Going To The Sun Gallery Enthusiasticlly Presents, Artist Rob Akey

Rob Akey is our featured artist for gallery nights August 1, 2013.  Rob Akey, our hometown Whitefish Artist,  is a graduate of Minneapolis College of Art and design and former Creative Director for Tonka Toys.  Rob also teaches art at Flathead Community College and was voted 2008 Best Local Artist in the Flathead Valley!

Kurt Kramer - Hanging On: Portraits of an American Rodeo

Please join us for the opening reception of "Hanging On:  Portraits of an American Rodeo", featuring images taken at the Blue Moon Rodeo in Columbia Falls over the past few years by Chicago photographer, Kurt Kramer.  Fine art, refreshments & a little live music.  For more information, call 406-863-ARTS.  Thursday, August 1st, 6-9PM!!  

STUMPTOWN ART STUDIO - Presents artist Kim Waldman, exhibiting READY SET CROW

Stumptown Art Studio  is featuring the artwork of Kim Waldman beginning with an opening reception on Thursday, August 1 from 6-9 p.m.  Ready Set Crow will be on display until September 2.

Kim discovered a passion for painting in her mid-20’s, when she began to create self-portraits and vivid gouache painting of circus performers, musicians and dancers. “Then birds flew into my work,” she says. The artist loves all birds, but is especially drawn to crows, “their vulnerability, their beauty and their quiet intelligence.”

The self-taught artist refers to herself as a “folk expressionist.” Her colorful, whimsical paintings meld negative space, elaborate, finely detailed patterns and metaphor: “the concept of a path as a journey, trees symbolize being rooted to a sense of place, and birds are messengers from above.”



"Band of Crows", 14"x10" ink and gouache on paper by Kim Waldman



“Rhythm,” she adds, “is always afoot in my paintings.” She employed the musical score from The Beatles Good Day Sunshine in her painting "Band of Crows" to accentuate her subjects dancing and playing music on stage. Her work can also be seen at www.motherbirdart.com

Stumptown Art Studio is a non-profit community art center in the heart of Whitefish, Montana. It was founded in 1995 to offer art opportunities for all ages and art interests including: classes, workshops, art camps, art parties, a clay cooperative, pottery painting, glass fusing and mosaic-making in the Ceramics Annex, art gifts, retail art supplies and exhibits.

Exhibits hosted at Stumptown Art Studio feature guest artists, group displays, student works, new works and provide exhibit space for emerging artists. Each month during the Whitefish Gallery Night season from May through October, December and February the work of a different artist is on display.

Open hours to view exhibits and take part in the many other art offerings are: Monday-Friday,10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. After hours parties and birthday parties can also be arranged. Please stop by 145 Central Avenue in Whitefish, call (406)862-5929 or visit the web site at www.stumptownartstudio.org  for more information and continued updates.

Michael Chilcoat - Photography - The Purple Pomegranate

The Purple Pomegranate, a fine craft specialty store, is featuring work by Whitefish photographer Michael Chilcoat during the month of August. Mike bought his first film SLR camera in 1996 in an attempt capture some of the magnificent places after moving west in the early nineties. Mike's work has been published in various popular magazines including Town & Country, Outdoor Photography (UK), Departures Magazine and Travel and Leisure.

Mike currently resides in Whitefish to be close to the wild, natural outdoor spaces he loves. His favorite subjects to shoot are beautiful, interestingly lit landscapes to create large fine art prints, outdoor action for catalog and web, and wildlife in the great outdoors. Mike shoots with Canon equipment and does all his own printing.

Mike says " There is nothing quite like being in the moment, seeing an event in nature that will never happen in exactly the same way again. The goal of my photography is to show the simple beauty in these events, such as the rise of a trout, the first storms of Winter, or the peace in the stillness of a forest. I strive to capture the essence of these fleeting moments in vivid color and detail, but also enjoy the textures of light, shadow, symmetry and balance, in the simplicity of black and white. I can only hope the magnificence that surrounds us here in the mountains of the Western US shows through in my photography, and that the enjoyment of viewing it surpasses the enjoyment I've had creating it.

Meet Mike during Whitefish Gallery Night, Thursday, August 1, 2013 from 6-9 PM. Mike's work will be displayed during the opening and throughout the month of August.

Jane Latus Emmert - Paintings - The Purple Pomegranate

The Purple Pomegranate, a fine craft specialty store, is featuring work by Whitefish artist Jane Latus Emmert during the month of July. Jane Latus Emmert’s nickname is MontanaJane because she hikes, paints & fishes in the Montana wilderness.   She is a continual explorer, oil painting with brushes & palette knives in her studio or outside on-site early in the morning to capture the golden glow of the morning sky. 

