Watercolor artist paints the world around him

On a recent morning, when artist Jack Dykstra looked out his studio window he knew immediately he was going to paint the scene he saw of fir and birch trees covered in snow.

“It’s what gets my creative juices flowing at the moment,” Dkystra says. “It all depends on what excites me and you have to be excited when you start a new painting.”

A watercolor artist who has been honing his craft for decades, Dykstra’s favorite subjects are landscapes, florals, the railroad and abstracts.

“I’ll jump around,” he says. “If I’ve been to Glacier, maybe I’ll do a succession on Glacier. If it’s summer then I’ll go out on the deck and paint florals.”

Dykstra earned degrees in commercial art before going on to work in commercial art and later finance. Now retired he is able to devote much more time to his art and his work is featured in several galleries.

“I never had a desire to be a full-time painter,” he said. “The artists who do have my respect because that takes great discipline.”

He recalls drawing at a young age, but he had many other interests growing up and he has been a lifelong model railroad buff. When he attended college in California, he discovered other avenues for art and earned degrees in commercial art with an advertising emphasis.

That foundation in formal art training, Dykstra says, carries into his work today. Whether he’s painting on location or in his studio, he brings to the creative process a foundation planning the composition, color, light and mood of a painting. He says about 90% of a painting has been thought out in his head even before he wets a brush.

“Watercolor is a demanding medium,” he said. “You have to think three to four moves ahead. You have to have thought through how you’re going to achieve your goal.”

Early on in his career, Dykstra worked as a commercial artist at North American Rockwell on Project Apollo, which succeeded in landing the first humans on the moon.

He then went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force. He ended up studying for his masters of business administration at the University of Montana when his wife got a teaching job in Missoula.

Later he worked in creative and account management at Wendt Advertising in Great Falls. Then he became a registered investment advisor with Dain Rauscher in Great Falls.

Some years he was able to paint more than others while working and raising a family, but no matter he kept his love of art. Sometimes that meant he and his wife taking their children to visit art galleries while on vacation.

“All the time I’ve been painting and having shows in galleries,” he said. “I’ve had a lifelong love of art. For me it’s about the pure creative job.”

Staying close to the art world, he has spent time volunteering with museums. He was the chair of the C.M. Auction of Original Western Art, former board member of the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art in Great Falls and has worked with the Hockaday Museum of Art. He also taught watercolor in community art centers.

Dykstra has also been affiliated with a number of notable artist and painter groups such as the Montana Painter’s Alliance and Montana Watercolor Society, as well as participating in juried venues, and exhibiting in galleries and museums all over the west and Montana.

This year he received signature member status from the Montana Watercolor Society as a result of having been juried into the MTWS Nation Watermedia event three times in four years.

“Being a signature member brings validity to your work because it means your work has been juried in by another artist at the national or international level,” he said.

Dykstra plans to keep hiking in Glacier, playing golf and painting upwards of 30 paintings per year though he says he’ll never paint every idea he has.

“You don’t want to see the same thing year after year from an artist,” he said. “It promotes self growth to try something different.”

Dykstra’s work is featured at Persimmon Gallery and the Bigfork Art & Cultural Center in Bigfork, Phillips Studio & Gallery in Kalispell and Whitefish Pottery and Stillwater Gallery in Whitefish.

For more information, visit www.jackdykstrafineart.com.