Go outside.
This isn’t bad advice, and we could probably figure it out, without any public service promotional announcements, that nature is a place of healing.
It is calm, quiet and peaceful – three prompts for reflection and reflection. For art painters, going out is a way to capture the moment. So when people see the artwork, even if they are stuck in an office on a rainy day, they can escape to a place worth seeing.
“I paint original Impressionist landscapes with emotion,” says LR Montgomery, an oil painter from Spokane who enjoys the outdoors and working in the studio.
“My landscapes show the hidden secrets of our forests, ponds, tributaries, rivers, rocks and open spaces. They express the joy of being outside, ”he said.
Montgomery’s personal philosophy is to create uplifting images that generate a sense of well-being and reflect the beauty of God’s creation.
He also wishes to draw attention to the fragility and durability of natural environments. If we pave forests and build high-rise corporate buildings on the prairies, we are wasting precious resources that we can never recover.
Thus, Montgomery actively seeks and finds preserved natural places. His happiest painting moments, he says, are those spent outdoors, regardless of the weather.
“I can be found painting outdoors in millions of natural spaces in the Northwest. I’m the Artist in Residence for Dishman Hills Conservancy, so I paint there often. Most recently I have painted the Palouse, Lake Chatcolet, the Spokane River, the Little Spokane River, the hills west of Corvallis, Oregon, and wherever grapes grow.
It’s not just when he’s behind the easel that Montgomery enjoys the outdoors. He spends a lot of time hiking, canoeing, and kayaking in the Pacific Northwest, and these experiences ultimately end up in painting on canvas or panel.
“My art reflects the joy of outdoor adventures. Additionally, collectors and organizations often ask me to paint the areas they like or represent. I accept a very limited number of orders per year, ”said Montgomery.
Montgomery collectors include individuals, businesses, environmental groups, museums, and educational institutions in the United States, Europe, Russia, China, Mexico, Africa, and Japan.
In the Pacific Northwest, her work is in the collections of Kaiser Permanente, Spokane Eye Clinic, Pacific Lutheran University, Washington State University, City of Spokane, Loyola Marymount University, Shriners Children’s Hospital, Providence Medical Center, and the Northwest Museum. of Arts & Culture.
“Art is a happy business. People collect it because it brings joy, improves life or reflects personal experiences, ”said Montgomery, adding that some families have collected his work for generations and to this day he remembers the name of his first collector.
“Her name was Hélène. I was 12 when I painted a watercolor of a cougar, which she and her husband acquired. They inspired my love for the outdoors and nature through their lifestyle and encouragement, ”he said.
Indeed, his wife Carole swears that he was born with a pencil in his hand. His appreciation is understandable, given his partnership with him in the field of painting: he paints, she is his manager. This responsibility requires as much flexibility, adaptability, creativity and laid back humor as wielding the paintbrush.
“She never knows what’s going to happen next. She may have to give up what she does at any time to accommodate the whims of the art industry, ”Montgomery said. “Left brain of our marriage, she is a big supporter of our creative lifestyle. His support allows me to focus on painting with a purpose.
And that goal – to celebrate the outside world, to focus on nature, to lead people’s hearts to beauty – is worth taking the time to focus. Whether in the comfort of his studio or by the river, carrying out emergency repairs on the legs of an easel, Montgomery inspires and draws viewers to a world that is far away, away from the mad crowd and the crowds, period.
“My paintings bring the ambiance and memories of the outdoor experience. Collectors say they can hear the water and smell the forest,” he said.
