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.
I recently had the pleasure of visiting Limnal Lacrimosa, Kalispell’s new free public art installation. Rainwater falls melodiously into salt fired lachrymatory vessels inside the old Kalispell Malting and Brewing Company building. It’s an amazing multi-sensory experience and I’m already looking forward to the next time!
You can schedule an appointment to visit the installation here. Enjoy!
“Limnal Lacrimosa celebrates the richness of the valley, from the glaciers and lakes to the cultural histories of art and ceramics. Sited in the original home of the Kalispell Malting and Brewing Company, it also celebrates the important legacies of breweries in Kalispell.
To build the exhibition, American artist Mary Mattingly has been collecting snow melt and rainwater, some that has dripped through holes in the building’s roof. Cycling water through tubing just below the ceiling, she can evoke the feeling of rain inside the building to create a meditative space. The drips are caught in lachrymatory vessels while the sounds of the droplets hitting the containers echo throughout the space. Eventually the vessels fill, water spills onto the floor and the cycle repeats itself.”
The very literal title of this new painting, “28 on 145,” may well seem ambiguous, or at least a bit curious. And I will confess that titling a work can be somewhat challenging for me. I think that can be the case for many painters. My longtime friend, and fellow artist, Phyllis Kapp, keeps an anthology of song lyrics close at hand to inspire her romantic titles!
Marshall Noice | 28 on 145 | Oil on Canvas | 38×52″
“28 on 145” is simply 28 aspen trees along Colorado Highway 145, south of Telluride. Not especially poetic, but highly descriptive!
“Should have tried to do some more, 25 or 6 to 4” ~ Robert Lamm
We had an exhilarating and, I’m happy to announce, victorious three days of sailing this past weekend.
Thirty three boats came to race in the 44th Annual Montana Cup Regatta on beautiful Flathead Lake. We had conditions that challenged even the most race hardened sailors. Gusts over 40 miles per hour, swells four feet in height, seemingly endless changes in wind direction, and cold rain that just would not quit, made for races that, truly, only the strong survived. I’m so proud to say my intrepid crew was equal to the daunting task! When all the fun ended on Sunday afternoon our boat Valkyrie was the winner! The victory made sweeter because of the boat handling and tactical challenges we’d faced.
Our Frers 33, Valkyrie, sailing in a rare moment of reasonable conditions
Here’s to all our competitors! Without you it would have just been another sailboat ride!
Sometimes, it seems to me, that painting a better picture is about asking a better question. In this case I was attracted to a young stand of aspen against a sunny hillside.
Three kids, Nicholas, Christina, and Sarsten, two kayaks and one paddle board, two dogs, Sula and Sam, equal one fun filled adventure on Flathead Lake. When you live near the shores of the largest fresh water lake in the west AND when it is the cleanest body of water of that size on the planet, the gravitational pull can be irresistible.
Santa Fe was extra fun this trip because our daughter Sarsten flew in from her home in LA to join me. We had beautiful accommodations (thanks toVentana Fine Art,) visited world class galleries, reconnected with old friends, and, needless to say, ate great red AND great green chile! I’m already looking forward to heading back in mid October! Who wants to join us?
Sarsten Noice in Santa Fe, July 2021
If you haven’t been to Santa Fe, make the trip. Get a room close to the Plaza or Canyon Road and forget about a car. You can walk everywhere. Except Meow Wolf. And you will want to call an Uber and see Meow Wolf!
I just got back from a few days in Santa Fe with our daughter Sarsten. It was a red chile kind of long weekend. And, after tireless research, we’ve reconfirmed that the best red chile in town comes from the kitchen of The Shed, a long time favorite haunt of ours. AND, if the best red chile in the world comes from Santa Fe, and if the best red chile in Santa Fe comes from The Shed. Well, you can see where this train of thought is going
A Glimpse Into Ventana
My exhibition at Ventana Fine Art looks stunning, if I do say so myself! It’s alway gratifying to see my work beautifully hung on the walls of a great gallery.
If you’re not able to get to Santa Fe to see the show, tune in to ventanafineart.com on Thursday, July 15th for a virtual guided tour. Wolfgang Mabry and I will be taking a look at the paintings and chatting about the work.
Here’s a new look to my landscape painting! This piece started out in a very different direction. As the painting progressed it seemed to need an unusual (for me) approach to bring it to a point where it resonated with a sense of place. The place being the view from a house Jackie and I rented years ago, just north of Santa Fe.
Marshall Noice | Del Norte | Oil on Canvas | 60×48″ | 10,300.
At the end of the day I believe art should please the eye. It sounds simple. And it could be the “newness” of this painting that I’m so attracted to, but I will say, it pleases MY eye immensely.
This painting is about as close to a monochromatic color scheme as I get! I thought I’d try using warm and cool blues over a warm toned underpainting. Admittedly, some of the warm blues snuck pretty close to alizarin crimson. I like it!
Marshall Noice | Blue Roses, Adobe | Oil on Canvas | 30×30″ | 4,400.
Crating this baby and sending it off to find its new life at Ventana Fine Art in Santa Fe.
My exhibit at Ventana opens on July 8th. I’ll be there for the reception on July 9th. Join us!