 Emmert says, “When I paint, my heart sings.  Color, texture and the golden glow of morning light inspire me.  I hike; hunt, paint and fish in northwest Montana and my paintings reflect the freedom and openness in my life.   My friends call me MontanaJane and I think it fits because the woods, the water and the wilderness tantalize me with the feel of the wind, the smell of the pines and the play of sunlight and shadows.  Art is my voice and so, my paintings sing with joy.  Collectors say my art allows them to travel back in time to the days when life moved at a gentler pace in the Land of the Big Sky.”

As a workshop instructor, Emmert shares her knowledge with others around the United States and through her teaching videos.    You can frequently find her painting beside a waterfall or creek in Glacier National Park because she loves the freedom of the dancing water.  Emmert says, “When painting a river or stream, I frequently see fish rise in a feeding frenzy, so I’ll rapidly capture the scene before me and then get out my fly rod and catch a fish.  I don’t know if I’m an artist who fishes or a fly fisherwoman who paints!  I do know that color, texture, and the wilderness define who I am as an artist.^” 

Meet Jane during Whitefish Gallery Night, Friday, July 5, 2013 from 6-9 PM. Jane’s work will be displayed during the opening and throughout the month of July.

Fred Warf-Post Hillbilly Artist presenting "Calibration" at The Walking Man Frame Shop & Gallery

Please join us for fine art & refreshments on Friday, July 5th, 6-9PM.  We are featuring Whitefish artist, Fred Warf.  Post hillbilly art presented in the exhibit, "Calibration", featuring a variety of medium.  Fred grew up in Matewan, West Virginia on Blackberry Creek of the Tug River that separated West Virginia and Kentucky, the heart of coal mining country.  He is the middle child of eleven.  Fred is a late starting self-taught artist who sees art and creation as a true liberating process.  

"Capturing some of the images and people that swirl through my hillbilly brain is quite a challenge and lots of fun.  I hope that you can enjoy some of this RAW ART!" 
Fred Warf

Going To The Sun Gallery Proudly Presents, Artist, Laurie Stevens for July Gallery Nights!

Laurie Stevens,  Born in Billings, Montana, Laurie spent 12 years working in LA for the motion picture, and entertainment industries as a scenic artist and muralist. She has done theme park set design, and many private mural commissions.

Laurie especially enjoys painting pleine air landscapes in and of our beautiful state, and the interaction between animals or people and their environment. She finds herself increasingly attracted to the timeless stories of people living on the land and dealing with Mother Nature on a daily basis. Especially intriguing to her are the women's stories, and their life paths as they juggle the responsibilities and pleasures of their many and varied circumstance.

EVERYTHING AND THE KITCHEN SINK - Brooke Nelson at STUMPTOWN ART STUDIO July 5-29

 





The July feature exhibition by artist Brooke Nelson, Everything And The Kitchen Sink, is a combination of paintings and ceramics.

“My recent work is abstract and full of pattern,” Brooke explains, describing her paintings.  “I simply enjoy the formal elements of paint on canvas.  I want the viewer to enjoy the shapes and colors, and to experience a personal set of emotions from the piece. I use titles that aren't defining, because I prefer that people draw their own conclusions about what they're seeing and feeling.  I hope my paintings feel somewhat primal, maybe even childlike. My recent influences have been southwestern petroglyphs and Aboriginal paintings. There is nothing complex or "heady" about what I do. What you see is what you get.”                                                                                                                                       

Her ceramics are a colorful concoction of imagination and lightheartedness.  “My clay pieces are just silly,” Brooke says.  “I thought about all of the things we use our kitchen sinks for, and how fun it would be to represent that with sculpture. I love the fat roundness of the faucets, and I like people to wonder why certain objects are there.”              

Brooke recently retired after teaching art techniques in a great variety of mediums to young adults at Columbia Falls High School.  She says she now finds herself in a creating frenzy with her work constantly changing.  Her hope is that her art will never be static.  Everything And The Kitchen Sink is on display at Stumptown Art Studio  through July 29. 

Stumptown Art Studio is a non-profit community art center in the heart of Whitefish, Montana. It was founded in 1995 to offer art opportunities for all ages and art interests including: classes, workshops, art camps, art parties, a clay cooperative, pottery painting, glass fusing and mosaic-making in the Ceramics Annex, art gifts, retail art supplies and exhibits.

Exhibits hosted at Stumptown Art Studio feature guest artists, group displays, student works, new works and provide exhibit space for emerging artists. Each month during the Whitefish Gallery Night season from May through October, December and February the work of a different artist is on display.

Open hours to view exhibits and take part in the many other art offerings are: Monday-Friday,10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. After hours parties and birthday parties can also be arranged. Please stop by 145 Central Avenue in Whitefish, call (406)862-5929 or visit the web site at www.stumptownartstudio.org/ for more information and continued updates.