Join us Thursday, August 4th, 6-9PM for our next Whitefish Gallery Nights evening featuring some new art by new local artists (to the shop!). Linocut prints by Tarek Penser, gauche works by Tessa Heck, plein air oils by Grace Isabell, abstract acrylics by Eileen Valazza & oils/acrylic by Gina Garlie. We are in the midst of the dog days of summer…..heat & fire, watermelon & wildflowers, dogs & sunbathing! Fine art, light refreshments & live music with Taven Edland! For more information, call 406-863-2787! Can’t wait to see you!!
Tarek Penser—-“I’m Tarek, an artist and printmaker based in Whitefish, Montana. I first moved here from Sweden to work as a guide in Glacier National Park. A lot of my time is spent moving through the beautiful outdoors of Northwest Montana. My pieces are detailed depictions from my adventures which help me slow down and focus on the nuances, not just walk past them. I am a self taught linocut artist and am continuously experimenting with the opportunities and boundaries of the medium through changes of technique, ink and paper. All of my prints are hand carved, hand printed and in some cases hand painted in small batches which makes each and every one unique.”
Tessa Heck—-Tessa received her MFA in Visual Studies from PNCA in Portland, OR. and holds a BFA in Painting from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA. She has show regionally at Museum of Contemporary Craft, Hap Gallery, Worksound International, Stumptown Art Studio, CEI Works, Disjecta, Wildfang, and Kalico Art Center among others. Her most recent project is co-founding the Arts & Culture Council of Kalispell, in her hometown.
Grace Isabell—-“My paintings are mythologies about the landscape. Each piece is a study of the stories and places that have shaped our sense of Americana. They are salt of the earth accounts of what happened in forgotten corners of the wilderness. My process mirrors the dichotomies I experience in nature: aggression with restraint, ruggedness with specificity. I build up surfaces slowly over time, rapidly cover them over, and dig back in to the earthen materials. Through this I mimic and impose both seasonal changes and the weathering process unto each piece.”
Eileen Corrigan Valazza—-Eileen grew up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, and attended the College of William and Mary in Virginia, where she received a BA in Studio Art and Government in 1996. She participated in group shows in Washington, DC and Virginia in the early 2000s. Eileen spent many years living in Seattle, and currently lives in Whitefish, Montana with her husband and two young children. “I began making art again in 2019 after a 15 year hiatus. My paintings are inspired by the natural world, filtered through the lens of my emotional experience of motherhood and world events. The results show joy and beauty, coupled with a sense of something reckless and unsustainable. I paint intuitively using acrylics, oil, wax, and ink.”
Gina Garlie-“I am a contemporary artist incorporating impressionist styles, whimsy, and spiritual wanderings. I live in NW Montana and often paint on site or begin with a drawing or photograph to finish back in my home studio using oil, acrylic, or mixed media. My paintings reflect my deep care and connection to the earth, as well as, inspire the viewer to pause and look deeply, feel the textures, and remember our connections to all things. Whether you are walking along a path, sitting deep in a forest, gazing over a meadow towards a mountain range far beyond, or stumbling upon an orchid hidden in the
undergrowth; you are invited to awaken your sense of wonder.”
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The Walking Man Frame Shop & Gallery 