Gallery Nights fills Whitefish with talent
The Whitefish art community hosts an evening of featured artist exhibitions the first Thursday of the month.
The next Whitefish Gallery Night is Aug. 2. Events take place at 13 participating galleries from 6-9 p.m.
The participating galleries include: Dick Idol Signature Gallery, Frame of Reference Fine Art, Going To The Sun Gallery, Group B Galleries, McGough & Company, Nancy Cawdrey Studios & Gallery, Stephen Isley Jewelry, Stumptown Art Studio, Sunti World Art Gallery, The Purple Pomegranate, The Walking Man Frame Shop & Gallery, Underscore Art and Whitefish Pottery & Stillwater Gallery.
Gallery Nights occur through October. For more information, visit www.whitefishgallerynights.org or on Facebook at Whitefish Gallery Nights-First Thursdays.
A few of the galleries are presenting featured artist or exhibits on Thursday.
- The Purple Pomegranate is featuring work by White Sulfur Springs resident Annie Bailey during the month of August. Bailey is an illustration artist and photographer and grew up on her family’s working cattle ranch and learned to observe nature as a never-ending inspiration to her creative work. She came to love the Montana landscape from an early age, and to appreciate the changes of seasons that we experience here. Often the colors Annie uses in her work are taken directly from the landscape photos she takes while traveling the state full-time, and keeping a detailed log of the beautiful tones she sees in the different parts of Montana. The vividness of the Spring to the understated tones of Winter are all things that she learned to see and apply to her work.
Bailey is very passionate about the conservation of the land, and is an advocate for the preservation of Montana’s natural spaces. Her work is currently licensed by Better Homes and Gardens, the DIY Network and several television shows. About 10 years ago she began taking photographs to keep as references for her artwork, and has started selling her photographs as well as her fine art. She currently resides in Billings, working out of her studio in the downtown area.
The Purple Pomegranate, located in downtown Whitefish, features handcrafted artware from artists across the United States. For more information, visit www.purplepomegranate.com.
- Whitefish Pottery and Stillwater Gallery present “Range,” an exhibition of work by Whitefish Pottery’s current apprentice, ceramic artist, Maggie Fretz. Fretz’s work has a natural influence with soft hues, as she focuses on surface textures with mountain landscape’s and natural colors. Her pieces are made to be aesthetically pleasing and functional, and she creates mugs, bowls, and various pieces that can be used in daily life and able compliment any home.
This show will run through the end of August.
- Underscore Art hosts a reception for local Whitefish artist Shawna Moore, and to welcome artist Matt Flint to the gallery during gallery nights.
Moore is an established, professional painter and encaustic artist. She exhibits her work nationally in galleries and regional museums. Moore has spent the past 20 years developing and refining her artistic process and intention. Her art integrates elements of painting and drawing, and reflects both her education in architecture and fine art, and her inventive and experimental nature.
Flint s a painter from the mountain town of Lander, Wyoming. The images in his work come from the natural world — horses, birds, deer, all manner of plants, and landscapes.
Refreshments will be served and music provided by Dan Dubuque.
- Walking Man Gallery presents “Layers of Solitude,” featuring the works of Mark Baumbach and Doug Ersson-Hammerberg.
- Stumptown Art Studio is featuring the work of artist Alan Satterlee with an opening reception. He has put together a display of Whimsy, which includes two-dimensional and three-dimensional pieces in a variety of materials, far beyond his familiar drawings and paintings.
Satterlee started “doodling” in 2006 to relieve stress.
“Now art has turned into one of the most important influences in my life,” he says.
Initially he drew trees, which eventually became part of cityscapes, featuring buildings with tiny windows juxtaposed against nature. After being challenged by his son to try a new medium, Satterlee turned to acrylics to experiment, and over time his art got much more detailed. “Nature and plants have crept into the progression. Swirls came next,” he explains.
Satterlee’s training as a geologist and love for the outdoors have influenced his work, as did a trip to Africa. In 2013 he was chosen for an Artist-Wilderness-Connection residency and spent 17 days at Granite Cabin in the Great Bear Wilderness.
Alan continues to experiment with paper sculpture and other thee-dimensional work, and has created a line of fabric available on Spoonflower.com. He also embroiders and quilts his fabric to create rich textures using a technique called trapunto.
Stumptown Art Studio, a nonprofit community art center is located at 145 Central Avenue in Whitefish. For more details and information on any of the many art programs please call 406-862-5929 or visit www.stumptownartstudio.org.