Art gallery, event venue opens on Wisconsin Avenue

Artist Nancy Cawdrey and her family are creating a new style of art gallery and studio in Whitefish.

A space where young artists can find a mentor, a space where professional artists can show their work, a space where folks can watch an artist complete paintings and a space where special events can take place amongst beautiful art.

The Nancy Cawdrey Studio and Gallery recently opened in the former Whitefish Handcrafted Spirits building on Wisconsin Avenue.

Cawdrey, along with her husband Steve, moved her studio and gallery from Bigfork to Whitefish this fall. They are working with their son Morgan, who is an artist himself, to create a unique combined gallery and event venue under the name Cypress Yard.

Morgan came up with the idea when he attended a friend’s wedding held in an art gallery in Boulder, Colorado.

“I’ve learned it’s about relationships in life — that’s what’s responsible for happiness,” Morgan said. “We want to host events that run smoothly and efficiently and take the stress out of the process.”

Cypress Yard includes indoor and outdoor space and can accommodate up to 200 people. It’s available for a variety of events from board meetings to anniversary and wedding parties. Michael Cartwright of Cartwright Catering will operate the full commercial kitchen and the space also includes a bar.

Morgan points out that there are no cypress trees in the outdoor courtyard, but he says Italian cypress trees still inspired the name and they hope to plant some in the yard. When he was about 10 years old the family spent time in Italy.

“It’s about friends, family and food,” he said. “Those are the best times in life.”

Nancy and Steve Cawdrey became interested in the building when they were looking to downsize from their 11-acre property at Bigfork and move to Whitefish, where Morgan has been living. They discovered the building and decided to create the studio and event venue while leasing it from Tom LaChance.

Nancy continues to be busy creating new work by using the art form of painting on silk. She uses bright colors and patterns to create landscapes, wildlife and floral art amongst other subjects. She’s known for her Western artwork and she surmises that she’s likely the only artist painting Western scenes on silk.

Nancy is also known as the “quick-draw queen” for her ability to finish works in a short amount of time — just one or two hours — before they are auctioned off in fundraising events.

She is currently working on Forever Glacier, a project consisting of 20 large silk paintings and five additional pieces showing an assortment of mammals who live or have lived in Glacier National park. The concept is to create a traveling exhibit of paintings to get young people engaged in the park, Nancy notes.

“We want to get the paintings to hang in museums across the country,” Nancy said. “There’s an educational component to it — we want kids who don’t get the opportunity to come to Glacier to experience the paintings.”

About half the paintings have sponsors and the plan is that once the tour is complete the entire exhibit would come home to hang in a visitor center near Glacier.

Both Nancy and Morgan plan to continue teaching artists at the gallery. Nancy is teaching a silk painting class Oct. 6-8, and she is starting a weekly open studio session on Wednesdays from 1-6 p.m. where folks can come and observe her working.

Steve and Nancy previously ran a private boarding school in Thompson Falls. There, Nancy worked with artists, some of whom contact her years later saying they’re still creating art.

“I like to share with them the fun of silk painting,” she said. “It’s something that you can get a piece you like the first time.”

“I like seeing people light up when they get it,” she adds. “We all have creativity in us.”

Steve Cawdrey says they are happy to be in Whitefish and give back to the community that is home to many collectors of his wife’s work. He has a particular interest in mentoring young artist.

“We like nurturing young artists,” he said. “We like to find those with talent when you know they have a gift and mentor them — those that are really good, but undiscovered. To say, ‘here’s what they don’t teach you in art school.’”

Steve also looks to foster an appreciation for art, even from those who think they may not be able to afford a piece they enjoy. The gallery has a first-time art buyers program that provides a discount to buyers who also agree to talk about their experience on social media.

For more information about Cypress Yard, go to https://www.cypressyard.com or call 406-781-0550.

For more information about Nancy Cawdrey Studio and Gallery go to https://nancycawdrey.com or call 406-249-6222.