It’s nice to see all these paintings drying on the wall in my studio. There’s no substitute for productivity, in my opinion. Experience tells me that one painting always leads to another painting, and that inspiration is a result of a rigorous art making practice.
If I were to offer advice to a young artist intent on making their mark in the art world, I would tell them, “Go to work, and keep working.”
For me, the magic only happens when I have a paint brush in hand!
Join me for a two day pastel workshop in Helena sponsored by The Art Center and the Montana Pastel Society. I’ll be demonstrating in soft pastel. Students may work in any medium they choose, but much of the information will be specific to pastel painting. I look forward to seeing you there!
Some of the things we’ll cover in the workshop:
The materials I use and why I prefer them
My approach to the use of color
How to use color theory to create dramatic color compositions
How I use non literal colors in making value studies
How I simplify the subject to create a highly abstract interpretation of the landscape
How to use fixatives without diminishing color intensity
Mounting and framing considerations
Workshop: January 8th & 9th 9 am – 4 pm Reception: January 7th 5-7 pm
“My primay goal is to create a work of art that resonates with the spirit of the place. All other considerations are secondary to this overriding purpose.”
Marshall Noice has been creating images of landscapes for nearly a half century. He works extensively in photography, oil painting and pastel painting. Noice also works in traditional printmaking methods including etching, collagraph, and monotype.
His art has been featured in dozens of magazine articles and is included is several books. In 2013 his paintings of the Tetons were chosen for the publication voted 2013 Art Book of the year by the National Booksellers Association, Art of The National Parks, Historic Connections, Contemporary Interpretations.
In 1993 Noice was honored with the Montana Governor’s Cultural Trust Award. In 1999 he received the Flathead Valley Cultural Achievement Award. In 2012 he received grants from The Montana Arts Council, and The National Endowment for The Arts. Noice serves on the Montana State University School of Art Advisory Council.
Noice’s art has been showcased in over 150 museum and gallery exhibitions. His work is shown in galleries across the country, and is in the collections of museums worldwide.
What a vivid memory this painting has for me. My wife Jackie, daughter Sarsten, and I were on the first leg of a drive from Kalispell to Santa Fe. We had just crossed the Little Blackfoot River south of Montana Highway 200, and right in the middle of the road, sitting in the morning sun was a black bear cub!
I’m heading to Santa Fe for the annual Canyon Road Paint Out! The event features dozens of artists working outdoors at galleries on Canyon Road. I’ll be at Ventana Fine Art, 400 Canyon Road, from 10:00 til 2:00 this Saturday, the 16th.
This is the excuse you’ve been waiting for to make that fall trip to New Mexico. Join us! Santa Fe is beautiful this time of year.
Stop by and say hello. Maybe we can walk up to Johnnie’s Cash Store and grab a tamale!
Last week I posted a snapshot of the colorful ginalla flame amur maple in our front yard. Here’s the painting bearing witness to it’s extraordinary fall color.
Fall is a beautiful time of year in Northwest Montana. The days are still warm and nights dip down near freezing. We’re enjoying splendid fall colors this year. Case in point, this Flame Amur Maple we planted in front of our home nearly 20 years ago. Where did the time go?
The aspens in the foreground were planted the very same day as I recall. Sometimes a painter simply has to cultivate his very own inspiration!
I wanted to show you a recent painting by our daughter Sarsten. “Pony Run” has an interesting visual pedigree. If you’re an art history buff you may recognize that the horses were inspired by the groundbreaking photographs by Eadweard Muybridge.
And if you screw up your eyes and use your imagination you may see remnants of one of my landscape paintings drifting through the horse imagery. I don’t give up on any of my paintings easily, continuing to work on them until they reach a point of resolution for me. But in this case I was happy to offer up one of my less than successful works for Sarsten to paint on top of!
I recently picked up a copy of the new book, Landscape Painting Now and I’m enjoying it a great deal. Especially the landscape paintings of my heroes Wayne Thiebaud, Eric Katz, and David Hockney.
The extensive compendium features 400 illustrations of recent paintings by 80 artists. An extensive essay by Barry Schwabsky, art critic for The Nation, adds interesting historic references.
The book is an ambitious survey which takes a global view of the subject and makes a case for the unprecedented viability of, well, landscape painting now!
When I moved to Montana in 1968 I was excited to be moving close to The Big Mountain. I thought Montana was all about skiing! I had no idea how important Glacier National Park and Flathead Lake would become to my then young life. When I did “discover” Glacier, I immediately made the decision to hike every mile of every trail in the park. It remains a goal I have yet to accomplish even though I do, from time to time, after 54 years living in the shadow of the park, still make tracks on previously untravelled ground.
Last Saturday we took a drive on The Going To The Sun Road. It was like visiting life long friends as we passed familiar vistas and rivers and ridge tops that I know like the back of my hand. Here’s one many of you will recognize.
Wild Goose Island, St. Mary’s Lake
Thanks to my friend Steve Potter for the fly rod caught sockeye we dined on while enjoying this iconic view!
There comes a time when I must make a clean break and a fresh start. About once a year I toss the piece of glass that functions as my palette and begin again. It’s rather cathartic. I always enjoy laying out new colors on an unsullied surface.