Distinctly Montana Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.distinctlymontana.com/i/1027685
W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA NA . C O M 39 TELL US FIRST ABOUT THE INSPIRATION FOR THE KELLER COLLEC- TION. IT MAY SEEM OBVIOUS, BUT I SUSPECT THERE IS MORE TO IT. Like most people who love the mountains and the out- doors, I've always appreciated what I see when I'm out there. At 54, I've been "playing" outside my whole life, but I've also dealt with color since my early teens, first as a house painter, then as a paint supplier in Southwest Montana. e original inspiration goes back 20+ years when I thought it would be fun to do something with regional color. It remained an idea until a few years ago when I decided to conduct a study of Fall foliage's natural color in the Bridger Mountain range. After meeting Jim Foster, a horticulturist and naturalist, I shared with him what I had in mind. He said he'd love to assist me with identifying items in the casual collection. Jim was a wealth of knowledge, so I brought him in as a consultant. Not only was he invaluable in identifying the specimens, but with his vast knowledge, he also suggested areas I should go explore. As a result, we did multiple road trips in search of color, some areas familiar and others new to me. Jeff Keller JEFF KELLER has always loved the outdoors while work- ing over 40 years in the paint industry. Somewhere along the way, his two worlds collided and the Keller Collection was born. Jeff knew he wanted to assemble a collection of natural color that was representative of his surroundings. Jeff is the first to admit that he's not at all an expert on the natural world, but just another casual observer drawn to the undeniable beauty of the Rocky Mountains. When not fine-tuning the KELLER COLLECTION or running his Bozeman paint store, The Paint Factory, he can be found recreating in the mountains of Southwest Montana with his dog, Kodi. I N T E R V I E W W I T H C O L L E C T O R A N D C U R A T O R From left to right: Roper Green, Jim Foster, Jim Schumacher, and Jeff Keller. (Left) Sugar Bowl wildflower - Big Sky 30 of the 125 KC soil colors