Marshall Noice

September 7, 2021

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.

Thanks to my friend Steve Potter for the fly rod caught sockeye we dined on while enjoying this iconic view!

Let’s keep in touch,

Marshall

August 31, 2021

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.

Out with the old. In with the new!

Let’s keep in touch,

Marshall

August 24, 2021

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!

Let’s keep in touch,

Marshall

“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.”

August 17, 2021

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!

“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

Let’s keep in touch,

Marshall Noice

August 12, 2021

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.

Here’s to all our competitors! Without you it would have just been another sailboat ride!

Let’s keep in touch,

Marshall

August 4, 2021

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.

And the very simple question is, what would the landscape look like if those greenish tree trunks were red?

Let’s keep in touch,

Marshall

July 27, 2021

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.

Especially when the temperatures are in the 90s!

Let’s keep in touch,

Marshall

July 20, 2021

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 to Ventana 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?

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!

Let’s keep in touch,

Marshall Noice

July 13, 2021

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

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.

Join us!

Let’s keep in touch,

Marshall

June 29, 2021

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.

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.

Let’s keep in touch,

Marshall