Prayer Tree

$470.00.  The price includes shipping

15" X 20" acrylic on illustration board.

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When I lived in Missoula, Montana in the 1990's, I used to drive south on U.S. 93 to Lolo Pass to cross-country ski. I always passed an ancient Ponderosa Pine that  had colorful cloth and other items hanging from its branches.  It is called the Medicine Tree and is sacred to the Salish Tribe.  The cloth and other items were offerings from tribal members and others.

A storm blew the tree down in 2001, but the pine cones were retrieved to plant and grow a new tree by the Salish.  Tribal leaders decided to leave the remaining 16 foot snag standing and people continue to leave offerings and pray on the sacred site.  For my painting I placed my iconic tree, decorated with prayer flags, in the Bitterroot Mountains, with Trapper Peak in the background.  

Below is a short history of the original Medicine Tree from the State of Montana web site:

MEDICINE TREE

This Ponderosa Pine has been standing guard here on the bend of the river for nearly 400 years. Somewhere, imbedded in its trunk, a few feet above the ground, is the horn of a Big Horn ram, the basis of a legend which across the centuries has established the historical significance of the pine as a Medicine Tree. Once upon a time, when the tree was small, according to Salish Indian lore, a mountain sheep of giant stature and with massive, curling horns, accepting a challenge from his hereditary enemy Old Man Coyote, attempted to butt it down. The little pine stood firm, but one of the ram's horns caught in the bole, impaling the luckless sheep, causing his death. A Salish war party chased the coyote away from his anticipated feast and then hung offerings of beads, cloth, ribbon and other items on the ram's horns as good medicine tokens to his bravery and to free the scene of evil. Countless succeeding Indian tribes followed the practice until, less than 100 years ago, the horn disappeared within the tree. But the Indians continue to regard it as a shrine an even the white men honor its sacred legend.

U.S. 93, MP 20, south of Darby Montana

What's Out There?

Watercolor on illustration board.

14 X 14.75 inches image size. Total size is 19.25 X 19.75 inches, with double matting and backer (mats are cream-color, slightly textured, with black bevel, 1/8" bottom mat)

$350.00 certified check or money order.  Price includes shipping within the continental United States.

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This painting was partially inspired by a drive past the old stockyards in Bozeman, Montana. I stopped to watch a beautiful red fox hunting in the fields and was struck by how its appearance added such richness to the winter landscape.

The Talking Tree

$400.00 (the price includes packing and shipping).

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13.5 x 18.75

Acrylic on Crescent Illustration Board; painted with pallet knives.

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My iconic tree appears in this painting as a gathering spot for a group of crows (a very social bird)---a place where they come to talk about their world.

Clowning Around

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Many small towns in Montana put on annual rodeos which bring in folks from the surrounding areas to partake in a much-anticipated community event.  It's a family tradition for many -- a time of meeting, greeting, and competing in events. Rodeo evolved out of friendly competitions, based on the skills needed for ranch life. And it continues to be a meaningful tradition for rural Montanans.

My favorite rodeo as a child was the Harlowton, Montana Rodeo. Harlowton is where my father's family homesteaded; and every year I hooked up there with my cousins and we did our best to raise a ruckus.

SOLD

Storm Catcher

$240.00.  The price includes shipping

11 X 14 inches

Oil on canvassed board

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This is modeled after a photograph taken on a 4-5 day ski trip to Cooper Spur on Mount Hood in 1985. I and a group of friends bunked at a Forest Service cabin below the northeast slope. We had a great time telemarking the slopes, eating heartily, and enjoying a lot of good wine.

The immensity of Mount Hood, a dormant volcano in the Cascadian portion of the Pacific Ring of Fire, catches weather systems moving in from the Pacific Ocean which dump enormous amounts of snow on the mountain.

Livingston Saturday Night

$315.00.00 framed.  The price includes shipping.

10.25 X 14.375 inches image size

Foamcore backed and triple-matted, (3/16 royal blue mat between two layers of white-with-pale-blue-speckle mat), to 15.25 X 19.75 inches total size

Watercolor on paper

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Livingston, Montana is a truly unique little town--a blend of railroaders, artists, and Hollywood types. Located at the opening of a very windy canyon along the Yellowstone River, about 70 miles north of Yellowstone Park, it is a creative mecca that has never lost it's western feel. Saturdays in Livingston, gentlemen don their best cowboy duds for a night out.

For the title of this piece I borrowed from Jimmy Buffet who wrote a song about Livingston nightlife titled "Livingston Saturday Night."

Knight of the Open Highway

475.00.  The price includes shipping.  I do take payments.

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Wood burning on birch veneer

I started this piece while I was living in Eugene, Oregon in 1981; and before I could finish it my wood burning tool burned out and I set this aside. I recently invested in a new wood burner and added the finishing touches.

I modeled the piece on a hobo who frequented Eugene in those days.  One day I asked if I could sketch him; and he said "sure".  My grandfather always referred to men such as him with a transient lifestyle as "Knights of the Open Highway".

(The lighting used to photograph this piece makes it appear more yellow than it actually is.)

Power Points

$420.00.  The price includes shipping

14.75 X 19 inches

Acrylic on board

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Certain places possess power for me. This piece is a compilation of two such places. In the foreground is Broken Top, located in the central Oregon Cascade range; and on the left is a depiction of Trapper Peak, located in western Montana's Bitterroot range.

I've cross country skied into both; and in each locale I felt the power of the place.

I painted this in spring 2010 while in Lance Foster's painting class at the University of Montana-Helena.

Three Sisters

$495.00 framed.  The price includes shipping.

13.5 X 35 inches

Woodburning on maple veneer.
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A recent road trip from Helena to Eugene, Oregon renewed my appreciation of the central Cascades countryside. I have lots of great memories of hiking, camping and cross-country skiing in the Three Sisters Wilderness Area in the 1970's and 80's.

I enjoy incorporating the grain of the wood into the image, and the clean look of dark against light.

(The lighting used to photograph this piece makes it appear much more yellow than it actually is.)

The Sentinel

$470.00.  The price includes shipping

15 X 20 inches

Graham Acrylics on Crescent Illustration Board

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I like the look of serigraphic / silkscreen prints -- blocks of color telling the story in a crisp, straightforward way. And I've tried to bring the same feel to some recent paintings.

The tree is modeled after a solitary conifer skeleton I stopped to draw while hiking in Diehl's Canyon, just outside of La Grande, Oregon in 1966. This tree has a great deal of personal meaning for me and has been the subject of several pieces of artwork.

The Guardian

$375.00.  The price does include shipping.

16 X 23 5/8 inches

Pencil on Bristol Vellum paper
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This is one of my favorite pieces, drawn in 1977 while I was living in Eugene, Oregon, inspired by the landscapes of my youth.

Fishing

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10.5 X 14.5 inches

Watercolor on Arches 300lb. paper

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One of the joys of living by a six-acre pond, as we did for seven years in Bozeman, Montana, was watching the aerobatics of osprey as they fished. Speed,grace and power combined in a display that was always thrilling.