from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he studied art and art history, George Hill sold all of his possessions and moved to Patagonia. “I wanted to travel the world, and...
The art of Joe Trakimas There was a time when American children played pretend games outdoors, involving things like sticks as weapons. But not Joe Trakimas. “I never played cowboys and Indians,” says the Montana-based artist, whose fascination with Native American culture is deep-rooted, earnest, and...
[caption id="attachment_12626" align="alignleft" width="182"] "Awakening Spirit" | Oil | 40 x 20 inches[/caption] In terms of career transitions, oil painter John C. Gawne has experienced perhaps one of the more drastic ones: from 20 years as an accountant and stockbroker in Chicago to a full-time, award-winning...
Every three years, artists from around the state are chosen to participate in the Montana Triennial, a curated art show representing Montana through painting, sculpture, ceramics, video, and photography. The Triennial first was organized and presented as a juried exhibition by the Missoula Art Museum...
Catherine Courtenaye’s paintings reveal the world through their smooth, sensual surfaces and the unexpected depth of her compositions. With years spent contemplating the unsaid voices of 19th century handwriting and the whispered histories of folk art, Courtenaye speaks to place, to nature, and to how...
We descended from the school bus onto the rugged dirt road along the border of the Kelly Ranch west of Bozeman, Montana. On this, the third night of Mountain Time Arts’ WaterWorks performances, the crowd was the largest yet. No one who showed up for...
With a minimum of brushstrokes, Montana artist Shirle Wempner twirls the light. Her paintings jump with color, intuitively hitting the right notes, at the right tempo. Her compositions, not crowded, not bare, stir the viewer to feel the movement. “I’ve always been drawn to the Impressionists,”...