by Sarah Glass
Art purveyors and patrons visited Corwin Galleries’ Autumn Glow Art Show in downtown Hamilton on Saturday evening, November 23rd. Visitors met with artists to enjoy refreshments and the musical accomplishments of Missoula acoustic guitar player and singer, Zack Hummel. In attendance was gallery owner and renowned wildlife artist James Corwin, Idaho landscape artist Drew Smith, and Ravalli County’s own P.A. Jones. Artists offered guests context regarding their works, sharing their inspirations, journeys, and methods of artistic technique.
P.A. Jones spoke about her fascination with the ever-in-flux environmental minutia she observes from her property in the Bitterroot Valley. Jones formerly worked as a newspaper graphic designer before computers replaced older paste-up techniques. Once her child grew up and left home, she was determined to become an artist full-time, and that’s just what she did.
Her winterscape piece featured in the Autumn Glow Art Show depicts the Sapphire mountains draped in drifts of low fog that diffuses the light and gives it an ethereal quality. A snow-covered field is shown juxtaposed with a maroon stand of choke cherry trees. Here, fall is coming to a close. “I’ve painted these [trees] several times,” said Jones. “They just fascinate me.”
Smith relates to the landscapes depicted in his artwork by thinking about them in terms of wildlife habitats, he said. In his piece, “Winter Residents,” geese fly over a river on a crisp fall morning, but what lies behind the rocks and trees he has painted, he wonders. What unseen wildlife thrives just out of eyesight in a seemingly quiet scene? “That’s how I relate to nature in my art,” he said.
Corwin plans to regularly cycle new nature and wildlife artwork through the gallery. Redoubling his efforts to revitalize the downtown gallery, he means to provide visitors and aspiring artists with different opportunities to interface with the works of Western artists as well as the art process itself. Corwin currently offers regular Paint Night classes at the gallery for $35 a ticket. Known for his ability to tell a story through the wildlife he depicts, he selects a piece from his extensive catalog and then provides step-by-step instruction to artists of all skill levels. A series of online art instruction classes hosted by Corwin is also in development.
Corwin Galleries will host a winter art show with a twist this December. Leading up to a special ticketed white elephant event will be a 12-day silent auction starting December 8th to benefit the Bitter Root Land Trust. Art collectors can bid on pieces donated by gallery artists in person at Corwin Galleries, located at 315 W Main Street in Hamilton. Auction winners will be announced at the end of the Winter Wonderland Art Show on Thursday, December 19th. The art show will culminate in a white elephant event where participants will have the opportunity to win original artwork or prints by artists P.A. Jones, Colter May, James Corwin, Drew Smith, and Jason L. Bishop. To make the gift exchange more interesting, a few gimmick items will be thrown into the mix, and white elephant gift-stealing rules will apply. The art show is free and open to the public. Tickets for the white elephant are limited and cost $45. To learn more, visit the Corwin Galleries website at corwingalleries.com.