Creatively titled “Medicine Man” (yes, I was tired at that point!) this painting depicts the Apache Medicine Man, known by his adorned hide cap. It is interesting how similar customs and traditions vary according to tribe and region of the country, or the world for that matter.

Settlers West American Miniature Show is Saturday, February 11th, and it promises to be a great event! The Reception begins at 5:30 and the Drawing is at 7:00. This painting hangs with my other there, “Vantage Point”. If you’ll be in the Tucson area, don’t miss the show!

Many nights we wake up to the sound of the coyotes howling in the field near the house – or sometimes much closer than that, just outside the backyard fence. The dogs go racing out the dog door to the safety of the backyard, but absolutely showing them who’s boss. I have respect for the coyote as he is a survivor and very ingenious when he’s hungry. This painting is 10 x 12 and will be in the Settlers West “American Miniature Show” in Tucson on February 11th. The show is really great. Don’t miss it!

For our 100 Mile Radius Show, I chose to do this painting of an old motel sign on the Montana high line. This is quintessential Montana of the 1950 – 1960′s. There are still quite a few funky old signs of this era scattered across the Montana countryside, probably not because anyone had the foresight to see what great pop cultural art they might become over time, but because nothing ever changed enough in the area to warrant putting up a new sign. You have to love that about Montana!

Galata is a tiny town with a current population of 67, give or take. Sadly for these old towns, the younger generation moves away, leaving just a few of the die hard older generation to hold down the fort. I thought the sign, and the focus on a town like Galata was important for my view on this 100 mile radius – a snapshot of Montana from my perspective.

“Motel Galata” is an oil, 48 x 36.

For the 100 Mile Radius Show, we decided that we would all do a piece about Great Falls, as it was the epicenter of our radius. Most of the pieces were interpretive. Mine of course was pretty literal, and hales back to my scenic artist days and huge motion picture and theme park backdrops. YIKES. To me, Great Falls is about the confluence – a meeting place, and about the river. “Before the Falls” is an oil, 48″ x 36″.

Boy, have I forgotten about my blog. It has been a busy 3 or 4 months! I neglected to post the invitation for our 100 Mile Radius Show at Paris Gibson Square! The show opened in August, and now will hang a few more weeks. As Fran Carlson so aptly put it, “The inspiration for this show lies in the High Plains of central Montana that these artists call home.  Though their styles and media are diverse, they share a strong love for this place.  They all wrestle with the complex responses engendered by a place that can be heart achingly beautiful and tediously difficult all on the same day.  This show explores the variety and commonality of their artistic responses.” If you haven’t seen the show, we’d  love it if you would!

On another note, I attended “The Artists’ Ride” in South Dakota in August. It was absolutely incredible – so many models, animals, wagons – period costume and sets – fantastic for the western artist! More about that later… I hate to say too much, I want to keep it for myself! I do have a whole new cache of research photos, which is everything!

I just received word that this painting won the People’s Choice Award at the Clymer Museum of Art Exhibit and Auction, May 20 & 21. Of course I was thrilled! “She Loves Their Stories” is an oil, 24″ x 24″.

In many cultures, the willful Magpie is seen as a messenger, a harbinger, a being that can travel between the dark and the light, the good and the bad. The wily magpie is also seen as one that stands in the doorway of new realms, bringing word of other events and places. This wise woman is thrilled by a visit from her magpie friends, enjoying the stories they have to tell of their forays into other worlds and realms. They bring good news.

Her dress speaks of a past raid on another tribe and the procurement of new horses for the People. This particular dress does exist and is on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. It is attributed to be Sihasapa Lakota (Blackfoot Sioux) circa 1890.

I have wrestled some with whether I have “the right” to paint Native Americans, much as I love the subject. The interplay of historical subject, sacred story, beautiful design and artistic treatment of clothing and everyday things are too much to resist as an artist. But – I am thinking that I may try to tell those stories in a way that may give me a little more ownership of the subject. This painting is the first of those. I believe there had to have been some some positive encounters between the Native American and the white man during the terrible years of the early reservation period. This is my version of one of those presumed encounters. “Like Kind” is an oil, 30″ x 30″.

A friend of mine who lives on the Cheyenne Reservation told me a beautiful story about lying in the field near the Rosebud River watching the clouds roll by. He was so still that a magpie came and sat on his knee!

Magpies are one of my favorite birds, and in the Native American cultures they are seen as beings that can travel between the dark and the light. They also are known to be the bearers of news from other events and places. While I didn’t recreate my friend’s story exactly here, it is my own version of that great story. This piece is 18 x 12, and will be in my showroom – 176 at the Western Masters Art Show & Sale beginning tomorrow in Great Falls, MT. at the Heritage Inn.

I’ve found it interesting that when on paint outs with other artist friends, men tend to paint the cars in a street setting into their paintings, while women often leave them out, myself included. Still, as an artist I find I am drawn to the rusty old hulks of vehicular history. The first painting I am showing you here is a new one – “Going Nowhere Fast”. It is 14 x 18, and will be among those I will be showing at the Western Masters Art Show, March 16-19 in Great Falls, MT. I love the combination of the vehicle that implies (or once implied) movement, and the tree that says, “No there won’t be any of that!”

I had done a similar painting a year or so ago, the second one shown here. It is called “Opportunitree” and was inspired by an actual car and tree combo I spotted when driving through the countryside. That painting was chosen as one of the Top 100 in the Paint America Top 100 Competition for the year 2009.

I do have a lot of fun painting these old vehicles! I have a couple more in mind, both involving old trucks I have come across. I had hoped to get then done for this show, but don’t think it’s going to happen as I’m out of time!

Going Nowhere Fast 14 x 18

Opportunitree 16 x 20

I’ve been painting madly for the upcoming Western Masters Art Show, previously the C.M. Russell Art Show at the Heritage Inn in Great Falls, MT. The show begins on Wednesday, March 16th, not far enough away! I have a piece in the The Russell Wall Sale, and share display room 176 at the WMAS Show with Sheila Rieman, a great pastel and oil painter.

I have many pieces in the works, but not many are really finished. I’ll show you this one. It’s another lily pad piece, one of my favorite subjects. I like the fact that much of the painting is in shadow, and the dappled light finds just a section of this lily pad garden. I’m not sure of the title yet. This is an oil, 16×16.