Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w. d i s t i n c t ly m o n ta n a . c o m 37 you arE a "natIvE Montanan" artISt. how do you thInK thIS IMPaCtS your aPProaCh to your art? Though a native-born Montanan I have left twice and returned twice. Both leavings created a certain separation anxiety — first as a child and sec- ondly as an adult with my own young family. It's true that "absence makes the heart grow fonder" and it's that deep appreciation of Montana's land- scape, history, and people that is at the core of my work. We (my wife, Kim, daughter, Josie, and I) returned in '93 and it was only then that my painting became a serious endeavor. 2015 IS hErE. what arE your PlanS for thE yEar and for your art worK. what would you lIKE to aCCoMPlISh? While I'm pleased with the path my work has taken technically and con- ceptually, I always have a hunger to expand, improve, and grow as a painter. I've begun to explore the figure in the landscape, i.e. The Boys of Summer, and of course there are always subjects of a contemporary social nature pre- senting themselves to me and they ultimately can't be ignored. Recently I've been gathering ideas, concepts, and imagery that I've mentally filed under the heading "Roadside Attractions" for a body of work that will materialize within the next year or two. whIlE you adMIrE CharlIE ruSSEll, you SEEM to rEgard thE PowEr of hIS landSCaPES aS MorE InSPIrIng than what you Call thE "dIStraCtIng thEatrE of hIS wEStErn SuBJECtS." how doES your aPProaCh to art dIffEr froM ruSSEll'S? I am in awe of the essential truth in Russell's depiction of the Montana landscape. I can smell the sage and the cold mountain air in his work. His gift was in the telling of stories, in a romantic way, of the West that had at his time recently passed. I differ in my approach in that I look for the romance in what I see in the landscape today. An old worn-out tractor, to me, tells the story of success and failure, toil and perseverance. It's representative of the story of life and death in the West unembellished. The Boys of summer Rob Akey, from Whitefish, grew up in the Montana mountains. He has worked steel gangs, trail crews, wheat harvests and has hiked most of Glacier National Park. After completing a degree in Art & Design at the Minneapolish College of Art, he worked for Tonka Toys before returning to Montana. He chooses subjects that have stories that need to be told. Rob paints his native Montana to elevate and preserve its magnificence. See more about his show "Observa- tion, Memory, and Invention: Western Art and Imagery Reconsidered" on his and our Web site. Rob Akey 839 8th St. E Whitefish, MT 59937 Rob@RobAkey.com (406) 862-7425 For a video of Rob's show "Observation, Memory, Invention" go to: www.distinctlymontana.com/akey151 DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL

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