Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 1 48 YOUR PAINTINGS ARE AT ONCE MESMERIZING AND CAPTIVATING. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT HOW YOUR PROCESS AND STYLE HAVE EVOLVED? In 2003 when we began going on horse packing trips into the Bob Marshall Wilderness, and later on, our wildlife watching excursions in Yellowstone, I would bring a journal and sketch and photograph to memorialize the trips. From my sketches and photos, I started creating digital paintings and pieces in traditional media, mainly pencil and watercolor. For the digi- tal paintings, from the default brushes included in Photoshop, Painter, and most recently Procreate, I have customized in each a primary brush that has the thick, thin, and taper of pen and ink, to use with opaque colors. Photoshop is my go-to for sizing and composition from my photos, laying in background colors and very basic shapes, and final file formatting, while Painter and Procreate are where I paint. In between those, I do watercol- ors from direct observation or will overlay watercolor on a pencil drawing. All the photographs I use are ones I've taken. MONTANA PLAYS A STARRING ROLE IN MANY OF YOUR PAINTINGS. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT HOW MONTANA HAS INFLUENCED AND INSPIRED YOUR WORK? We live on Downing mountain in the Bitterroots, just down from the "H" outside Hamilton. Some of the first digital paintings I made were of the views from our downstairs office window in different seasons and light. Our house faces east, so there are not too many sunrises or colors on the Sapphires that don't pro- vide inspiration for a watercolor. We were fortunate for several years to go on annual trips into "The Bob" with Karen and Jack Hooker, and on our first trip, Jack "officiated" at our wedding on THE FINE ART OF BENDING & BLENDING REALITY Office View Fall Alpenglow

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